Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a 2023 action-adventure by studio PlatinumGames that stands out markedly from the rest of the Bayonetta series – instead of the bombastic, fast-paced combat of a stylish devil-hunter, it offers a more intimate, fairy-tale-like story about the childhood of the series' titular heroine, Cereza, long before she became the powerful witch known from the main entries. The game tells the story of how the young witch befriends a demon named Cheshire and sets off with him into an enchanted forest to rescue her imprisoned mother and discover her own magical potential.

A key gameplay feature is controlling two characters simultaneously – one analog stick controls Cereza, whose spells affect the surroundings, while the other controls the demon Cheshire, who attacks and destroys obstacles, requiring constant coordination and resulting in original puzzles and combat sequences based on cooperation between the two characters. Visually, the game opts for a watercolor, hand-illustrated style reminiscent of a children's picture book, in sharp contrast to the dark, gothic aesthetic of the main Bayonetta trilogy, while perfectly underscoring the fairy-tale, at times melancholic tone of the narrative.

Origins was received as a bold and successful experiment – critics and players alike praised PlatinumGames for managing to bring a well-known brand into an entirely different genre and visual language without losing its identity and characteristic humor. The game expands the mythology of the Bayonetta universe with a previously untold chapter and shows that the character of Cereza has potential beyond the fast-paced combat the series was originally known for, opening the door to further similarly unconventional excursions outside the main line. The slower pace and emphasis on puzzle-solving over constant combat also make it a suitable choice for younger or less experienced players who might otherwise be intimidated by the main trilogy's difficulty, without sacrificing the series' characteristic charm and atmosphere.