Bayonetta 3 is a solid action game. Packed with lots of spectacle, flair and diverse combat, the 3D hack-and-slash proved to be deserving of the Best Action Game award of 2022. Unfortunately, that award doesn't soften the blow of the controversy and fan-splitting decisions surrounding the game. Paired with the directors' handling of these situations, the future of the franchise looks grim.
The issue lies in how the story handles its characters, particularly at the ending. After defeating the Singularity with the help of Luka, Cereza (Bayonetta's real name) ends up losing control of Gomorrah, which swipes her soul straight out of her body. This happens because Luka had to make a choice between saving her or Viola, the new character that happens to be their daughter from an alternate reality, after she gets pulled toward a vortex that the Singularity made upon self-destructing. Luka embraces the soul of the fallen Umbra Witch as they both declare their love and get pulled into Inferno together.
The game ends with Viola working for Rodin, donning Cereza's glasses and Luka's scarf. Ultimately, she takes on her mother's legacy and adopts the Bayonetta family name. The game also ends with text saying "to be continued in a future generation," implying that Viola will be the new Bayonetta in future mainline games.
If you've played previous Bayonetta games, you either like the ending or you hate it; there's virtually no in-between, and I unfortunately fall in the latter category. The way Bayonetta died was not quite befitting of the independent and confident Umbra Witch that had been built up over the course of the previous games. As someone who always saw her as a great example of a strong female icon, losing her life because someone wasn't there to save her (specifically a man in the form of Luka) diminished what she represented to me.
What makes it worse is that Luka was never particularly important or powerful, nor was it ever hinted that he had the capabilities he possessed throughout the past games. The drastic increase in his role and importance in the world (and even in the third game in general) feels sudden, with little to no buildup to compensate for the fact that he can fight at the same pace as Bayonetta, if not better, which makes it even more insulting that Bayonetta had to be saved by him to live in the end.
The same thing can be said about the romance between the two. While Luka and Bayonetta have exchanged interactions in the past, the affection between the two was mostly one-sided from Luka. Not only that, but Luka's flirting seemed like it was done less out of love for her but more out of platonic attempts to impress her. The interactions they've had prior to Bayonetta 3 have been few and far between, with the third game probably having them talk the least of all — up to the moment their love is revealed.
Despite Luka and Bayonetta's claim that they've always been in love and that fate brought them together (nullifying the point that they're alternate versions of the characters), we haven't seen anything to show that, not even in this dimension-hopping adventure, where they easily could've shown multiple alternate versions of Luka. Many people believe that Jeanne, Bayonetta's best friend and equal in magic, should've been the one she ended up with romantically, as they've interacted with each other much more — the second game was all about saving Jeanne from Inferno, after all. Even in this game, we've seen and interacted with several alternate Jeannes along with the Bayonettas. Sadly, she also wasn't saved from the story, anticlimactically dying before the final act.
Lastly, there's the new character, Viola. She takes on the mantle of Bayonetta, but the game failed to show that she's ready for that massive responsibility. There were many times when she would either clumsily skate through a situation or get saved by someone else. Even with her newfound power, she was consistently getting swatted away by the Singularity or put in peril during any attempt to fight in the final battle. This was very disappointing, because they could've given her a meaningful impact on the final battle, using the power she's gained to save her alternate mother when the Singularity took her away in her original timeline. This is also why the "passing of the torch" battle between Viola and the darkness that Bayonetta left behind feels meaningless.
Controversy was surrounding the series in the real world as well. It all began when the game was teased back in the end of 2017. Outside of updates stating that development was still going on, nothing about the game would be seen until September 2021. First impressions of the footage we were given was that the game didn't look great, which didn't bode well for the title. The fact that we were also only given a vague release window of 2022 was salt in the wound for many. While we would have to wait 10 more months to see anything else, better-looking footage and a definitive release date were signs that things were looking up. Unfortunately, that wouldn't last very long.
Shortly after the trailer dropped, the original voice actress for the titular character, Helena Taylor, would call for fans to boycott the game on Twitter. This was due to a disagreement with Taylor's worth as the voice of Bayonetta, only being offered $15,000 for the role, and eventually being replaced by Jennifer Hale. This debacle would go on to define the game, with the underlying issue being the sole reason many people in the gaming community knew anything about Bayonetta 3.
While Taylor wasn't completely transparent about the payment offered, the lead director for the game, Hideki Kamiya, made things worse. On Twitter, he simply dismissed the claims as the "untruth" and didn't say much else on the matter. He would also block people on Twitter that brought this up, along with those that he blocks simply for not speaking Japanese, which is one of the "rules" he refers to in his tweet (he did this so much that his account eventually ended up getting restricted momentarily). This gave the impression that Kamiya simply couldn't handle criticism, which didn't pair well with the growing rumors that the powers that be wanted Taylor out of the picture for a voice actress with a much higher profile.
On top of the controversies, the extensive wait period for the third installment made the ending that much worse, as it felt like fans sat around for eight years just for a mediocre product. However, what came after as a result of the ending was the final blow. In response to the ending's backlash, Kamiya said that he "didn't think that it was unexpected at all, but it seems the ending of Bayo 3 wasn't conveyed correctly to everyone..." He also told those who disliked the ending to stay away from future Bayonetta titles.
To me, this seems like he's not taking accountability for how the ending was perceived, going as far as to blame the fans for understanding it incorrectly. The following statement about the future of Bayonetta seems like the fears that many had at the end of Bayonetta 3 will be realized. This further solidified two things for me: that Kamiya really can't handle criticism effectively, and that the input from his fans (or at least those who disagree with him) doesn't matter.
This isn't to say it's all bad for the series. After all, a great spin-off title was found in Bayonetta Origins. While the style is different from the usual Bayonetta games (on top of being overseen by a different director), it shows that the developers can continue to make exceptional installments to the series. It's also great that this game cleared up some of Bayonetta 3's confusing story elements, like the relevance of Fairies.
That being said, it does little to give me faith in Bayonetta's mainline future, especially if the mainline series is going to need spin-off games to make their stories sensible or understood. If I had to describe the current state of the series after the third installment's revelations and the outside issues surrounding it, it would be "messy." Unless some serious changes are made, when Kamiya says that people dissatisfied with Bayonetta 3's ending should steer clear of future releases, I find myself saddened that I might have to take his advice.