Nintendo and Platinum Games revealed new gameplay for Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon during the latest Nintendo Direct. This was just one of several pieces of big news coming out of the Nintendo Direct livestream on February 8. The trailer shows fans what to expect from Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.
Platinum released the original Bayonetta in 2009, with the series being a Nintendo exclusive since 2014’s Bayonetta 2. Bayonetta 3 launched last year and featured a hidden playable teaser for Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, which Platinum wouldn’t officially announce until The Game Awards on December 8. However, while the previous Bayonetta titles were hack-and-slash action games from the creator of Devil May Cry, Bayonetta Origins offers a very different experience.
As the trailer’s narrator explains, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a prequel following a much younger Bayonetta, then known as Cereza. The witch-in-training ventures deep into the Avalon forest as she attempts to rescue her imprisoned mother, enlisting the aid of the giant, cat-like demon Cheshire. Players control both characters, relying on Cereza’s magic and Cheshire's strength and ferocity as they delve into the mystical forest.
While she may grow up to be the acrobatic, gun-wielding, angel-slaying witch Bayonetta, Cereza lacks her older self’s combat ability. Instead, she must rely on Cheshire to destroy the strange and colorful enemies blocking their path. However, Cereza is not a bystander in combat either and can use her magic to hold enemies in place. She can use this power to trap targets for Cheshire to attack or take them out of the fight while the demon battles its friends. Players of the upcoming Bayonetta prequel will need to act strategically and find the best way to utilize their abilities in tandem.
The character’s abilities will also come in handy when traversing the Avalon in Bayonetta Origins. The gameplay trailer shows how Cheshire can use his claws to tear through obstacles after Cereza used her magic to create a bridge for him to cross. The trailer also reveals how Cereza can release Cheshire onto nearby ledges that he wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach.
Both characters also gain new abilities as players progress through the game, giving them new tools for both combat and traversal. For example, Cheshire can gain the ability to fire a beam attack from his mouth and use his tongue to pull down obstacles during exploration. The trailer shows him using the latter power to catapult Cereza across a wide gap. Bayonetta fans can try these abilities out for themselves when Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon launches on Switch.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon releases for Nintendo Switch on March 17.
