Video Game / Bayonetta 3

Spoilers for all Bayonetta entries preceding this one, including Bayonetta 2 will be left unmarked ahead. You Have Been Warned!

"It seems I am unfashionably late. But I'm ready to give you everything you want!"

Bayonetta 3 is the third game in the Bayonetta series, developed by PlatinumGames for the Nintendo Switch. As with Bayonetta 2, Nintendo funded the development and serves as publisher, with franchise owners Sega licensing the property. The game was released on October 28, 2022.

She's done battle with the heavenly hosts of Paradiso, the demons of Inferno, and the gods of creation themselves. Now, our titular demon-summoning Umbra Witch finds herself against perhaps her greatest enemy yet; the Homunculi, man-made bioweapons from Another Dimension. Led by a mysterious being known only as Singularity, they threaten to utterly destroy not just the trinity of realms, but all realms throughout the multiverse.

Fortunately, Bayonetta is not alone in her fight; besides old friends such as her fellow Umbra Witch Jeanne and demonic weapons dealer Rodin, she also teams up with the mysterious Viola, a hot-headed young Umbra Witch-in-training with a punk exterior and a enigmatic connection to Bayonetta herself.

But perhaps Bayonetta's greatest new allies are — her selves. Yes, multiple alternate Bayonettas come together to defeat the Homunculi and save all universes, assuming they don't first collapse from so much concentrated sass in one place.

Trailers: 2017 Teaser Trailer, 2021 Gameplay Trailer, 2022 Release Date Trailer, "The Witching Hour" Trailer.

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The game provides examples of:

• Achievement System: Bewitchments. Each main chapter has 5 bewitchments and each Phenomenal Remnant 3 of them that you can earn by doing an assortment of actions (such as killing a certain amount of enemies, collecting certain items or standing on a certain part of the stage).
• Adjustable Censorship: The completely optional "Naive Angel" mode removes some of the adult graphics, such as Bayonetta's suit stripping off when summoning demons or her Madame Butterfly Fusion Dance being altered to cover up certain areas. Some aspects of the censorship, however, are purposefully weird and paper-thin. Two notable examples are Rodin's signature badass cigar (used when the game presents the option to turn the mode on), which is changed to a chocolate covered pretzel (with sprinkles!) that somehow still perfectly functions as a smoking cigar, and the scenes where Bayonetta rips her heart out has the blood removed (albeit visible on the ground afterwards) and her heart replaced by a tomato.
• Alliance of Alternates: Bayonetta allies with several Bayonettas from alternate realities to fight the Homunculi. Some of them include a Chinese one commandeering a demonic train, a pink-haired one wielding a Killer Yo-Yo, a dark-skinned blonde one with an Egyptian motif, and a blonde one dressed like a Phantom Thief speaking in Gratuitous French. In the final battle, two more Bayonettas from the first and second games come Back from the Dead to aid Bayonetta Prime in her battle against Singularity.
• All There in the Manual: Major plot points like Singularity's entire origin/purpose, the mystical version of Luka that Viola meets in France, why Luka turns into a werewolf now, and the shadowy versions of Strider and Bayonetta are only explained in the character bios rather than the game itself.
• Angels, Devils and Squid: Following the first game's angelic villains and the second adding demonic foes to the mix, the Homunculi — the new villainous faction of this game are manmade artificial supersoldiers who unleash a scope of destruction unprecedented by any other villain.
• Animate Inanimate Object: One of the Infernals to be summoned this time around is a magical train decked out in cannons and chainsaws, and flavor text has the writer question if it is actually sentient. Later on, one of the unlocked summons is, of all things, a slightly miniaturized version of the Umbran Clocktower from the previous games. It's treated as an actual Infernal Demon, complete with a puppet-based Demon Masquerade, and is decked out in all kinds of weaponry, from mechanical arms to gatling guns and mortars. Flavor text implies it's haunted by the restless souls of the Umbra Witches who died when it was destroyed.
• Anti-Frustration Features:
  • You can now visit different sections of every chapter instead of having to replay the entire level to find things you missed or get a better score.
  • Your best score will automatically overwrite the previous score, so you don’t have to replay the entire chapter to get the best rank.
  • In situations where you must use Demon Slave (e.g. for solving demon-specific puzzles), the game provides a special magic circle which instantly refills your magic gauge when you enter and supplies you with infinite magic as long as you stand in it. Without this, you would've been forced to either consume lollipops or wait for a long time to refill your magic.
  • If you fail enough times fighting Rodin, he’ll eventually take pity on you and sell his weapon for 9999999 seeds.
• Arc Words: "The/our/one truth" keeps being repeated throughout the story. Singularity believes in just one truth — his victory against the Bayonetta multiverse, whereas Bayonetta and Luka believe that they can change anything as long as they fight for what they believe for — Viola, their adoptive daughter, and the restoration of the multiverse.
• Aside Glance: In the gameplay trailer, after her first lines that lean heavily on the fourth wall, Bayonetta then outright breaks it by giving a subtle look directly at the camera before winking.
• Award-Bait Song: "We Are As One', played during the credits, is very different from the upbeat tunes of the previous games but fitting to this one's very somber ending, at least until the "sweet" part of the Bittersweet Ending kicks in after said credits.
• Badass Fingersnap: At the end of battles with Homunculi, Bayonetta dispels the verse barrier by simply striking a pose and snapping her fingers.
• Bad Moon Rising:
  • The regular blue-gray Bayonetta moon is shaded into a blood moon at the teaser's beginning, as well as the end of the gameplay trailer, not quite matching the hue used for the Bayonetta 2 moon during battles with demons.
  • After Bayonetta seemingly successfully defeats Strider and puts him on a leash in their first fight, the moon suddenly glows red, whereupon Strider gains a second wind, breaks free from his leash and throws Bayonetta onto a building, resuming their fight.
• Bathing Beauty: Queen Buttefly invokes this during the fight against Arch-Pyrocumulus, what with her reclining in the clouds like in Censor Suds, blowing bubbles at enemies as her form of attack and her pre-battle animations even looking like she's rinsing her arms and legs, complete with water.
• Beat Still, My Heart: Part of the cost to perform Deadly Sin summon is that Bayonetta needs to rip her own heart out and let the magic-rich blood fall on either the summoning circle or the demon she wants to enhance.
• Bilingual Bonus:
  • The gameplay trailer features some Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) soldiers trying to face some monsters (and failing miserably), and all of them speak in full proper Japanese. This isn't a case of a Japanese language track being used, as Bayonetta speaks full English from the moment she appears, though it does provide a convenient Bait-and-Switch.
  • The Paris section of the game has a lot of details written in perfect French, from the store displays to the various posters down to the bus stations listed on the abandoned buses (all of which are actual stations from the Parisian public transport system) .
• Bittersweet Ending: Singularity is destroyed and the world and the others across the multiverse are back to normal, and Jeanne was apparently restored to life as well, but both Arch Eve Bayonetta and Luka are dragged into Inferno together. However, Viola, daughter of Bayo and Luka, has inherited the title of Bayonetta and continues to do odd jobs for Rodin and Enzo is reunited with his family. Despite being in Inferno, Rodin also makes it clear Luka (and thus Bayonetta) are still around and having him keep tabs on Viola. Alternatively, given that the universes were restored after Singularity's defeat, it could be the Luka from Viola's universe whom Rodin was referring to since he and the Bayonetta who was Viola's mother would likely be back to life.
• Bland-Name Product: The famous 109 building in Shibuya is seen in the gameplay trailer to have been replaced with the 101 building. It doubles as a company cross reference with The Wonderful 101.
• Bonus Level: Phenomenal Remnant. Each main chapter has one which you must first unlock by collecting three Umbran Tears of Blood in said chapter, and completing a Phenomenal Remnant awards you with an accessory, weapon or health/magic upgrade.
• Bookends:
  • The game begins and ends with a boss encounter with a shadowy being, Singularity and Dark Eve specifically, faced off with a Bayonetta variant and Viola respectively.
  • Luka's first words in the game are about how Fate brings him and Bayonetta together (a Call-Back to his lines in the first Bayoentta game). Bayo herself repeats these words to him as they go down to Inferno together.
• Boss-Altering Consequence: You would normally have to defeat Rodin as a Superboss to earn his weapon, but if you die enough times during his fight, he will eventually sell the weapon at his shop for a hefty price.
• Boss Bonanza: The final battles of the game consist of a Sigurd/Singularity's Chaos and Balance forms, a SIX-Phase fight with his Definition form, then a post-final battle between Viola and Dark Eve.
• Boss-Only Level:
  • Generally averted, as unlike in previous games, there is no chapter that is solely dedicated for fighting a boss. That said, given that in many levels the last few verse(s)s are purely boss fight(s), you can invoke this yourself by going in from the last checkpoint and thus fight only bosses.
  • Played straight with a few Phenomenal Remnants, such as 9 and 13, which are a single verse with a single boss fight each.
• Break Meter: Attacking enemies with your demons or Masquerade Rage slowly causes their life bars to crack. Keep up this assault and the enemy will become dazed for a few seconds, with lesser enemies also becoming susceptible to Torture Attacks.
• Bring It: Singularity does this pose a few times just to show how egoistical he is.
  • Arch-Pyrocumulus makes a quick becoming gesture after killing Bayonetta β2 and before fleeing into the clouds. Prime Bayonetta puts it in its place with some help from Queen Butterfly.
  • Singularity himself does this on the final battle, in his Hopeless Boss Fight section.
• The Bus Came Back: Several demons whom Bayonetta summons in the first game but doesn't in the second due to the said game's circumstances, such as Gomorrah, Malphas and Phantasmaraneae, make their return as summonable allies for this game. Unfortunately, Gomorrah turns against Bayonetta again at the end of the game due to her contract being up, this time with fatal results.
• Butt-Monkey: Newcomer and rookie Umbra Witch Viola humorously suffers throughout the game, with her inability to fully control Cheshire biting her in the butt a couple of times, her pants being set on fire without her noticing for a few seconds, and passing out from dehydration in the desert.
• Call-Forward: In an interesting example of a work calling forward to a Future project from the same company rather then a future installment of the series, The scene where Sin Gomorrah is summoned to fight Singularity Chaos, just before the fight officially starts, ends with a near identical camera shot of the Teaser Trailer to the upcoming Platinum Games Project G.G. fight between that games Ultraman esque protagonist and another Kaiju in a ruined looking New York City.
• The Cameo: Lappy appears in the gameplay trailer, briefly attempting to take down a giant monster. In the main game itself, Bayonetta kicks a Lappy statue's head at Luka's werewolf-demon form, Strider.
• Central Theme: Endings and beginnings. The game's story is essentially Cereza's Swan Song before she starts a new life in Inferno. At the same time, however, her daughter Viola fully comes into her own as a new Umbral Witch, taking up her mother's title and beginning her own story.
• Character Select Forcing:
  • The G-Pillar's agile Demon Masquerade form remains a valid and arguably optimal way to gather Umbran Tears from the fast-moving Shadow Cats and Midnight Crows.
  • Mictlantecuhtli is practically mandatory for dealing with Nimbostratus, thanks to its ability to render other enemies invisible unless you activate Mictlantecuhtli's sonar to reveal them for a few seconds per activation.
• Collection Sidequest: Once again, the Umbran Tears of Blood. However, this game handles it differently from previous games: Whereas before you must collect every last one of the tears to get any reward whatsoever, this time, there are three tears per chapter that unlocks that chapter's Bonus Level once you gather them all.
• Company Cameo: Wouldn't be a Platinum game without it.
  • The first Strider fight is end capped with a cutscene taking place in Platinums' Umeda Tower office.
  • The 2021 gameplay reveal trailer has a billboard reading "Platinum" on the right at the beginning. This appeared before Bayonetta herself did, allowing eagle-eyed viewers to figure out what game was being shown a few minutes early.
• Company Cross References: The gameplay reveal trailer has a couple to Platinum and Sega's other projects.
  • The purple convertible Enzo drives resembles one of the taxis used in Crazy Taxi, and he even quips if he's a "taxi driver" when demanded by a delirious Viola to be taken to Bayonetta.
  • The Shibuya "109" sign is now "101", and the word "Wonder" can be seen underneath it.
  • Parts of the trailer are meant to invoke the upcoming Project GG (the dog, the ruined city, the presence of Kaiju). Kamiya himself confirmed this on Twitter.
  • Viola activates Witch Time by parrying with her katana, a clear reference to Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Bayonetta's design has her hairstyle changed that gives her Ojou Ringlets, looking very similar to the Girlish Pigtails on Cereza who is already her past self.
  • When attacked by Homunculi on the yacht, Bayonetta's costume is slashed in suggestive places as she leaps into the air — just like her outfits at the beginning of the last two games.
  • Just like in the first game, Bayonetta complains about "More cheap toys" when her normal handguns break after taking on the initial batch of basic Homunculi.
  • As Bayonetta, Jeanne, Viola, and Rodin are discussing their plan in his bar the Gates of Hell, Bayonetta briefly holds up a doll version of herself from the first game and several of Loki's tarot cards from the second game in her hands that's used to represent which chapter in between gameplay.
  • Luka's flirting with Bayonetta in Shibuya mimics his first appearance in the first game: He's chased by enemies, stops and walks back to a girl he passes by (though back then it was just some NPC), woos that girl with the exact same line, and resumes his escape when the enemies catch up to him.
  • While escaping during her final side-mission, Jeanne follows Bayonetta's example of starting a motorcycle by jamming her middle finger into the ignition slot.
  • After Bayonetta blasts an enemy all the way into the sky, she quips that the enemy is "flying to the moon without (her)". One of the battle themes in the first game is a modern remix of "Fly Me To The Moon".
  • When Bayonetta 1 shows up to bail Prime Bayo, she grabs Prime Bayo by the back of her neck, nudges her with Scarborough Fair's handle and quips "You didn't cry while I was gone, did you?" Back in the first game, Bayonetta grabs little Cerezita by the neck and nudges her with her gun the same way in an early chapter, and on a latter occasion Bayonetta speaks that line to Cerezita.
  • Bayonetta and Luka having a daughter in Viola might be a reference to the talk they had in 1 when Bayonetta mentions that she was interested in making children.
• Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: With the first game centering on fighting the angels of Paradiso, and the second game making the demons of Inferno your enemies, Bayonetta 3's flagship monsters are the Homunculi, an army of man-made bioweapon beasts that Rodin describes as part human, checking the third box of the Heaven/Hell/humanity split that comprises of Bayonetta's cosmology. Their sinuous, organic curves and Tron Lines contrast them against both the baroque, statuary-like angels (and the gore hidden inside them) and the metallic, mechanical appearance of demonic mooks. This even applies to the splash screen when introducing new Homunculi in preview videos at Game Informer. For both the angels and demons, their introductions involve showing their pictures in the corresponding book. For a Homunculus, it's showing their picture in a technological scroll.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Deuteroganist Viola is this to Bayonetta. Instead of a sultry Ms. Fanservice Experienced Protagonist, she's a sensibly-dressed, foul-mouthed punk girl who's still learning the ropes as an Umbra Witch.
• Controllable Helplessness:
  • The very first battle of the game features playing as an alternate universe Bayonetta against a shadowy foe, as the battle ultimately takes such a toll on her that the final phase involves controlling a severely injured, barely able to fight Bayonetta before she's finished off. The final battle between Bayonetta Prime and Singularity also features this phase, albeit with a different outcome thanks to the intervention of Viola, as well as two Bayonetta variants that survived and finally Luka with his Strider power.
  • When Viola crashes in the middle of a desert during the Cairo segment, she eventually becomes so exhausted until all you can do is make her shamble slowly.
• Cool Train: The alternate Bayonetta from ancient China in command of Wartrain Guoun, a demonic, flying train decked out in turrets, which are even used to shoot at a chasing giant Homunculus.
• Cosmic Keystone: While the Homunculi are possibly capable of erasing alternate universes on their own, Singularity is particularly bent on hunting down and killing each one's Arch-Eve, a woman of such power and will that fate bends around her. If the Arch-Eve is killed, it ensures or causes the destruction of that alternate universe. Arch-Eves are usually that universe's Bayonetta, but not always, and sometimes there may even be multiple Arch-Eves in a single universe. The Bayonetta you play as is designated Arch-Eve Origin by Singularity, but it's not totally clear what that means. The only hint is that in his bio it is noted Singularity considers her a symbol of the Realm of Chaos itself.
• Curtain Clothing: During the prologue, Bayonetta sneaks onto a boat hosting a wedding party and blends in by stealing a piece of the fabric decor and using it for Gorgeous Garment Generation.
• Cute Monster Girl:
  • When Bayonetta uses Demon Masquerade she takes on aspects of her Infernal Demons, becoming a sexy monster girl version of herself. These include a butterfly girl (Madama Butterfly), a dragon girl (Gomorrah), an arachne (Phantasmaraneae), a harpy (Malphas), a humanoid frog (Baal), a bat girl (Mictlantecuhtli), a plant girl (Alraune), a centaur-like beast girl (Labolas), and a scylla (Kraken).
  • Viola later unlocks a Super Mode taking the form of a faerie Cat Girl with stained glass butterfly wings.
• Cutscene Incompetence: Bayonetta β1, β2, and most glaringly, the main universe's Jeanne all die to attacks that would be easily avoidable in normal gameplay and would arguably normally deal minimal amounts of damage. Although Origins implies Jeanne's case is actually deliberate on her part for reasons explained in Stable Time Loop.
• Darker and Edgier: Bayonetta 3 is the darkest entry in the series as of its release featuring a powerful villain that terrorizes the multiverse on a sheer, unprecedented scale. Also, several variants of Bayonetta as shown dying, with some of them being done in by the main Bayonetta herself. And in the end, even she's not spared as she and Luka - who chooses to accompany her out of sheer love and devotion - are pulled down into Inferno after her watch breaks, all while their daughter watches in despair and heartbreak.
• Demoted to Extra: The angels of Paradiso, after being the primary enemies of the previous two games, have that role taken over by the Homunculi. Angels show up here almost exclusively as optional, hidden encounters, so rare their halos are considered a special currency used only to buy cosmetics, and not a single angel gets the honor of Mook Debut Cutscene. While several major demons become plot-relevant characters or major boss fights, demon mooks languish like their angelic counterpart, appearing mostly in Bonus Level and also deprived of Mook Debut Cutscene.
• Deus ex Machina: In the prologue when Bayonetta summons Gomorrah to defeat the Cumulonimbus, Gomorrah doesn't devour it because it's a completely unknown and not angelic enemy from Paradiso. Now in a pinch, Bayonetta suddenly remembers an ancient art called Demon Slave that allows an umbra witch to directly control the demon that's being summoned, thus giving her a way to take care of the new enemy. Considering this technique was thought at least by Rodin to be "lost for good," this trope's vibes are given off to provide in-universe justification for the new mechanic because it was never mentioned at all previously due to being old and almost forgotten.
• Diabolus ex Machina: Technically averted, when Bayonetta gets dragged down into Inferno at the end. Her fight against Singularity results in him hitting her Umbral Watch hard enough that it cracks, eventually breaking after his defeat, ensuring Bayonetta's own death.
• Diegetic Soundtrack Usage: Ribbit Libido-BZ55's Masquerade Rage has Bayonetta sing a verse from "Tomorrow is Mine", the theme song of Bayonetta 2.
• Distaff Counterpart: The newly-introduced Viola is the Nero to Bayonetta's Dante and Jeanne's Vergil, being the younger, more brash counterpart to them and even being Bayonetta's daughter like Nero being Vergil's son.
• Doppelmerger:
  • Lukaon fuses his soul and that of every other Luka in the multiverse into the body of the prime Luka, allowing the latter to gain control of his faerie powers.
  • In the final battle, the Bayonettas from the first and second games arrive to aid the main Bayonetta of this game. When it becomes clear they cannot beat Singularity individually, all three Bayonettas temporarily merge together.
• Downer Beginning: The start of the game sees a variant of Bayonetta in her outfit from the first game being slain by a shadowy being with Viola helpless to stop it, as well as one of her allies Sigurd, before Viola is sent off to another universe to find a way to stop this dangerous new threat.
• Double Unlock: Each of Bayonetta's demons has one skill upgrade that requires you to not only unlock any prerequisite upgrades, but also use a specific skill that demon has several times. For example, to unlock the last upgrade to extend Madama Butterfly's charm duration, you must use her charm attack a few times.
• Dragged Off to Hell: Bayonetta's fate at the end, as is the fate of most Umbra Witches. She accepts it without fear or protest, glad that Viola is safe and that Luka chooses to join her.
• Easter Egg: Alternate versions of Enzo are hidden in the first three alternate universes explored, which reward a Bewitchment when found^note He is a secondary NPC in the fourth and appears in a cutscene, and is not present in either of the last two universes seen.
  • In Alternate Japan, he is "MC Enzo" and is seen on a giant screen after waiting long enough. He appears to be hosting a show with Rodin as his guest.
  • In Alternate China, the masked soldier Luka bumps in to has his voice and mannerisms, implying that he's Enzo's counterpart in that world.
  • In Alternate Egypt, a mural of him can be found on one of the walls.
• Easy-Mode Mockery:
  • A variant. As with past Bayonetta games, Rodin is a Superboss unlocked by purchasing the Platinum Ticket after beating the game, and defeating him unlocks the Rodin weapon. Unlike the other two games, however, dying to him enough times will lead to him putting the weapon on sale... for 9,999,999 seeds.
  • A downplayed case with Casual mode. The mode gives all playable characters Regenerating Health and pits them against weaker enemies thus making it next-to-impossible to lose a life, but as a trade-off the game's Gameplay Grading will only reward you with a Clear medal no matter how well you perform. However, you can use this mode to collect upgrade items to empower your characters before you actually play the real difficulties.
• Elegant Gothic Lolita: In stark comparison to the catsuits she wore in the previous two games, Bayonetta's outfit in the gameplay trailer is very frilly, complete with poofy sleeves, a skirt and a big bow; and her hair is styled into Ojou Ringlets.
• Evil All Along: Once Bayonetta and Viola reach the Alphaverse, they discover that the "Dr. Sigurd" Jeanne had "rescued" is Singularity — Singularity had killed the real Dr. Sigurd and used his body as the nerve hub for the Homunculi. Singularity - still disguised as Dr. Sigurd - promptly impaled Jeanne from behind with a Laser Blade, killing her.
• Face Death with Dignity: Her Umbran Watch shattered, Bayonetta accepts her fate, being pulled into Inferno as Luka willingly joins her.
• The Fair Folk:
  • Stained glass is used as a visual motif for fairy and related items. Post-game it's explained that fairy are reclusive denizens of the World of Chaos, hidden away on Purgatorio from everyone, with mysterious powers separate from Inferno and Paradiso. The only evidence of their existence is folklore common to all worlds.
  • According to the lore, the fairy queen Mab visited a Japanese swordsmith in a dream and inspired him to create Viola's weapon. On a related note, Viola's werecat-like Super Mode is referred to as a "Fairy Form".
  • Also according to lore, a variant of Luka, named Lukaon, is actually the King of Avalon, thus also making him fey. Bonus points, Lukaon is a combination of Luka and Oberon, the latter traditionally seen as King of Fairies. Moreover, Luka's Strider form makes him a fae-werewolf.
• Final Boss Preview: The opening sequence of the game sees a variant of Bayonetta (In her appearance from Bayonetta 1) facing off with a shadowy version of Singularity in a fight that mirrors one of the phases that Bayonetta Prime would face in the Final Battle, including a sequence of playing as Sin Gomorrah, and a Controllable Helplessness phase of a heavily injured Bayonetta trying to make a defiant Last Stand to Singularity, with the same dialogue to boot. This even includes the following cutscene being drastically similar, albeit with Viola attacking Singularity and getting intercepted by his clone much sooner this time in an attempt to prevent him from crushing Bayonetta Prime to death like he did to her universe's Bayonetta.
• Fog of Doom: The Homunculi emit clouds of erasure that break down everything and anything they come in contact with.
• Foreshadowing:
  • A subtle one. Viola is the one being the narrator this time, when in 1 it was Antonio Redgrave and in 2 it was Luka. That's because Viola is Bayonetta and Luka's daughter and Antonio's granddaughter.
  • During the prologue, Bayonetta catches a bouquet at a wedding. Sure enough, she ends up with Luka as her lover in Inferno at the end of the game.
  • In the first level, the demonic Kraken appears for an inexplicable, incongruent boss fight, with Bayonetta commenting it must have been summoned by someone. Post-final boss it's revealed to be the summon of Dark Eve.
  • The Records of Time intro shows a version of Bayonetta getting killed by Singularity. He attempts this on the player Bayonetta midway into his Final Boss battle (implied to be him trying to rig the outcome of the battle), only this time, it doesn't work.
  • Rodin has stated multiple times in previous that sooner or later, the devil always gets his due. In this game, Bayonetta faces her fate and is Dragged Off to Hell.
  • Take a good look at Strider's cape when you fight him the first time. The color and tails of it resemble Luka's longcoat, hinting they are one and the same. Also isn't it just a bit of a coincidence that Luka's first talk with Bayo in the game comes after that Strider battle? Lastly, in chapter 5, Viola runs into Strider despite having chased after Luka throughout the stage.
  • As you progress during the Paris levels, you can hear NPC chatter where the soldiers seem to suddenly fight among themselves. Eventually you find out that the soldiers fall prey to Perlucidus, a Puppeteer Parasite homunculus who also hijack that reality's Rosa and Bayonetta.
  • Before the Final Battle, Luka tosses Viola a lollipop and gives her a nickname in "Violeta", just like he originally gave the child Cereza a lollipop and calls Bayonetta "Cerezita". This is because Viola is his and Bayonetta's daughter.
  • Against Singularity Balance, Arch-Eve Origin Bayonetta gets the upper hand when the souls of Bayonetta's alternate selves starts leaking from Singularity's body. After a collaborative beatdown with the help of all other Arch-Eves, she is able to get a clean gunshot through his chest center leaking out three additional souls. One of them was Jeanne. The other two? They were the Bayonettas from the past two games preparing their Big Damn Heroes entrance just when Singularity Definition was trying to kill her through Phenomenal Affirmation.
  • Throughout the game, Singularity repeatedly refers to Bayonetta as 'Arch-Eve Origin',foreshadowing that among all the Arch Eves, she's the only one who could nullify Singularity's Phenomenal Affirmation and is the multiverse's only shot against him.
  • Luka's surname is actually hinting to his ultimate fate in this game. He gets dragged off into Inferno with Bayonetta and Inferno is associated with the color red.
  • The game's logo has the Umbra symbol with a 3 cracked on it. In the end, Bayonetta's Umbran watch cracks and she dies.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: During the opening, Rodin makes a point to greet the Iridescent in the tsunami with a punch. Just before the hit connects, his body changes into his demon form from his boss fight.
• French Accordion: Naturally used in the levels located in Paris.
• Fusion Dance:
  • Demon Masquerade mechanic allows Bayonetta to temporarily merge with her Infernal Demons to amplify her powers and/or give her additional abilities, such as fusing with Phantasmaraneae to allow her to Wall Crawl and Building Swing.
  • In the final battle, variants of Bayonetta from the first and second games fuse with her for a short time to power her up against Singularity, making every attack behave as if all three of them are attacking at once.
• Game Over: Unlike the previous games' game over screens that see Bayonetta lying dead in the darkness, this time it's just a white screen though it still displays the same haunting phrase "THE WITCH HUNTS ARE OVER." This may be because it's essentially in the first set of the credits, having Bayonetta somberly dance in the darkness to the sad "We Are As One," effectively making this function as the game over for her due to her real in-story death. In other words, because her game and her life is now literally over, the credits (which come at the end of the game) now show her unavoidable fate rather than something that only happens in gameplay and not in-story, since in the previous games Bayonetta doesn't die in-story, only in gameplay. It might also be because both Jeanne and Viola have major playable roles in this story so the game over screen should by default be generalized.
• Gameplay and Story Integration: During gameplay, if a summoned demon takes too much damage in battle then it will be considered incapacitated (represented by a skull and crossbones) and Bayonetta will not be able to summon it until it has recovered. During a early cutscene in chapter 1, Gomorrah is bitten apart by Iridescent, and once the level proper begins he has the incapacitated status for a while.
• Global Currency Exception: In this game, there are actually three types of currency. Seeds are the main currency dropped by the Homunculi and are generally used to buy items and accessories. Orbs can be obtained by racking up Combo Points in battle and are mainly used for leveling up your demons. Halos are now a rarity and are exclusively used to buy cosmetic items. Justified as the events of the game have made halos difficult to get, and Rodin had to look into the new currency on offer.
• Go Out with a Smile: Accepting that her life in this realm has ended, Bayonetta and Luka smile as they're taken into Inferno together.
• Graceful Landing, Clumsy Landing: Upon arriving on Thule, Bayonetta, Cheshire and Viola drop from the sky. Bayonetta lands gracefully as expected while Viola drops down on her stomach onto Cheshire's paw.
• Grand Finale: This game serves as the conclusion to Cereza's story. In the ending, she is ultimately dragged down to Inferno alongside Luka, and their daughter Viola becomes the new Bayonetta to continue her legacy. A downplayed example though, since the game also reveals that all three games take place in different universes, so it's just the finale for this Bayonetta.
• Gravity Is a Harsh Mistress: When Viola arrives in an alternate version of Cairo, she appears in midair. She has a moment in the air to incredulously tap her foot on the ground that isn't there anymore before suddenly falling into the desert sands.
• The Heartless: Singularity's destruction of one world left behind two survivors (Alphaverse!Luka and Alphaverse!Bayonetta) in the form of vengeful shades. As it destroyed more worlds, the negative emotions of those shades' counterparts flowed into them, amassing until they became personifications of mindless destruction, becoming Dark Adam and Dark Eve.
• Hero of Another Story: A variant of Luka, named Lukaon, is King of the Fey.
• Homage Shot: In the alternate version of Shibuya, Bayonetta knocks on that Phantasmaraneae's face at their first encounter. It's an identical re-enactment of a cutscene from the first Devil May Cry game where Dante also knocked on Phantom's face.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The very first thing you even fight in the game is Singularity, the game's villain. The fight's segments are scripted and by the time the Bayonetta you play as is weakened, all it takes to finish you off is a wave that Singularity uses to knock her back.
• Impossibly Cool Weapon: We have the now-standard quadruple-wielded handguns with Bottomless Magazines — this time tripled-barreled and with alternate fire laser blasts — an anti-tank rifle that also makes for an effective bludgeon, rocket-powered gauntlets and boots that fire Freeze Rays, and a Morph Weapon that changes between angelic and demonic.
• Improbable Weapon User: Bayonetta has some of her most outlandish weapons yet, consisting of quadruple-wielded flaming Buzzsaw yo-yos, a miniature Cool Train that can be wielded as a oversize chainsaw, Combat Hand Fans that Blow You Away, a microphone stand that's also a spear, dual-wielded doors with a Hyperspace Arsenal, a magician's hat and cane that can conjure up electric bats, and a straight-up ship's anchor.
• Invincibility Power-Up: During her sections, if Jeanne finds a teapot she will briefly change into Cutie J (reciting the creed and her theme music replacing the usual background track included). This gives her a few seconds of invincibility, during which she also instantly kills any enemy she collides with.
• Invisible to Normals: Averted. In the previous games, fights happen in Purgatorio, and while environmental damage there is visible in the real world, all combatants involved cannot be seen by normal humans. In this game, the Homunculi are definitely visible and tangible to normal humans, capable of slaughtering humans en masse while the humans can only try to fight back in vain.
• Irony:
  • Enzo's counterpart in France is inspector Enzeau, a police officer with a burning passion for justice (but the same sleazy demeanour).
  • Luka's nickname is "Cheshire" like the Cheshire Cat and he's known to be a Kind Hearted Cat Lover. He transforms into Strider which makes him a werewolf.
• Jiggle Physics: The new Giant Mook seen in the gameplay trailer has a prominent pot belly that jiggles with every hit.
• Katanas Are Just Better: Viola uses the Mab Dachi, a long katana, as her primary melee weapon with it being her only Demon Arm.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Unlike in previous games where Torture Attacks are Limit Break you can use anytime if you have enough magic, here you can only use Torture Attacks on enemies you successfully daze, which requires sustained assault using your demons or Masquerade Rage, thus they function more as extra firepower instead of instant-kill shortcut against harder enemies. As a trade-off, whereas previously Torture Attacks can only be used on mostly small-sized enemies (up to roughly the size of a horse, such as Fearless and Acceptance, and can't be done on larger enemies like Beloved or Valiance), any mook here is fair game, even gigantic ones like Cumulonimbus and Virga, plus, it's now possible to execute multiple Torture Attacks in rapid succession on all dazed enemies regardless of your magic.
• Kraken and Leviathan:
  • One of the first demons who antagonize you is Kraken, who is a gigantic octopus with Flower Mouth and two anchors on its tentacles.
  • One of the Homunculi, Iridescent, is a skyscraper-sized shark-like monster big enough to eat Gomorrah in a single bite, introduced causing a massive wave that floods New York. It later assumes a Not Zilla form, prompting Bayonetta to augment Gomorrah into Sin Gomorrah to match it.
• Last Stand: At the end of the game, as her Umbran Watch gets cracked, Prime Bayonetta, helped by her two alternate counterparts and Luka in his Strider form, resolves to finish Singularity before her time finally comes.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall:
  • Bayonetta's first words in the Gameplay Trailer, released a full four years after the initial reveal trailer, are "It seems I'm unfashionably late. But I'm ready to give you everything you want."
  • Leaving Bayonetta idle for a while will result in her making a quip that could very easily be directed at the player for dawdling. "If I'm going to waste time, I'd rather do it in a nice hot bath."
• Limit Break: Masquerade Rage. As you combat enemies, you build a gauge under your life bar. Once the gauge is full, you can press both analog sticks to unleash a special attack depending on the weapon you currently wield, and usually the attack is also executed in slo-mo as though you were in Witch Time. The only catch is that you can only activate Masquerade Rage on the ground.
• Magic Dance: In addition to dancing to summon her demons, now Bayonetta also dances to control her demons when using her Demon Slave ability.
• Mercy Kill:
  • Desert Jeanne begs Prime Bayonetta to kill her. Prime Bayonetta readies her guns...but refuses to do so. Desert Bayonetta swoops in to fulfill the deed.
  • In France, Prime Bayonetta has no choice but to do this to that verse's counterpart of her mother, and then to her own counterpart due to both of them being infected by a Homunculi parasite.
• Michael Jackson's Thriller Parody: In Paris, as Bayonetta prepares to face off against the Perlucidus-controlled French soldiers, they suddenly break out into a coordinated dance with the music resembling the melody of "Thriller". Since the Perludicus and their hosts have no free will, it's implied that Singulairty just controlled them to dance for the sake of spiting Bayonetta.
• Militaries Are Useless: JGSDF forces from Alternate Japan completely fail to even scratch the Homunculi with their normal bullets and get utterly slaughtered, showing that even with military training and weapons, humans simply can't face supernatural entities without the use of supernatural powers or weapons, which is shown very well by how Bayonetta makes short work of them with her superhuman body, magical guns, and Summon Magic. The French military fares even worse, as they are overtaken by parasitic Homunculi and become enemies.
• Mirror Boss: Wouldn't be Platinum Games without one, although unlike the previous two games you only run into them rather late into the game. Around the second half of the game, you'll start fighting Cairo Jeanne, Paris Rosa, Paris Bayonetta and Dark Eve. Not only these mirror bosses use the same attacks you can use via specific weapons, they'll even use Masquerade Rage as well!. And like before, more mirror bosses will greet you later during Witch Trials.
• Money Is Experience Points: Played with. Unlike previous games, you use orbs to learn new abilities and a separate currency called "seeds" to buy items and halos to buy cosmetic items. Witch Hearts and Moon Pearls can still be bought with seeds, but you’ll have to apply them manually in order for them to have an effect. However, you'll eventually unlock the ability to convert orbs into seeds, meaning your orbs will have a continuous use even after upgrading all your abilities.
• Mood Whiplash: In France, Prime Bayonetta goes from having to Mercy Kill a variant of her own mother to having a dance off with a Gentleman Thief version of herself. Then she has to fight and kill her for real...Through Baal Zebul’s powerful opera singing.
• Mook Chivalry: Averted, unlike the previous games, enemies will always try to attack you regardless of where the camera is facing.
• Motifs: Between Bayonetta's hair ribbon, the villain's attack, Bayonetta herself, and the Bayonetta 3 logo, the teaser trailer's central motif is "splitting."
• Musical Theme Naming: Following the first game's Scarborough Fair and the second's Love Is Blue (complete with each gun being named after musical terms), Bayonetta's new triple-barreled guns, Colour My World, take their name after a song by Petula Clark.
• Newbie Immunity: The game starts with a prologue chapter where you play as Bayonetta fighting against an unknown entity, all while Viola talks over the scenario. Although Bayonetta eventually loses the battle, it's impossible for her to take damage normally, as this section lacks a health bar, giving you the opportunity to try out whatever combos you'd like against foes for a short period of time.
• Nobody Poops: Although nothing explicit was seen, Jeanne can also regain some health by going to the bathroom, which is also exclusive to the first two stealth missions and requires toilet paper.
  Jeanne: Ahh, Back to business.
• Nothing Is the Same Anymore: For at least one universe. At the end of the game Arch Eve Origin Bayonetta and Luka are dragged down to Inferno, and Viola has inherited Bayonetta's title, taking on missions from Rodin.
• Official Couple: It's revealed that a variant of Bayonetta and Luka got together at least once, with Viola being their daughter. Arch Eve Bayonetta and Luka also become a couple by the end.
• Old Save Bonus: Having save files of the last two Bayonetta games on the system will allow purchase of Scarborough Fair (Bayonetta 1) and Love is Blue (Bayonetta 2).
• One-Hit Kill: Some enemies have attacks that instantly incapacitate your summoned demons in one hit.
• Only the Leads Get a Downer Ending: Though Singularity is defeated and the multiverse saved from his plans to rule it, allowing the characters to return back to their old universes, Arch Eve Bayonetta and Luka are Dragged Off to Hell, but they at least accept their fate and go together.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • You won't see a shred of Bayonetta's usual confidence and sass in the teaser, where her expressions during the Witch Time barrage show she knows she isn't going to win.
  • Luka loses his comic relief tendencies in his second Strider match, lashing out in self-loathing.
• Painting the Medium: During the final battle, in the segment playing as the Bayonetta with her design from the first game, the interface changes to that from the same game. Complete with the older design of the health/magic meters and even "Verse 3" being written in the style verses were back in the first Bayonetta.
• Percussive Maintenance: Twice in the Prologue Enzo has trouble starting his car until someone gives it a good thwack: First with Bayonetta kicking its dashboard, and later with Rodin slamming it with his own van.
• Pervert Revenge Mode: Jeanne can inflict one during her sections - if she finds a shower cabin on the level she may decide to quickly freshen herself up (as in recover any lost health), causing a passing Homunculus to try and peek only to get promptly executed.
• Pet the Dog: For all their talk about how much they dislike him, Bayonetta and Rodin spend the entire prologue going out of their way to help Enzo, Bayonetta being willing to drop her just-bought baked goods to the ground to save him from an incoming baseball to the face, and Rodin using his powers to start up Enzo's car so he can flee the incoming tidal wave, claiming he's only doing so because Enzo hasn't paid his tab, even tough at this point it is pretty obvious human money is just about to become entirely worthless due to the Homunculi invasion. Rodin also keeps Enzo safe during the invasion rather than letting the man run to his death after Ed and Edna are presumably killed.
• Plot Coupon: In order to unlock the Alphaverse, Bayonetta needs to collect something called Chaos Gears.
• "Psycho" Shower Murder Parody: Subverted by Jeanne, who can execute an unlucky Homunculus for trying to peek at her in the shower.
• Puppet Fighter: This is essentially how Demon Slave works: Bayonetta summons an Infernal demon and commands it via her dance, but this leaves her open to any enemy who is not in the demon's attacking range. Unless you equip Nucleus of Talos, in which case the demon will act on its own while leaving you free to fight your own way.
• Puppet Permutation: Demon Masquerade for the Umbran Clock Tower via Tartarus weapon. Bayonetta transforms into a clockwork marionette complete with strings hanging from a mysterious unseen controller.
• Puppeteer Parasite: In the France levels Bayonetta encounters Homunculi that can take over and control human victims, turning them hostile, with no apparent way to safely remove the parasite. Their most frequent victims are the French military, forcing Bayonetta to kill them before they destroy the city they swore to protect. That universe's Rosa and Bayonetta also fall victims to them.
• Purple Is the New Black:
  • Whenever Bayonetta attacks with Colour My World equipped, she leaves a purple-and-black motion trail palette with similar detailing to the Scarborough Fair's red and Love is Blue's blue palettes.
  • Bayonetta's latest weapon, Colour My World, is a set of triple-barreled beasts in purple with an insect motif.
• Rage Breaking Point: One of the caveats of the Demon Slave ability is that whenever the Infernal Demon is struck, it fills an anger gauge that, when filled, can lead to the demon entering a berserker state wherein Bayonetta can't control them. Conqueror's Rein prevents demons from being enraged by enemy attacks, while Hymn of Durga makes it easier for demons to rage but also increases their strength.
• Reality Warper: The crux of Singularity's power is this, and he seeks to absorb enough power to do it on a multiversal scale. This mastery of reality is the "truth" he seeks to become, and he increases it by killing and absorbing the most powerful person, an Arch Eve (usually a Bayonetta), of a given Realm of Chaos universe. During the final battle with him, Arch Eve Origin Bayonetta demonstrates this as well within the dimension where Singularity believed only he could alter things, by freeing many other Bayonettas and likely restoring them and in turn their worlds, forcing him to detach his existence from those universes in order to cut Arch Eve Origin off from their assistance.
  Singularity: Impossible! You outstrip my ability to alter phenomena...
• Required Party Member:
  • Occasionally the game will lock one of your three demon slots with a specific demon, partly because of story reasons and partly because that demon is needed to solve certain puzzles — at least during your first run. Some of these puzzles can be cleared with a different demon on your revisits (for example, using Baal instead of Gouon to solve "kill all enemies at once" puzzles).
  • Some Niflheim chapter are even stricter in that they lock you with very specific set of weapons and/or demons and, unlike the previous example, you cannot change this preset layout regardless of your progress.
• Retraux: After completing all of Jeanne's side-scrolling chapters, a mini-game will be available to play at the Gates of Hell that plays just like said chapters, but with the resolution reduced to give the appearance of a game on a 4th or 5th gen console.
• RPG Elements: Every demon has a skill tree in which you can upgrade their abilities using orbs.
• Rewatch Bonus:
  • Bayonetta attacking Strider and giving some BDSM-style torture is hilarious and awesome. After it's revealed that is actually Luka who was most likely unconscious and had no idea what he was doing, it's painful to watch that Bayonetta is violently attacking a person she cares for.
  • Viola's interactions with Bayonetta and her Cannot Spit It Out mode becomes this when she accidentally calls Bayonetta "Mummy", because she's trying her hardest not to remember that her own mother got killed off at the beginning at the game.
• Sequel Hook:
  • At the end, Viola takes up her mother's name and job, with the game stating right at the end that it'll continue in the next generation.
  • There's also the references to the Fey, implying that they might be the next set of monsters the game will tackle.
  • Unlocking the Old Picture Book will take you into a picture book-like scene where you control a young Cereza, guiding her though a mysterious forest before being attacked by shadowy creatures. After that, various scenes flash by rapidly, all serving as a teaser for Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.
• Shifting Sand Land: Chapters 7-9 take place in an alternate universe version of Cairo, Egypt. Much of it, especially Chapter 7, involves exploring the sandy desert around the city, and includes quicksand and roaring sand rivers as hazards. Homunculi that loosely resemble sandworms are also introduced here.
• Shoo Out the Clowns:
  • Enzo is shown in mourning in the Gates of Hell, staring at a photo of his family who presumably died in the prologue to signal that things are serious than ever before with Rodin being the only thing keeping the gangster alive. Thankfully, the ending shows they survived.
  • Luka is usually the Plucky Comic Relief in the games. The second he transforms into Strider, it's a sign that things have become serious.
• Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Jeanne's entire subplot - she spends the entire game trying to find Dr. Sigurd, only for the end of chapter 13 to reveal that Singularity replaced Sigurd before the events of the game, at which point he kills and absorbs Jeanne with no effort.
• Shout-Out:
  • Of course, being a sister series of sorts to Devil May Cry, there's more references given to that series.
    • In their first encounter, Bayonetta is shown knocking on Phantasmaraneae's head the same way that Dante did to Phantom all the way back in Devil May Cry, of whom Phantasmaraneae is an Expy of. The reference goes beyond just one gesture, and the whole encounter very closely parallels that of Dante and Phantom with Phantasmaraneae threatening to crush the witch. Except it's only bluffing, and when Bayonetta does not flinch it agrees to help her voluntarily.
    • Later in the game, Bayonetta performs the Deadly Sin ritual to summon a stronger version of Phantasmaraneae called "The Phantom".
    • Demon Masquerade bears more than a passing resemblance to DMC series' Devil Trigger mechanic, where Bayonetta assumes a decidedly demonic appearance to boost her powers similar to how the sons of Sparda assume their demonic forms to unleash their full power. In the post-final boss against Dark Eve and Kraken, Viola performs Demon Masquerade with Cheshire by stabbing herself with her sword — the same way Dante uses Sin Devil Trigger in Devil May Cry 5.
    • In 2, the demon enemies dropped red orbs but otherwise functioned like halos. In this game, the red orbs are a separate currency for unlocking skills that you earn more by playing better and acquiring better combo score, much like Proud Souls in the Devil May Cry series.
  • The Ignis Araneae Yo-Yo is practically the weapon of Rygar, complete with being able to toss it around into combos and with spinning blades extending out of it.
  • Sin Gomorrah being summoned for the first time in Tokyo arises complete with a monster roar... it's practically a Godzilla homage. Its theme song even mimics the Godzilla theme!
    • The name itself is a homage. "Sin" is read as "shin" in Japanese due to the lack of "si" pronunciation in katakana and is replaced with "shi" instead, so when read in Japanese it's Shin Gomorrah.
  • In the final battle, Queen Butterfly comes to Sin Gommorah's aid with a purple Kamehameha, and even sounds like she's doing the chant. The clash between her, Sin Gomorrah, and Singularity's first phase is a direct Shout-Out to the Son Gohan vs Cell Beam Struggle, right down to the final shot of the phase being a Kamehameha flying into space, the same final shot from said Beam Struggle. For that matter, much of Madama Butterfly's moveset comes from Street Fighter, complete with a Shoryuken uppercut.
  • Jeanne's Spy Action intro harkens to both Cowboy Bebop in the intro of her chapters, and James Bond for sneaking in and then ending with a shoot-out. Jeanne's end credit sequence, which depicts her riding a motorcycle in silhouette while the sun sets, is a reference to Lupin III: Part 1's end credits, which had Fujiko Mine doing the same.
  • All four side chapters are heavily based on Elevator Action and take elements from Metal Gear Solid and Metroid Dread.
  • The third side chapter has a gigantic Homonculus fall to a lava pit and sink while having a thumbs up.
  • Queen Butterfly's debut theme is a parody of the main theme of Monkey. Fitting that she's battling Arch-Pyrocumulus, a Monkey King Lite.
  • Two characters in Alternate Cairo have a similar dynamics as Kitana and Jade from Mortal Kombat: Cereza is a princess wielding Combat Hand Fan, and Jeanne is the servant wielding a staff-like weapon.
  • The France chapters pay homage to Lupin III. Bayonetta β4 refers to herself as Papillon d'Ombre II, inheriting the title from, and working alongside, her mother, similar to how Lupin III is the third in his family to use the name "Lupin", taking after his famous grandfather. The world's action taking place in France can refer to the fact that the Lupin family is largely of French descent. The Papillon d'Ombre duo has a recurring antagonist in the form of Interpol Inspector Enzeau (their world's version of Enzo), who attempts to catch them with handcuffs thrown on the end of a chain, very similar to Lupin III's Inspector Zenigata. The two Papillons are said to be constantly surprised by Enzeau's persistance, and take a guilty pleasure in tormenting him with constant escapes, similar to Lupin's relationship with Zenigata.
  • The concert with Baal Zebul gives off that opera scene from The Fifth Element, what's with the soprano performer being a non-human humanoid.
  • When finishing off Dark Adam, she summons the Umbran Clock Tower to stop time and fire its arsenal. It's a shot for shot homage to the clock tower fight in Stardust Crusaders.
  • The weapon from Labolas, the Cruel Altea, features a set of gauntlets and greaves as well as a chestpiece. They also contain heads of Labolas who has a lion-like head and are even colored to match the lion locations of Voltron/GoLion. The attacks even feature a breath attack and a lion head barrage much like the mecha homage's attacks. Even the name "Altea" is shared in Voltron as the setting.
• Shower Scene: To regain some health, Jeanne can take a shower, which is exclusive to the first two stealth missions. However, a passing Homunculi can take notice and try to take a peek. Jeanne quickly drags them inside the shower and takes care of them.
  Jeanne: I've killed for less.
• Shown Their Work:
  • Platinum Games did their absolute best to represent Paris as faithfully as possible in the chapters set in France: the Haussmanian buildings, the police cars, the perfectly accurate RATP buses (with actual Parisian bus stations like "Mairie d'Aubervillers" or "Gare de l'Est" listed on their side, no less), the Vélib's lining some streets and even the licence plates on the cars, everything here shows the level of attention that the developers put in the minute details of the setting.
  • The island of Thule that is the central hub was considered semi-mythological in Greek and Roman literature ^note It's usually considered the most northern point in the real world, sometimes Scotland, Iceland, or Greenland — the island Cheshire, Bayonetta, and Viola travels to in-game is located in their equivalent of the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar., and in medieval literature it had taken the metaphorical sense of a far away place beyond the "borders of the known world." A fitting name where the Lumen and Umbran "could study and reach out to the unknown."
  • Jeanne uses Centipede Within for the underwater sections of her chapters. While most centipedes are not known for their swimming abilities, the Scolopendra cataracta centipede from Thailand has been found to have an amphibious life style and to be a decent swimmer despite no obvious modifications to suggest such a ability.
  • Ginnungagap, the Chaotic Rift that Viola and Bayonetta travel through between alternate worlds, has its soundtrack titled with "The Chaotic Abyss," which is fitting for its Norse roots of meaning "gaping abyss."
• Soundtrack Dissonance: The ending theme: the lighthearted and jazzy "Let's dance, boys!", while seen as a good song, is seen as a case of Mood Whiplash and rubbing salt in the wound following the game's already-controversial Bittersweet Ending, especially with Bayonetta, Jeanne and Luka potentially all dead and in hell.
• Stable Time Loop: Origins reveals Jeanne invoked one via her death in this game. Having been told and shown how she died by the time-travelling Singularity, she refuses to let the knowledge deter her and by making her death certain she in turn ensures that Singularity will die when he escapes to the past afterward, as he tells her about her death and proceeds to be killed by her and Cereza.
• Stance System: This is Viola's gimmick, where she typically fights with a long Japanese sword and can activate Witch Time by blocking rather than dodging like Bayonetta. She can also summon her Infernal Demon Cheshire but doing so switches her style to Good Old Fisticuffs while also being unable to go into Witch Time.
• Stealth Pun: There's a reason we hear birds tweeting instead of the typical bathroom sounds when Jeanne uses the restroom and get a bonus called "Nature's Call".
• Suddenly Speaking: Whereas in past games animalistic demons only made wordless grunts, screams, and roars, some such demons in this game are shown speaking to Bayonetta, such as Phantasmaraneae and Baal. Moreover, unlike in 2 where demons speak Enochian (as demonstrated by Alraune), here demons speak regular language (English/Japanese, depending on your chosen dub) only with vocal distortions.
• Summon Magic: After being limited to Finishing Moves and weapon-tied temporary Assist Characters in the previous two games, Infernal Demons can be summoned as fully combat-capable parts of Bayonetta's arsenal through the Demon Slave ability, which involves summoning one of several possible demons, from Gomorrah, Malphas, Phantasmaraneae, to Madama Butterfly. Bayonetta controls them as a partial Puppet Fighter by commanding them to attack foes, or just lets them do their own thing if she has Nucleus of Talos equipped, and each demon has unique abilities for different combat situations. In special designated levels, Bayonetta can even ride demons like Phantasmaraneae, which lets players control them directly as mounts. However, you cannot summon demons, even as Wink Slave and Assault Slave, in cramped spaces, like tight corridors or underground tunnels.
• Time Travel: Subverted. During Bayonetta's second trip to a different universe she finds herself in what looks to be Medieval China, but Singularity promptly explains that the universes' timelines are actually synchronised, but since different universes developed differently, some of them look like they're set in a different historical period. In other words, in this game you travel through alternative realities but not through time.
• Together in Death:
  • In Paris, Bayonetta must kill the Gentleman Thief version of her mother. And when that world's Bayonetta is killed, prime-Bayo wishes that her counterpart reunites with her mummy.
  • With Bayonetta's Umbral Watch shattered, Luka slays Gomorrah before he can devour her soul and then holds her tight as the hands of Inferno pull them down into the afterlife.
• Trailer Spoof: The appearance of Lappy in the September 2021 trailer made it seem that this is a sequel to Astral Chain, but then a Bullet Time takes effect and Bayo's silhouette appears.
• Unexpected Gameplay Change:
  • Jeanne's Spy Action segments. Those play as a 2D side-scroller with stealth elements and an occasional boss fight, as Jeanne has to infiltrate Dr. Sigurd's laboratory besieged by Homunculi. Since most of her magic is blocked she has to rely on stealth, avoiding cameras, sneaking around security systems and stealthily killing patrolling Homunculi on her way to the doctor.
    • To regain some health, Jeanne can either take a shower or go to the bathroom, provided you acquire the toilet paper. However, both are exclusive to the first two stealth missions.
  • The battles between Sin Gomorrah and Kaiju-sized Arch-Homunculi take form of a 2D fighting game with Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors elements.
  • There are several Unexpected Shmup Level of various genres throughout the game. Chapter 11 is especially vicious as the shmup segments are derived from multiple genres, sometimes in a single verse, and feature occasional Blackout Basement.
  • Verse 9 of chapter 12 is a rhythm game fight against the Gentleman Thief version of Bayonetta who's been possessed by Homunculi.
• Video Game Cruelty Punishment: Once you defeat Rodin, you can summon him like any other demon, and one of his attacks is to ask Bayonetta for a dance. She can accept and the two will do a gunslinging tango... or she can coldly reject him by literally kicking his hand, causing him to blow up and bludgeon Bayonetta in return. While he won't actually kill her, his initial outrage alone wipes her entire health.
• Wham Line:
  • During Round 3 of Strider vs Viola, Strider aka Luka reveals the voice who has been guiding them this whole time.
  Strider: It's...it's my [Luka] voice!
  • Just as Bayonetta is about to be killed like in the beginning of the game, Viola shouts: "Mummy!"
• Wham Shot: Luka follows Viola to the Ancient Egypt world before he starts spasming, clutching his head and his eyes turn red. Then he transforms into Strider!
• The Worf Effect:
  • The prologue opens off with the player controlling an alternate universe Bayonetta, dressed like the first game's apperance, in a fight against Singularity up until she's killed which forces Viola to jump to the main universe. It's implied that Singularity rigged the outcome so he always wins. Averted for the Final Battle, which takes a much darker turn when Origin Bayonetta goes through a near-identical set of events with word-for-word dialogue...until that doesn't work on her.
  • The alternate Bayonettas met don't fare as well against the Homunculi with each of them dying by the end of their world while passing on their weapons and demons to Origin Bayonetta, implied to be a result of Singularity using his Phenomenal Affirmation to always win against the Bayonettas. β3 at least, manages to live past the boss fight and dies making a Heroic Sacrifice to save Origin Bayonetta instead.
• You Killed My Father: Phantom Thief Bayonetta turns hostile and fights Prime Bayonetta after the latter was forced to kill that universe's Rosa.

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"Let's dance, baby!"