The long-awaited Nintendo Switch exclusive Bayonetta 3 finally has a release target set for 2022, as the game reemerged at tonight’s Nintendo Direct stream.
The trailer opened up with huge demos stomping through a city with army types having no hope in dealing with these dangers… a fakeout for the kind of game we might expect beyond Bayonetta turns up to deliver an almighty smackdown, sporting a new braided hairstyle, new attacks and huge new summons as she wields her new Demon Masquerade ability.
The trailer closed on a bit of a tease for the game’s new baddie… maybe.
Don’t expect the game to come out particularly soon, as Nintendo has simply stated 2022 and not a more specific season or part of the year. Still, we can hope that they’ll have more to show us soon.
Bayonetta 3 was first announced at The Game Awards at the end of 2017, with PlatinumGames’ saucy witch returning for another Nintendo-backed sequel. The announcement was little more than a teaser at that time, though expectations were high that the game would be coming along sooner rather than later, especially as Nintendo brought the original game and the Wii U sequel to Switch in early 2018 with a pair of remasters.
Between then and now? A whole lot of silence.
Fans have understandably been a little worried about the game’s development, especially as PlatinumGames has been typically busy in the years since. They released another Switch exclusive in the form of Astral Chain in late 2019, and have sought to start producing games on their own without being tied to a particular publisher’s whims. However, Nintendo eventually reconfirmed that Bayonetta 3 is still in development, and series creator Hideki Kamiya said at the start of 2021 that he wanted to show off the game sometime this year. Finally, that has come to pass.
So what do you think? Has it been worth the wait?
