In many action games, offence and defence tend to feel like two separate mechanics that sometimes talk to each other. But when you’re playing the two Bayonetta titles the way they’re supposed to be played, evasion and attack are parts of the same integrated whole. And damn does it look beautiful.
In my own review of Bayonetta 2, I said that the Wii U-exclusive sequel is “the rare action game where evasion feels as good as pummelling enemies”. This video by YouTuber Saur does a great job of breaking down the symbiosis between attack and defence in the Bayonetta games, particularly because it shows the game expresses its cues to the player. Some of the info Saur offers will be old hat to veteran Bayonetta-ologists but it’s a perfect intro for those who might be dipping their toes into the series for the first time.
Comments
3 responses to “In The Bayonetta Games, Dodging Is Everything”
Wouldn’t it would make more sense for this article to be under a Nintendo category
And then I see the dualschock controller after actually clicking play..
What’s even more wacky is that the prompts are for an XBox 360 controller.
Bayonetta isn’t really the “rare” action game to do interesting things with evading, telegraphed attacks and enemy types as many games implement these in their own way. It’s good game design, and an indicator that the Designer knew what they were doing by taking a few core concepts and building the game around it, but that doesn’t mean that other games are the poorer for not doing it in the same way.