Bayonetta 2

Bayonetta 2 arrived on Switch in 2018 as a port of a game that originally released on Wii U, where only a fraction of the people who deserved it actually played it. It's pure-bred action from PlatinumGames, putting you in control of the witch Bayonetta — she fights with pistols strapped to her boots, summons giant demons from her hair, and shows a complete lack of respect for the angels and demons who get in her way. The story is deliberately over the top, full of operatic bombast, but it mainly serves as a string of backdrops for battles that unfold on collapsing temples, on a dragon's back, or in the middle of a city torn apart by the elements.

Combat is built around Witch Time: dodge at exactly the right moment as an enemy attacks and time slows down for everyone else, giving you several seconds of free attacking. The whole game, then, is about the courage to stay in danger as long as possible. New compared to the first game is Umbran Climax, a mode where charged-up magic turns an ordinary combo into a series of demonic attacks. The system is incredibly deep — the rating at the end of every chapter pushes you to experiment with weapons, accessories, and timing — yet also accessible, since even a player who just mashes buttons can get through on a lower difficulty.

The Switch version runs smoothly, and the package also includes the first game, making it one of the best value-for-money deals on the console. Visually the game is over the top in every detail, the music mixes jazzy arrangements with pop hooks, and the result plays like an action musical. Reception was excellent, and Bayonetta 2 is regularly cited among the best action games of its generation. Today it's recommended to anyone who loves fast, precise action with a high skill ceiling; given its violence and its provocative take on its heroine, it's definitely not a title for kids. For Switch, the game also carried symbolic weight: it proved Nintendo was willing to support more mature, genre-focused titles and paved the way for a later sequel on the same console. Anyone who's never tried this kind of action will struggle to find a better place to start.