Bayonetta 3 Exists! (And Something Strange is at Work)

Bayonetta 3 exists!

It’s real, not just a collective hallucination we all had back in 2017! At yesterday’s Nintendo Direct, a new trailer was finally revealed along with a 2022 release window.

And we have a lot to talk about.

The Bayonetta 3 trailer has caused a lot of varied reactions, because on one hand it’s so exciting to finally see more from Bayonetta 3, but on the other hand, it looks quite different… in some suspicious ways.

Before we get into it, let’s discuss the 2017 teaser. That tiny teaser left fans with many theories about the possibility that the Bayonetta in the trailer was either a fake, a younger version, or a Bayonetta from an alternate timeline/universe.

She had her original hairstyle, new guns, no beauty mark, and no hair texture on her sleeves (suggesting her outfit could be real clothes, not magical), and the teaser ended with her seemingly cut in half.

That brings us to today’s trailer and our first look at Bayonetta 3 gameplay.

It begins with soldiers in Shibuya fighting giant monsters. This made me initially think the trailer wasn’t for Bayonetta 3 at all, but maybe Project G.G. (and then there was an Astral Chain fake-out, too).

But then Bayonetta appears! …With a new design that strangely resembles her child self.

In fact, a lot of things about this new Bayonetta design, such as her new outfit and dance moves, seem cuter, for lack of a better word. As if this isn’t the Bayonetta we’re familiar with, but a younger version of herself – or an alternate timeline version of Cereza trying to imitate her older self.

Madama Butterfly also has a different design. Was she redesigned for this game, or is she a different demon paired with a different Bayonetta?

And what’s up with Bayonetta’s medallion? The central medallion is familiar enough, but it has a new golden addition at the top set with a purple gem – which some fans think could be the Right Eye.

(Update: I don’t know how I missed that there’s actually multiple purple jewels, so maybe that’s meaningless.)

Bayonetta’s voice also sounds slightly different, and a recent tweet from her English voice actor, Hellena Taylor, had fans already wondering if she’d been recast… yet Taylor also seems to be under an NDA.

Could that mean this is a new Bayonetta/Cereza, but “our” Bayonetta will also appear?

Okay, let’s get back to the trailer. We see some traditional combat, Witch Time (stronger than usual, perhaps?), and what appears to be a torture attack that targets multiple enemies. At one point she also briefly transforms into the redesigned Madama Butterfly.

Then she dances, but instead of her clothes vanishing into hair to manifest a demon, a large red symbol appears on her back and the demon appears to beat up the monster. Following that, it shows a number of scenes in which the player is controlling demons directly to fight. A purple gauge decreasing during these fights suggests these demon summons are available until the gauge runs out.

The very end shows a silhouetted figure arriving, with a sword from which hangs a doll similar to that carried by Cereza in the first game.

(A popular candidate for the silhouetted figure right now is Jeanne.)

As I said before, a lot of this looks very different beyond just Bayonetta’s design. First, the human soldiers at the start seem like they can see the monsters, and the official website, describes the enemies as “mysterious life forms appearing to be neither angel nor demon.”

Her demon-summoning is different than anything she’s done before, and even the means of summoning them is new. Of course, since this is Bayonetta, the lack of nudity in the trailer has a lot of fans wondering if Bayonetta 3 is censored, but it seems much more likely that it’s either specifically for this trailer to avoid the Nintendo Direct getting a higher age rating, or is story-relevant considering the number of other differences in the character and her powers.

When asked if Cereza would get naked in Bayonetta 3, Kamiya responded with “Do not underestimate me.”

The website also names the two new gameplay mechanics as Demon Masquerade (fusing with a demon) and Demon Slave (directly controlling them).

The description ends with “The eyes of the world are on the mysterious Bayonetta 3, coming in 2022,” which could be just a cute way to tie in the lore, but makes me wonder if the Eyes will be important after all.

Except that’s not possible… if this is the same world/timeline.

In short, I do not think this is the Bayonetta we’re familiar with. Whether she’s an alternate timeline Cereza or something else, there are too many oddities. And I still don’t think the Bayonetta in the original teaser was the usual one, either. Alternate timelines or multiple universes – something strange is at work here. I’d believe a Bayonetta redesign if her appearance was all that changed, but too many differences are stacking up.

Who is she? Why is she fighting kaiju in Shibuya? Why are her powers so different? I have so many questions and some concerns, and I don’t know what to think, but I’m thrilled that we finally got to see Bayonetta 3.

What do you think about the new Bayonetta 3 trailer?