The Paw Print

By Cameron Smith, Staff Writer for Arts and Entertainment

About Bayonetta Origins

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is an action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo. Released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on March 17, 2023, this reveals the story of Cereza–a timid yet ambitious young girl who would later become the brave and powerful Umbra Witch we know and adore!

Plot: A+

Cereza and her companion, a demon named Cheshire.

Set 600 years before the first Bayonetta game, young witch-in-training Cereza—a teenage Bayonetta–-is under the faithful but strict guidance from her stern teacher, a witch named Morgana, after being exiled from her home due to being the result of a forbidden love between the light Lumen Sages and the dark Umbra Witches. Determined to find the power to rescue her imprisoned mother, Cereza ventures into the forbidden Avalon Forest, where she summons a stubborn demon named Cheshire. In order to survive the dangers of Avalon Forest, Cereza and Cheshire must cooperate to follow a mysterious white wolf and find the power Cereza seeks to save her mother, as well as send Cheshire home. Can she do it?

Gameplay: A

Cereza restraining an enemy with a spell

Cereza and Cheshire can be controlled with separate controllers. While Cereza’s spells can only restrain enemies, Cheshire has the strength to attack them! Use both characters in conjunction to solve puzzles and discover the hidden secrets of Avalon Forest. Collect various items to increase Cereza and Cheshire’s abilities, and gain new transformations for Cheshire by destroying four Elemental Cores scattered deep within the forest. While Cereza’s magic can recharge on its own, Cheshire must retreat into Hug mode—a mode where Cheshire transforms into the stuffed toy belonging to Cereza—to recharge his magic before fighting again. In contrast, Cheshire doesn’t take damage, but Cereza can! Use both characters wisely if you want to discover all the secrets of Avalon Forest.

Reception: A

Bayonetta Origins received positive feedback from critics, including a 80/100 by Metacritic, a 9/10 from IGN, seven stars from Nintendo Life, and an 8/10 from Shacknews. Nintendo Life gave this statement during their thesis on the game: “Perhaps we were just expecting too much of a challenge from Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon; after all, this is a family-friendly, T-rated escapade that does away with the crazy tough action of the main franchise in favor of a much more laid-back affair. But then this feeds into our other main problem with the game — who exactly is it for? It feels mostly aimed at kids in terms of difficulty and the contents of its narrative, but kids aren’t long-term Bayo fans, and beyond a few late-game nods and links to the adult Bayonetta, well, it’s hard to know what those same hardcore hack and slash fans will get from this.” Here is another Nintendo Life statement: “Taken as its own thing entirely, this is a well-designed and graphically stunning adventure that tells a fine fairy tale whilst providing just enough challenge to keep younger or more casual players entertained. In fact, it’s one of the better kid-friendly games we’ve played in quite some time, with production standards well above most of what we find in titles aimed at this demographic. There’s some fantastic NieR:Automata-esque dynamic camerawork, with lots of slick depth-of-field effects that really draw you into the forbidden forest setting. The voice acting is strong, and the soundtrack and artwork are all stellar stuff that make full use of their strong Celtic influences. There are plenty of accessibility options too, with the ability to turn off damage and set other aspects of the combat and puzzles so that you can wander through the story unchallenged.”

View the cast of Bayonetta Origins on behindthevoiceactors.com.
Watch a sneak peek of the first fifteen minutes of the game via IGN.