Bayonetta 2 [WiiU] review

[kryss]

Played it finally! I suck at dodging but I've had a couple of drinks.
Switched the audio to japanese staraightaway.

[capcom_suicide]

Is this a game like God of War, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry etc`? i.e combat that requires combos, remembering button combinations, lighting reflexes and an enjoyment in getting maximum score based on your skills? (Sort of like an action game, for gamers who rule at Virtua FIghter?)

[Brad]

It doesn't require any of that but that's the way it ought to be played. Feels good when you don't just scrape through. You are rated on how well you do for most (all?) encounters.

[MrKirov]

Pretty much yeah! But it's a lot more accessible and remembering long combo strings isn't required to progress- and the base combos all look spectacular!!

You can go through getting the best scores and platinums medals all the way through but you don't have too- replaying on harder difficulties changes the enemies you fight and where, and changes/adds new boss moves so replaying is more worthwhile than in most games.

There's lots of replaying to farm halos (money) to unlock stuff in the shop which can change the way the game plays pretty drastically (being able to activate slow motion, being able to do a parry move etc) they're usually a lot of fun and worth spending the time to unlock. You also get more halos on harder difficulties so it's more inventive to try harder levels and improve.

There's loads to unlock and loads of hidden encounters with different enemy types, and loads of hidden challenges and fights to make you want to explore.

It's a really fun game to play even at a casual level, and has some spectacular sights and scenarios, and a great -albeit very random- story. Plus free Bayonetta 1 for ?40!

I say go for it if you enjoy action games at any level- it does cater for all I highly recommend it !!

[capcom_suicide]

Thanks a lot guys. I do enjoy a good action game, but my "Skillz" are more in Resident Evil type games, planning a limited inventory, puzzles and combat under pressure. I've not managed to get on with the action slash games as I'm not good at the combo side of things, so was hoping Bayonetta would be fun in a more casual game style. Sounds like it is!

[MrKirov]

Can't see how anyone wouldn't enjoy it, even at a casual level to be honest- it's just pure quality- make sure you get the double pack if you haven't played 1!!

[Brad]

Thanks a lot guys. I do enjoy a good action game, but my "Skillz" are more in Resident Evil type games, planning a limited inventory, puzzles and combat under pressure. I've not managed to get on with the action slash games as I'm not good at the combo side of things, so was hoping Bayonetta would be fun in a more casual game style. Sounds like it is!

Matt, I'm exactly the same as you. I end up with a stone rating (the worst) at the end of each chapter but I get the occasional bronze, gold, platinum and even pure platinum every now and then for an encounter. I pretty much spam my way through it but it's great fun. Performing torture moves and climaxes is just fantastic. Feels really nice to play. I still hear the phrase "The shadow remains cast!" far too often lol. I highly recommend getting it.

[Shozuki]

Yup have to agree, having finally been able to ignore the annoying characters and story. The gameplay is spot on, really fun stuff.

The presentation does kill it for me a little though 7/10 for me

[speedlolita]

Have put about 14 hours into this now. Beaten the game on 2nd Climax and have done about 10 chapters on 3rd Climax.

What I'm doing now is replaying 3rd Climax from the beginning and attempting to get at least Gold as the final stage result which I'll eventually upgrade to Platinum and then maybe Pure Platinum. Now I've got my head around the how the combo system works it is super enjoyable replaying the same level over and over.

The end almost seems disappointing if you compare it to other Platinum titles but at the same time it does the job of concluding the events of the game. The game also puts some of events of the first game into context too, which is always appreciated.

Keeps a big fat smile on my face consistently, I'm glad I purchased a Wii U because no other game is going to come close to this for me. All the changes they made from Bayonetta too, removing QTEs, irrelevant minigames and punishment for falling off of a stage by accident just make the whole experience less convoluted.

There's so much to unlock and in addition to that there's a bunch of endgame content too! Still going to play it more before I gives it a final score though. Need to check out both Witch Trials and Tag Climax.

[MrKirov]

I'll play tag climax with you speedy- it gets tough on 3-4 stars, and the CPU just dies instantly!!

[speedlolita]

Can you play with the CPU? I haven't even checked it out yet. lol

Next weekend perhaps? I work evenings unfortunately.

[MrKirov]

Yeah you can play with CPU and choose what weaponry they have (you only have one set instead of two) and it's basically a score attack with the two if you over 6 rounds. You choose the difficulty, and then choose what levels you want to play- it's pretty good with some secret bosses and the ability to play as some of the bosses- when you die, the other player can revive you within a short time.

Sadly the CPU dies instantly on anything other than 2 stars, and you don't have enough time to revive them, then you fail :/ Good way of grinding halos though!

[Fader209]

Finding the hidden missions is a bit of a pain without a guide...yet it feels like cheating too much to use one at the moment >.< I'm currently going through 2nd Climax and getting those ranks higher whilst getting used to the combat system again properly (Dodge offset etc)
Such a drastic change from being used to the Wonderful 101 and its Unite forms.

[MrKirov]

Hidden verses don't usually involve much more than going off the main path, or backtracking to a previously visited location- they're found easily enough I thought. There's the odd one where you have to jump into pools of water and things though.

[speedlolita]

Apparently this entered the UK sales chart at 6 last week across all formats. It is no longer in the top 40 (all format) a week later. Hardly surprising, but wow.