Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
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While not as challenging as its predecessors, the newest addition to the Bayonetta canon establishes itself as a playful and worthy entry.
I first played PlatinumGames' original and excellentBayonettain 2010, but missed out on its two sequels, which, judging by the ardent fanboy chatter, took the franchise to entirely new levels.Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demonis tasked with the tricky balancing act of representing the sacred name of Bayonetta while pulling off a successful backstory - Key word beingstory. Some context: years earlier, Cereza’s mother, an Umbra witch, fell in love with a Lumen Sage, Cereza’s dad, and which subsequently brought about Cereza. Due to this being super taboo in both orders, Cereza’s mother was imprisoned. Origins picks up here, right as Cereza decides to embark on a quest into the enchanted Avalon forest in hopes of finding a legendery source of power that will help free her mother.
The game is literally set up like a children’s book, which works on a few levels. For one, the initial concept relies more on narrative than hack-and-slashery, including charming and beautiful watercolor illustrations in lieu of cut scenes. Like a classic tale, the game’s slow-burn pace allows you plenty of time to take in your surroundings and savor every delicious detail of the landscapes.
Origins feels a lot like an RPG, which perfectly matches the game’s aesthetic. Avalon Forest is a big enough world to supply plenty of exploration and quests, while keeping you connected to the main quest. For example, in a certain section, you come across Wisps - little ghost-like guys that you can choose to hunt down and rescue for goodies or help with a particular sticky task. It’s not your primary mission, but it doesn’t hurt to show love when you can.
Dungeon-crawling, while not always compulsory, allows you to accrue crucial HP boost gems to purchase upgrades, butmyare these some of the most breathtaking dungeons you’ve ever seen. As the game is set is Europe (Cereza’s crisp English accent makes that abundantly clear), PlatinumGames appear to have clearly done their homework by incorporating elements of Irish mythology into the mix. Dungeons are labeled as Tír na nÓg, after the legendary “Land of Youth”, populated by duplicitous faeries. Once you enter the peripherals of the dungeon, time slows to a crawl. Around you, refracted light bounces off of crystaline pillars bathing everything in a kaleidoscope of colors. It’s seriously a thing of beauty. While the enemies and puzzles therein aren’t exactly difficult, the dungeons necessitate certain power upgrades and abilities to beat the mini-bosses.
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When I say “power” I’m not actually referring to Cereza. Yes, the young witch checks off the “Bayonetta” aspect to the game, but, due to a lack of advanced magical skills—and handguns—she’s pretty much useless on her own. It makes sense then that the eponymous “Lost Demon”, Cheshire, does about 95% of the heavy lifting, but there’s a catch. A demon and its handler can’t be separated by too much distance (some witch thing, or whatever).What does that entail?You may ask. Quite simply, human and demon workingliterallyhand-in-hand to solve puzzles and fight bad guys.
Origins’ most innovative aspect is also its most flawed. You’re given two options to collaborate with Cheshire: separately, or in Hug Mode, which is basically when you’re “hugging” your demon doll close to your chest while running through the forest. It was this separate mode that drove me out of my mind with cumbersome feats of ambidexterity.
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During mini boss fights in the game’s dungeons, you’ll need to control Cereza and Cheshire via two independent Joy Con controllers, or, in my case, two Switch Lite joysticks, ideally with human on my left and demon on my right. However, while fighting multiple faeries, my characters would often wind up on opposite sides of the dungeon, which totally threw off my equilibrium. It was like rubbing your stomach and patting your head after too many drinks. But apart from dungeons and boss fights, things were a cinch.
Origins is rated T for Teen, but honestly my seven-year-old could figure it out in a hurry. The puzzles, numerous and necessary to progress through the game, aren’t anything to think too hard about. Typical conundrums usually involved human and demon separately using their individual strengths to move forward. For example, Cheshire can’t stand herbs like rosemary or thyme (some demon thing), but Cereza can. Cereza can’t climb well, but Cheshire can. See where this is going? Cereza navigates through herb patches, while Cheshire climbs up a ledge, busts through a bone-like structure and hops back down to reunite with Cereza. This simplicity may have something to do with the game’s adherence to keeping things light and fun, as opposed to purposefully challenging.
The extent of ease occasionally got on my nerves though. The gamereallydoesn’t want you to die, or lose your progress. Autosave is a given, with an abundance of checkpoints every 10 minutes. If that isn’t enough to make you feel nice and safe, Origins pretends that some deaths shouldn’t be taken too seriously. I would often wander off a cliff to what seemed like my certain doom, but instead the screen faded for a moment and I regenerated back to the same spot with no consequences (thanks a lot, mom). How am I ever gonna learn on my own? In other situations, the game assumed from my difficulty with a particular task that I simply couldn’t do it and pushed me to downshift to easier controls.
The combat is a different story, because you can’t really get more aggressive than a demon. Not only can you upgrade Cheshire’s skills at sanctuary checkpoints placed around the forest, but once he obtains plot-centric elemental powers, this guy is a real powerhouse.
In this way, the game reminded me ofPaper Mario Origami King(another RPG spin-off). Wood, Rock, Water and Fire upgrades are necessary to unlock certain areas of the map, as well as defeat enemies with a specific weakness that corresponds to Cheshire’s powers. More often than not though, I’d just enjoy the satisfaction of ripping up a faerie the old-fashioned way with my bare teeth. While the other powers have their advantages (like busting through bad guys with my Rock facade), I was particularly fond of the Water ability because I could captain a massive lily pad and navigate it around with a liquid blast.
Origins also seems to be self-aware of its own stunning graphics and breathtaking—almost cinematic—qualities. My favorite parts of the game involved inconsequential Remembrance segments, in which our duo arrive at a scenic overlook and have the option to “remember” it for posterity’s sake. It’s a testament to the game’s inherent message of how innocent the world looks to a child and how big the world really is.
Innocent indeed! Cereza is voiced by a child actor, giving even more legitimacy and pathos to what PlatinumGames has built. Essentially, Origins is a “Baby’s First Bayonetta”, an experiment in snow-white storytelling. Truth be told, I felt more emotion during the 12+ hours I spent wandering the woods with my pet demon (and its ending) than I ever did during the original Bayonetta.
To me, the perfect origin story walks a fine line. It’s got to have familiar elements (to appease those die-hard fans), while introducing something new to lure in fresh blood. Origins deftly accomplishes this task, but ends upalmostreinventing the wheel here. As a successful spin-off, the game is a firm reminder that whenever things get stale, there’s no magic more powerful than fresh perspective, especially when it’s so gosh-darn cuddly.
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