While still an enjoyable game, Bayonetta 2 is just a slight step down from its predecessor. It certainly looks better, and it does share many of the same elements, but by and large, the tweaks to the combat system are all for worse, most of them removing the balance the first game had.
The new Umbran Climax mode is the most obvious perpetrator here. It's more or less an "I win" button. Enemies are completely defenseless against your infinite Wicked Weave spam. Everything but the absolute largest of bosses is staggered by it. This mode's addition is the root of several problems the game's combat has. You're almost required to use it because unlike the first game, almost every enemy either has some way of randomly blocking or breaking your combo if you don't use it or has such massive health that you won't be able to take it out efficiently otherwise. It's also an essential crowd control tool. Further adding on to this, the game no longer penalizes you for using items, so essentially, one can just make several magic restoratives and spam Umbran Climax to easily Pure Platinum the entire game.
The other way to get around enemy combo breaking is to be in Witch time, and while it is much easier to trigger Witch Time in this game, Witch Time's duration is also much shorter, so don't expect to pull off anything terribly flashy without resorting to Umbran Climax or accessories.
Weapon balance is also a bit off; I didn't use Kafka or Takemikazuchi much, while on the other hand Chernobog was so useful I rarely wanted to use anything else. I will give points for the weapons being significantly more varied than in the first game, however. Each one feels entirely different on a basic level.
Speaking of variety, the enemies in the game were fantastic, each being unique and strange. The demons were a far cry from the generic ghouls I was expecting, and the angels were just as memorable as the first game, if not moreso. The environments were nice as well, though I kind of missed the first game's slightly more mundane setting. The music was alright, but not particularly memorable.
Bayonetta 2's a fine experience, and getting it bundled with a port of the first game is a definite bargain. If you already have the first one, though, you'd probably be better served with The Wonderful 101 if you can only get one Platinum title.
VideoGame Lacks the depth of the first game
While still an enjoyable game, Bayonetta 2 is just a slight step down from its predecessor. It certainly looks better, and it does share many of the same elements, but by and large, the tweaks to the combat system are all for worse, most of them removing the balance the first game had.
The new Umbran Climax mode is the most obvious perpetrator here. It's more or less an "I win" button. Enemies are completely defenseless against your infinite Wicked Weave spam. Everything but the absolute largest of bosses is staggered by it. This mode's addition is the root of several problems the game's combat has. You're almost required to use it because unlike the first game, almost every enemy either has some way of randomly blocking or breaking your combo if you don't use it or has such massive health that you won't be able to take it out efficiently otherwise. It's also an essential crowd control tool. Further adding on to this, the game no longer penalizes you for using items, so essentially, one can just make several magic restoratives and spam Umbran Climax to easily Pure Platinum the entire game.
The other way to get around enemy combo breaking is to be in Witch time, and while it is much easier to trigger Witch Time in this game, Witch Time's duration is also much shorter, so don't expect to pull off anything terribly flashy without resorting to Umbran Climax or accessories.
Weapon balance is also a bit off; I didn't use Kafka or Takemikazuchi much, while on the other hand Chernobog was so useful I rarely wanted to use anything else. I will give points for the weapons being significantly more varied than in the first game, however. Each one feels entirely different on a basic level.
Speaking of variety, the enemies in the game were fantastic, each being unique and strange. The demons were a far cry from the generic ghouls I was expecting, and the angels were just as memorable as the first game, if not moreso. The environments were nice as well, though I kind of missed the first game's slightly more mundane setting. The music was alright, but not particularly memorable.
Bayonetta 2's a fine experience, and getting it bundled with a port of the first game is a definite bargain. If you already have the first one, though, you'd probably be better served with The Wonderful 101 if you can only get one Platinum title.