After being announced at 2017’s Game Awards with a teaser trailer, Bayonetta 3 has managed to fly under the radar. Outside of Platinum confirming this year that Bayonetta 3 is still in development, the game has received no additional news... until now.
During Nintendo's September Direct, the show ended with our first look at Bayonetta 3's stylish gameplay. Here’s everything we know about Bayonetta 3, including its release date, gameplay, rumors and leaks.
Bayonetta 3 release date
Bayonetta 3 is set to launch October 28 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. This was revealed at the September Nintendo Direct, and was also coupled with a brand new trailer.
Kamiya joked about the game's release date in an interview with VGC, stating "my suggestion would be that maybe we should all reset and forget about Bayonetta 3. Then when something finally does happen, it will be a nice surprise, won’t it?"
Studio head of PlatinumGames, Atsushi Inaba, reassures fans that "there's no need to worry." Series creator Hideki Kamiya also added that "it’s not our decision what to say and when to say it." It seems further reveals regarding the game is completely out of his hands.
Marius Hermanavicius, who worked as Bayonetta 3's lead game designer for a short while, had actually left the project back in April 2020. He is now a game designer at Tango Gameworks, possibly working on Ghostwire: Tokyo or whatever the company's next project is.
There's still been no word on Bayonetta 3 since September, but since its set to launch this year, we're hoping it shows up in a Nintendo Direct soon. Nintendo recently delayed the Breath of the Wild sequel until the Spring of 2023, so we're hoping Bayonetta 3 stays on course so this year isn't barren for the Nintendo Switch.
According to a recent Nintendo earnings report, Bayonetta 3 is still slated for a 2022 release. With the passing of a game reveal season, we're mostly surprised at the lack of Bayonetta 3. Nintendo held a Direct Mini in June, but the company did not have a grand showcase to show off some of its biggest upcoming games. If the game is truly still set to launch this year, we're hoping Nintendo shows it off very soon.
Bayonetta 3 gameplay
Bayonetta 3 has received its first full gameplay trailer. As always, Bayonetta is back to utilize a handful of complex moves, pull off insane combos and achieve high scores. The game's animations look as stylish as ever, and it seems the combat still revolves around the player's swift reflexes.
Bayonetta bursts into the scene saying "it seems I'm unfashionably late," which is amusing since the game got announced four years ago.
Another scene from this trailer depicts Bayonetta summoning a giant creature, controlling it to attack an enormous enemy, and even riding it across skyscrapers in pursuit of a monster.
We also got an extended gameplay trailer that shows off eight minutes of exciting gameplay. One of the incredible new gameplay additions allows Bayonetta to use the abilities of Infernal Demons to explore the world and battle in fresh ways. One shot in the trailer shows her turning into a massive volcanic spider and swinging over a chasm.
We can also expect a handful of unique enemies and bosses that Bayonetta will have to face off against, hopefully all layered within memorable environments that best utilize the series’ themes. We can't wait to get back to stylishly striking a pose while unloading a barrage of bullets into angels and demons.
Bayonetta 3 leaks and rumors
Even after seeing some gameplay, we still don’t know much about what Bayonetta 3 will be about, but there have been leaks that suggest a few things to look forward to. Most interesting is a rumor that states many of the game’s setpieces will take place in outer space and these areas will be presented at a much grander scale than seen in any previous Bayonetta.
This same leak also suggests that Bayonetta 3 intends to present far more “melancholic” themes and will be treating its protagonist differently, with her outfits being less ridiculous than before, and the amount of sexual content will be partially reduced. Furthermore, Bayonetta 3 could be using the same engine seen in NieR: Automata and it’s expected the game will look far better than Bayonetta 2.
Comparing this information with the gameplay trailer makes the leak seem inaccurate. It appeared to possess a similar level of goofiness, although most of that trailer does take place across a single setpiece. Platinum Games probably only showed off one level from Bayonetta 3, meaning we have no idea what else could be in the game.
