The fantasy dark world of Bayonetta 2 was the perfect distraction from this increasingly dark reality

Gaming is one of the main ways I cope with the darkness in the world, and right now, for reasons that should be obvious to anyone paying attention but especially anyone in the US, there's a lot of darkness around and we're nowhere close to midnight, let alone dawn. I've been finding over the beginning of this already cursed year that what I crave from gaming is simplicity and linearity. When the world is complicated and confusing and there are no obvious solutions to deeply entrenched problems it's nice to be faced with problems that not only can be solved but require fairly obvious solutions. Not open worlds where you wander around trying to figure out what to do but corridors where it's your job to get from one end to the other by defeating the obstacles and enemies placed in your way. The road forward might not always be easy, but at least you know what it is you have to do.

The Xbox 360/PS3 era was full of those sorts of games, but while I still have a fair amount in my backlog for each console I also told myself that I would be tackling my Switch library specifically in preparation for the release of Switch 2 and moving on from the little hybrid console that has been a mainstay of my gaming experience for almost 20% of my life. And while plenty of modern Switch games are also pretty straightforward in this way, where the Switch really shines here is in its role as the repository for ports from many generations of gaming, including all the great games that those of us who never bought a Wii U didn't play on that console. The early years of the Switch were full of those ports, as Nintendo did its best to rescue software it had spent millions to develop only to see little return on because of the tiny install base of its biggest home console bust. I bought a lot of these and while I've certainly played and had fun with some (Super Mario 3D World was spectacular, and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was also a game that I bought and finished) a fair number have lingered half-finished on my backlog.

And so it is that I have found myself picking up Bayonetta 2, which I’d played some of last year but put aside when things got busy. I told myself I’d get back to it, because I did enjoy what I’d played, and there seemed like no better choice for something to distract me and help me purge some anxiety as my country plunges, once again, into chaotic kakistocracy.

Bayonetta 2 is a game that shows its age. Unlike a lot of more timeless Nintendo games, Bayonetta 2 opts for a somewhat realistic art style that would really benefit from a higher polygon count and more detailed textures in the way that cartoony games like Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze might not. There are areas where the resolution gets downright rough, and while it's still a decent-looking game it very much feels like it belongs in the 7th generation alongside something like Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, which it graphically resembles at times. Bayonetta 2’s gameplay fares better, focused as it is mostly on hit and dodge tactics, with activating witch time (a few seconds where everything but Bayonetta goes into slow motion) via last minute dodging being the main mechanic, but plenty of other ideas layered on top including a robust combo system if you want it (though it’s not really necessary to progress), transformations into different forms, and Bayonetta’s infamous torture attacks, where she summons up various devices to toy with her foes before tearing them limb from limb, splitting them open like piñatas that spray out currency and power ups. The difficulty is toned down from the first game in the series and at times it can feel a little bit shallow without that challenge. This is especially true if you take the time to search out the hidden items and bonuses that let you increase your life and magic bars, as well as buying artifacts that aid you in various ways. All of those things serve to make the game something of a cakewalk on medium towards its back half, but mostly in a fun and empowering way. Bayonetta’s over the top sexuality is present but also toned down a bit. She still uses her hair as clothing and unwinds it from her body in magic attacks, though this time she remains a bit more covered, and she still occasionally spreads her legs in fanservicy ways during some of the cut scenes, but it seems like a cursory nod to the first game’s aesthetic more than a core part of the character here, and the big set piece cut scenes are much more about over the top violence than showing skin or cheeky camera angles.

Where Bayonetta 2 truly excels, though, is in pacing. At times it can feel almost like a boss rush in the way that it strings together encounters, often with unique, enormous, enemies, but at other times it catches its breath and lets you check the environment for hidden ledges or doors that lead to various goodies. You never feel so overwhelmed with action that you get numb to it, nor like you’ve spent so long exploring and fighting low level minions that the game gets dull. Instead the game feels like a perfectly constructed rollercoaster, with just the right amount of pause before the big drops, and lots of thrills and chills along the way. There also continue to be unique chapters with their own mechanics, like the motorcycle chase in the first game, but these feel more polished and well thought out than the first game’s did and are novel rather than frustrating. There’s nothing like the first game’s annoying turret sequence where it feels like the game is halting your progress with a half-baked mechanic that doesn’t really work. The game also creates some player agency in the pacing with optional combat encounters along alternate paths that you can choose to engage with or not, but will offer up some kind of goodie should you take on the challenge, which often involves fighting two of a just introduced miniboss enemy at the same time or something similar. The Muspelheim challenge rooms also change things up by offering short combat challenges like defeating a couple waves of enemies in one combo or killing a large foe without ever touching the ground, and these can serve as a nice break between set pieces.

The big budget theme park ride game is almost dead in the modern industry. Astro Bot is sort of one, but even that lets you pick the order of the levels and features a large hub world to frolic in and a galaxy map. That makes it a little less curated than something like Bayonetta 2, where the narrowness of the path gives the designers incredible control over what you experience and when.

For my current mood it certainly doesn’t hurt that the set up of Bayonetta 2 has Bayonetta fighting off demonic hordes and evil, self-righteous angels. The idea that you can defeat darkness by swinging giant chainsaws and blasting it with your high heel guns is immensely appealing. The current darkness in the world is not so easily dispatched, but video games traffic in fantasy, and Bayonetta’s ability to face any monster, no matter how enormous or powerful, with smiling sass makes her a very fun heroine. The story itself is complete nonsense, featuring characters who seem to appear suddenly out of nowhere and who are forgotten as soon as they are unceremoniously dispatched. Like the gameplay, the storytelling in Bayonetta is all about drama and action in the moment.

This combination of great pacing, clear themes, high stakes, and intuitive, high intensity, action, makes the game surprisingly soothing to play for a high speed action title about battling the hordes of hell. There’s enough challenge to draw your attention but not so much that it gets frustrating, and the constant promise of something interesting or exciting around the next corner keeps you focused on moving ahead even when you’re just running down a long pathway looking for secrets. This is the magic of video games. When they’re good they let you leave the world behind for a few moments, giving you something to do so that you don’t ruminate or get locked into cycles of thinking. There’s evidence that Tetris can be used after traumatic events to reduce the long-lasting impact and the theory is that it engages the brain in such a way that those traumas don’t reinforce themselves. I’m not saying Bayonetta 2 has quite that effect, but unlike watching TV or reading a book the fact that games demand you keep up with them and go at their pace serves to help maintain focus. The ability to take a break from reality and be an ass kicking Umbra Witch is something I value immensely about the medium. Of course there is a danger in too much escapism, and there's the necessity of dealing with real world problems no matter how intractable they might seem or how difficult the solution, but blowing off steam is essential too.

I don’t know that I would call Bayonetta 2 a great game and I’m not sure it will stick with me, but it’s such a moment to moment blast to play that there is something special about it. There are depths there too, with its ranking system and more complicated mechanics, but they’re entirely optional. These days games are often more than mere escapism, with deep messages or challenging aesthetic intent. Bayonetta 2 is happy just to be entertainment, and that’s fine too. It’s something the industry seems to shy away from in pursuit of depth and engagement, but it’s something that may be needed more than ever over the next 4 years. Even if they don’t make ‘em like they used to anymore (with some exceptions) the old stuff is more accessible than ever, and it’s nice that we’ve got that going for us in these difficult times. It’s nice that we’ve still got Bayonetta 2.