How the Bayonetta Franchise Has Continuously Upped the Stakes

gamerant.com:

With Bayonetta 3 just around the corner, Bayonetta fans everywhere are preparing for the upcoming game. Whether it's through analyzing the recent gameplay trailer or replaying past entries, the community is alive and well. Bayonetta 3 will be the latest in what some considered to be a tentpole franchise of the stylish action genre, having dovetailed off the Devil May Cry series when Clover Studio left Capcom to become Platinum Games. Some people take issue with Bayonetta 2’s gameplay changes, but despite that the franchise is still well-regarded after more than a decade.

Part of that is because players struggle to find action at Bayonetta's scale anywhere else. These games consider over the top to be a baseline, and take great delight in sailing past any expectations for scope or reason. This is a series that started with two witches standing on a falling clock face fighting angelic dragons with guns and their hair. That moment was so iconic that it became Bayonetta’s stage in Super Smash Bros., yet the series was able to escalate from there. Each game ups the stakes higher than the last, and it's been a joy to watch them grow each time Bayonetta reawakens.

Why Bayonetta Fans Should Replay the Series Before 3

The first game practically represents an escalation from a normal action game. Immediately, players are thrown into battle with the forces of Paradiso with a monstrously overpowered witch at their fingertips. The game ratchets up the intensity from there, with Bayonetta regaining her huge Wicked Weave attacks after the prologue, meeting her rival Jeanne, and going on to gain successively more insane weapons and enemies in each Chapter. It just makes sense that the game's finale takes place in space, with Bayonetta