This feature first appeared in Play Magazine issue 16. Bayonetta remains the queen of the genre. This is an action game that works best when its star is calling the shots. In the end, the only time Bayonetta sags is when the violence stops, in cutscenes (that you can skip) which feature a lacklustre supporting cast, including Enzo, a bad Joe Pesci tribute, and a camera that stares too often at Bayonetta's behind - a tacky move on a character who's otherwise sexy on her own terms. It's easy to feel quite at peace with kicking the stuffing out of them. Regular battles, meanwhile, are boosted by the grotesque, Biblically-based design of the angels, from bird-men with sharp beaks and claws and cackling winged heads to bulbous monstrosities with upside-down faces and dragon neck arms. Later you're thrown into a sequence that recalls arcade classic Space Harrier, culminating in a boss fight against witchy rival Jeanne while riding a series of giant missiles. The tone is set from the off as you get to grips with the basics while standing on a chunk of a clocktower that's plummeting through the sky. Besides its exquisite move-set, Bayonetta features some of Platinum's most inspired/absurd level design. Like taking the stabilisers off a bike, you realise you don't need it after all. Surely it's impossible to cope without it? But somehow it isn't. The exercise gets faster and busier, until the highest difficulty disables witch time altogether. You have to invite attacks to trigger witch time, isolate targets, save torture attacks for tougher opponents, and keep moving. Hammering away without a plan won’t get you far. The resulting show is spectacular, and like a paddling duck, maintaining Bayonetta's gliding serenity requires a frenzy of inputs. "Besides its exquisite move-set, Bayonetta features some of Platinum's most inspired/absurd level design."
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