At this year's Game Awards 2022 show, Nintendo and PlatinumGames revealed a brand-new game known as Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, which will release next year. While the stylish action series finally dropped its third entry this year after a long and protracted development cycle, the next game is looking to have a much shorter turnaround time. Moreover, this game is looking to explore the origins of the Umbra Witch, along with how she met her first demon, Cheshire.
The Bayonetta series had played things fast and loose with its timelines, especially when time travel was an essential plot point in the first two games, along with the third game tackling the idea of the multiverse as well. While the third game ended up being rather polarizing in terms of its narrative, especially the ending, it seemed to be setting up for future games too. The aptly named Origins game, however, shall be taking things back to the beginning in the timeline, giving an adventure with a younger Cereza.
This trailer starts off with a brief look at Bayonetta 3, before turning things back in a storybook-esque manner, before revealing a completely different artstyle and gameplay than most have seen already. Instead of a stylish action game with realistic looking graphics, Cereza and the Lost Demon has a more vibrant and picturebook-esque flair to it, fitting a game about Cereza's origins. Not only that, the action gameplay is taking on a slightly-top down perspective during battle, with more emphasis on platforming as well.
According to this trailer, Cereza is curious about the forest she is exploring, and soon finds herself in trouble. She is able to then summon the demon Cheshire, who has possessed her cat doll and begins fighting for her. However, when Cereza's mother ends up in the forest, the little Umbra Witch is determined to go rescue her. As she continues exploring, her resolve continues to grow, along with her relationship to the demon that she has befriended. Near the end of the trailer, a mysterious voice guides Cereza, where they promises that they will grant her the power to save her mother.
While this isn't the Bayonetta 4 that some fans were likely expecting, this does line up with a past statement from Hideki Kamiya about how he'll need "nine games" to fully tell the story. It's possible that there will be other prequel games under the Bayonetta Origins moniker that can explore the pasts of characters like Jeanne and Rodin too. For now, though, fans have another game in the Bayonetta series to look forward to next year.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon will launch March 17, 2023 exclusively on Nintendo Switch
