Bayonetta

Bayonetta is an action game from PlatinumGames, led by the creator of the original Devil May Cry, and it may be the most extravagant entry the genre has ever produced. The main character is a witch from the Umbra clan who wakes up without her memories and, surrounded by angelic enemies, uncovers an ancient conflict between light and darkness. She fights with pistols mounted on her hands and heels, turns her hair into giant fists and legs, and moves between battles through a city that collapses, flips over, and falls into the void. The whole experience is deliberately over the top, and the game happily pokes fun at its own extravagance.

The combat system, however, is remarkably precise. Dodge an attack at the last possible moment and you trigger Witch Time, slowing time and opening a window for a long string of attacks. The whole game is built on the courage to stay within an enemy's reach for as long as possible. Combinations of light and heavy attacks have real depth, gunshots can be woven in to keep a combo alive, and mastering them unlocks flashy finishing moves. A rating at the end of each chapter tracks style, time, and number of hits taken, creating strong motivation to replay on higher difficulties.

The PlayStation 3 version, however, has its own chapter in history. The port was handled by a different team than the original game, and compared to the competing console it suffered from choppier framerate and longer load times, which reviewers openly noted. The game itself was received enthusiastically and quickly became one of the genre's cornerstones; only on PS3 did critics recommend installing the data to the hard drive. The music blends jazz arrangements with pop motifs and is just as exuberant as the rest of the game. Today, Bayonetta is played mostly on newer platforms, but it still remains an important title of its generation and a benchmark against which action games are measured. If you have no other option, even the PS3 version won't deny you the experience, you'll just have to overlook the technical execution, which never matched the quality of the original.