One of the most illustrious and anticipated upcoming Switch games is Bayonetta 3 — a title that has been cooking for quite some time now. As its name suggests, it’s the follow-up to Bayonetta 2 and will send players on another action-packed journey as the sassy Umbra Witch known as Bayonetta. It’s in development by renowned studio PlatinumGames, best known for fast-paced action games like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Astral Chain, The Wonderful 101, and Nier: Automata, to name a few.
Since its announcement, Nintendo and PlatinumGames were slow to reveal details about Bayonetta 3. However, the September 2021 Nintendo Direct finally gave us a first look at the forthcoming action game, with a release window and even gameplay footage.
Then, in July 2022, Nintendo finally revealed the game’s release date, alongside a brand new trailer. In addition, Digital Trends was able to go hands-on with a preview version of Bayonetta 3 at PAX West 2022, so there’s plenty we know about it.
We still have a flurry of questions, but we’ve scoured the depths of the internet to find as much info about it as possible.
From its release date to its trailers, gameplay, and more — here’s everything we know about Bayonetta 3.
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Release date
Bayonetta engages in a bewitching battle against the Homunculi, a feisty new witch named Viola enters the scene, and… is that another Bayonetta?
Find out more when #Bayonetta3 struts onto #NintendoSwitch on 10/28! Watch the latest trailer now: https://t.co/jBoWZH0EdQ pic.twitter.com/v2O6s4KMFA
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 13, 2022
After a lengthy development cycle, Bayonetta 3 will finally launch on October 28, 2022. This news comes by way of a tweet from Nintendo, with an action-packed trailer accompanying it. A September 2021 Nintendo Direct confirmed its 2022 release window, and it seems PlatinumGames is sticking to its promise, just in time for Halloween this year.
Trailers
Reveal trailer
Let’s kick things off with the reveal trailer for Bayonetta 3 (shown above) — the one that officially revealed the project during The Game Awards 2017. In it, we get to see a close-up shot of the moon, with the PlatinumGames logo, followed by a quick action sequence featuring the witch herself. Based on the trailer, it appears like Bayonetta has her long hair back (which was a point of contention, since she had short hair in Bayonetta 2).
After a few quick shots, it’s revealed that Bayonetta 3 is in development exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Eagle-eyed fans have mentioned that the reveal trailer for Bayonetta 3 resembles (almost shot by shot) the teaser trailers for the previous two installments. And as part of an interview with Famitsu (as relayed by DualShockers), PlatinumGames said the initial Bayonetta 3 trailer has hidden secrets in it.
Gameplay trailer
That brings us to the second trailer, which was shown during the September 2021 Nintendo Direct. This absolute blowout of a trailer gave us nearly four minutes of Bayonetta 3 goodness. It showed off gameplay, some of the characters, Bayonetta herself (sporting a new haircut), and the gameplay. It ended with a release window, which was certainly heartening to see. We won’t spoil the trailer here, so give it a watch above.
Release date trailer
On July 13, 2022, Nintendo announced the release date for Bayonetta 3, along with an explosive new trailer. It not only showed the game in action but also gave us a look at some of the new locales and characters, including an additional playable Bayonetta. This upcoming game seems to be taking its battles to a new level in terms of scale, with massive controllable kaiju-like creatures to control.
Gameplay trailer
During the September 2022 Nintendo Direct, we got a new look at Bayonetta 3 gameplay, which showed off some of the new enemies and a look at the game in action. The trailer highlights some of the new demons, which play a prominent role in Bayonetta 3.
Platforms
As noted in its announcement trailer, Bayonetta 3 is in development exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Much like Bayonetta 2 before it, the newest entry will be published by Nintendo, meaning it won’t come to other platforms — at least not anytime soon. It’s possible Bayonetta 3 will eventually launch on Nintendo’s next console, much like the way Bayonetta 2 was ported from Wii U to the Switch, but at this point, nothing like that has been confirmed. PlatinumGames does have a history of working with multiple platforms, so it’s not out of the question we’ll eventually see Bayonetta 3 on non-Nintendo consoles at some point in the future. For now, count on playing it on Switch.
Gameplay
Bayonetta 3 will play like its predecessors — giving us a fast-paced action adventure with tons of style and flair. Given the game’s lengthy development cycle, new features will likely be implemented. Based on the recent trailer, it looks like the new installment will implement large-scale battles between massive creatures. Bayonetta can control a Kaiju-like monster to defend against another foe of equal size, which will probably make for some fast-paced, memorable moments. Bayonetta has always been wild and over-the-top, but this entry seems like it will raise the bar, particularly in terms of scale, which we’re excited about.
We can expect to see large areas to explore, fluid action gameplay, and a wacky story that aims to captivate its fan base. Bayonetta 3 will probably have a continuation of the combo system, along with various power-ups, weapons, items, and more.
As part of a Eurogamer interview with PlatinumGames’ co-founder Atsushi Inaba, it was revealed Bayonetta 3 would still be a linear core progression action game but notes that new features and mechanics would be added as well. Platinum knows that “fans expect crazier, better, tighter action games,” so we’ll likely see a noticeable evolution with Bayonetta 3.
During an interview with VGC, PlatinumGames Studio Head Atsushi Inaba said, “For Bayonetta 3, we can say that we learned enough from making the past two games to change our process in a way that’s different from what I just described. Maybe the players will recognize this as well. And that’s all the hints you get!”
Again, it’s unclear how this new development process will translate to the gameplay itself, but you’ll likely see some changes with the third entry when everything is all said and done.
A description from the newest Bayonetta 3 trailer is as follows:
Bayonetta struts through multiple locations in an all-new, over-the-top climax action game. Sporting a wicked new ensemble and somehow familiar pigtails, the titular Umbra Witch must face a mysterious evil using her signature guns and time-slowing Witch Time ability. This time, invading manmade bioweapons called Homunculi find themselves in Bayonetta’s crosshairs.
One thing worth noting about the July 2022 trailer is that the frame rate seems to run much more smoothly than in the previous showing. Bayonetta can also be seen summoning Gomorrah, a demon that can be controlled to battle against massive enemies across the streets of Tokyo and even locations in China.
Just as our PAX West 2022 preview mentioned, Bayonetta 3 will focus on demons, which you can control at will. In the demo, there were two demons: Madama Butterfly and Gomorrah, and each played differently. Madama Butterfly is faster and more fluid, while Gomorrah feels more like a tank. These massive demons are almost the size of buildings and are formidable enough to take on many of the game’s bioweapons.
Multiplayer
Bayonetta 2 featured an interesting co-op multiplayer component called Tag Climax that allowed players to team up to defeat waves of enemies with the original Wii U release. That mode was carried over to the Switch edition and was one of the most beloved aspects of the entire package. With this in mind, there is precedent for the inclusion of a multiplayer mode that could return in Bayonetta 3, though nothing has been confirmed. At this point, given how close its release date is, it’s unlikely PlatinumGames has a fully-fledged online mode planned for Bayonetta 3. Interestingly, the official Bayonetta 3 Nintendo page does say it’ll include Online support, though it’s unclear what this will look like.
It’s possible multiplayer might be scrapped to focus on the single-player portion of the forthcoming release. We’ve seen this happen with other sequels, like in BioShock Infinite or The Last of Us Part II. Since nothing about multiplayer has been confirmed one way or the other, we can’t say for sure — but we do hope multiplayer makes its return since Tag Climax was so fun in Bayonetta 2.
Pre-order
Finally, you might be wondering about pre-ordering Bayonetta 3. Currently, the game is available to pre-order through the Nintendo site and other retailers.
Standard Edition: $60
Pre-order hereTrinity Masquerade Edition
In addition, a fancy version, the Trinity Masquerade Edition, might be more your style. Here’s what it includes:
- Physical copy of Bayonetta 3
- Alternate art covers
- 200-page art book
At this time, the Trinity Masquerade Edition isn’t available to pre-order quite yet, but we’ll update this post when it becomes available.
As for pre-order bonuses, you may get some extra goodies when you buy early, though as history shows, we wouldn’t count on too much. With Bayonetta 2, Japanese customers gained access to a microfiber cloth when pre-ordering through Amazon — but aside from that, there wasn’t much in terms of extra bonuses. Since the series has a much bigger fan base now, the pre-order bonuses might be more plentiful with the next release, but nothing has yet been confirmed.
