Bayonetta 2 opens with its heroine shopping on Christmas Eve, which tells you most of what you need to know about the tone. PlatinumGames built a sequel that never stops moving, and Nintendo published it as a Wii U exclusive in 2014. The result is one of the sharpest action games of its decade.
A Demon Summon Gone Wrong
The story picks up a few months after the first Bayonetta. Angels attack New York City while Bayonetta is shopping with Enzo, and she fights them off alongside her fellow witch Jeanne. The pair is winning until a demon summon goes wrong. Jeanne throws herself in front of the attack to save Bayonetta, and Inferno claims her soul.
That failure drives everything. Bayonetta resolves to get her friend back, and a tip from her informant Enzo sends her to the sacred mountain of Fimbulventr, where an entrance to Hell called the Gates of Hell is said to sit. The mountain and the nearby town of Noatun place most of the game in the Middle East.
Loki, Luka, and the Legend of Aesir
In Noatun, Bayonetta meets Loki, an amnesiac boy trying to reach Fimbulventr for reasons he cannot remember. He claims his powers will be needed to reach Inferno, and the two strike a deal to travel together. Luka, the journalist from the first game, turns up to explain the Legend of Aesir and the Eyes of the World.
A masked Lumen Sage serves as Bayonetta’s rival, brought to the present by a figure called the Prophet who promises him revenge. The cast returns with its original voices:
- Hellena Taylor and Atsuko Tanaka as Bayonetta
- Grey DeLisle-Griffin and Mie Sonozaki as Jeanne
- Dave Fennoy and Tesshō Genda as Rodin, the bartender who supplies weapons
- Yuri Lowenthal and Daisuke Namikawa as Luka
- John Kassir and Wataru Takagi as Enzo
Mark Daugherty and Junko Minagawa voice Loki. Crispin Freeman and Takehito Koyasu voice the Masked Lumen. TJ Ramini and Takumi Yamazaki voice Loptr. The Japanese cast carried over from the Bloody Fate anime film, which keeps the two language tracks consistent in a way most action games of the period were not.
Witch Time, Umbran Climax, and Pure Platinum
The combat is the reason to play. Players control Bayonetta through combinations of melee attacks and gunplay against angelic and demonic forces. Dodging at the last second triggers Witch Time, which slows enemies and opens them up for retaliation.
Umbran Climax is the big addition. Fill the magic gauge and Bayonetta’s attacks gain extra Wicked Weaves and Infernal Demon summons for a short window, boosting range and damage and restoring her health while active. Torture Attacks return, trapping single enemies in infernal devices for bonus points.
Weapon customization also returns. Bayonetta can equip different weapons on her hands and her feet, drawn from a set that includes her signature guns, a bow, swords and projectile weapons. Grades are handed out during combat, and the top mark, Pure Platinum, demands high combos, fast times and no damage taken. That ranking system is what turns a stylish brawler into something worth mastering:
- Pure Platinum — the highest grade, requiring speed, combos and a clean run
- Umbran Climax — full gauge, maximum pressure
- Witch Time — the dodge that makes everything else possible
What the Switch Version Proves
Bayonetta 2 was announced in a Nintendo Direct in September 2012, and the publishing deal with Nintendo made it a Wii U exclusive, unlike the Sega-published original that shipped on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Yusuke Hashimoto directed it, with Atsushi Inaba, Akiko Kuroda and Hitoshi Yamagami producing under supervision by series creator Hideki Kamiya.
The Special and First Print Editions bundled a Wii U port of the first Bayonetta. A Nintendo Switch version arrived in February 2018, and Bayonetta 3 followed on October 28, 2022. The Switch port is the version most people will actually play, and it holds up.
A Sequel That Kept Its Edge
The combat system’s depth is not nostalgia talking. The Umbran Climax loop and the grade chase still give the game a ceiling that few action titles reach, and the two-player mode and new costume and hairstyle gave returning players something fresh on top of the original’s foundation.
This is a sequel that fixed what needed fixing without sanding off the strangeness. Bayonetta 2 earns its reputation.
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