The Game Awards is host to many surprising announcements. During the show, rumored titles and shocking announcements are presented to fans across the gaming landscape. This year, the Bayonetta series definitely caught fans off guard with the announcement of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and The Lost Demon. This new title acts as a prequel to the beloved Bayonetta trilogy and presents fans with a very different take on the series' gameplay and visuals. However, this prequel announcement feels a little late for one major reason: Bayonetta 3 recently brought Cereza's story to a close.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon follows a young Cereza before she became Bayonetta as she journeys through a dangerous forest with the help of her doll-possessing demon companion, Cheshire. The title stands in stark contrast to the series' flashy third-person action gameplay. Bayonetta Origins instead utilizes a fairytale aesthetic, giving players an isometric viewpoint as if looking down into a storybook. The story appears to set up the larger narrative of the series, as Cereza and Cheshire work together to fight enemies on their journey through the forest.
How Bayonetta 3 Ended Cereza's Story
The Bayonetta trilogy offered fans a sprawling narrative that included nearly infinite timelines and a high-stakes conflict. The most recent entry, Bayonetta 3, sought to tie up those conflicts and timelines in a final showdown that included Bayonetta, Luka, their daughter Viola, and the game's villain Singularity. By the time players reached this final showdown, they had controlled three different versions of the titular heroine, all of whom were present for the epic finale. Nearly 13 years after meeting the character, fans were ready to see how Bayonetta would defeat her strongest foe yet, but when the credits rolled, Bayonetta 3's ending left fans divided.
Singularity, having already destroyed multiple realities, was mere moments from victory before all three Bayonettas combined and summoned the demon Gomorrah. With this power, Gomorrah defeated Singularity once and for all, but at the cost of Bayonetta's medallion and Left Eye of the World gemstone. With the Left Eye destroyed, Bayonetta lost control of Gomorrah, who struck her and launched her soul from her body. Her soul was then slowly dragged into Inferno, in accordance with the demon pact she is bound to as an Umbral Witch. Luka grabbed Bayonetta's soul, and the two descended into Inferno together. The final cutscenes of the game then go on to set up Viola as the series' heir, meaning she'll probably star in the recently teased Bayonetta 4.
Bayonetta Origins Introduces a Plot That Has No Purpose
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and The Lost Demon looks to be a refreshing addition to the series, with gameplay and visuals that make it accessible. The director of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and The Lost Demon, Abebe Tinari, released a letter on Twitter celebrating the game's announcement. In it, he shared his hope that fans will embrace Bayonetta Origins' surprising direction for the series and grow to deeply care about the story of Cereza and Cheshire moving forward. Though there's potential in the new visuals and gameplay, the story may prove more difficult to sell.
The announcement for Bayonetta Origins debuted mere weeks after the release of Bayonetta 3. As the series had established a multiverse, fans can speculate on where Bayonetta Origins fits into the series' timeline. The story of Bayonetta Origins is meant to invest fans in the story of Cereza and Cheshire, and there is no telling which timeline this version belongs to. However, the story's significance is rendered inert, due to the ending of Bayonetta 3. Since the central three versions of Bayonetta combined and descended into Inferno, fans have already witnessed the dark final events of the journey Bayonetta Origins seeks to begin.
Bayonetta's fans spent over 13 years with the franchise before the character's story was brought to a close in November 2022. Eight of those years passed with fans anticipating Bayonetta 3's epic finale. Bayonetta Origins is set to start Cereza's journey as an Umbral Witch on the Nintendo Switch a mere four months after its long-awaited conclusion, setting up fans for a jarring shift in both style and narrative. There's no telling what awaits Cereza and Cheshire in Bayonetta Origins, but the title will need to deliver something truly memorable to justify its release so soon after fans finally received closure.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon will launch on March 17, 2023, for Nintendo Switch.
