Analysis Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, a unique fairy tale

Bayonetta Origins: Cherry and the Lost Demon gives us a fresh and original vision of the saga, traveling to the origins of our charismatic protagonist, in an adventure that will show us her most vulnerable side through her childhood.

This prequel could be considered one of the most personal recent bets of PlatinumGames, with a surprising visual and narrative quality for what could have been a completely secondary title of this acclaimed franchise. His experimental style allows us to explore the world of the witches of Umbra from a new and very interesting perspective. The general level of the game places it on par with its predecessors and, being a independent storyit can be enjoyed by both die-hard fans and any player who wishes to delve into this fairy tale.

The origins of the witch

We put ourselves in the shoes of Bayonettaonly that there is still a long way to go to know her by that name, now she is only CherryA scared and clumsy girl, shunned by her own people and sentenced to a life of exile with her teacher, Morgana.

Ignoring warnings and legends, Cereza will enter the mysterious forest of avalon, territory of fairies, natural enemies of witches. She begins this journey alone, lost in a strange and dangerous place, but she will soon find a powerful ally by summoning his first demon, Cheshirelocked inside her stuffed animal, who will offer her help in exchange for her returning him to hell.

This story is a rite of passage, a journey of initiation that it shows us the path that little Cherry followed to end up becoming the powerful witch Bayonetta. The plot may seem simple, but it works perfectly, relying on a classic fable narration. The game will literally open up a story before us and we will go through its pages as we progress through the adventure.

If this structure works so well it is, in part, thanks to the charisma of its protagonists.Cherry and Cheshire, two radically opposed characters that create a fun and endearing dynamic that is easy to connect with from the first moment. Our heroes must complement each other to overcome obstacles and survive., this creates a very interesting union that is masterfully represented in the split controls of the game, as we will see later. It is very different from what Bayonetta has accustomed us to, far from the runaway action, focuses on exploring the map and solving puzzlesthere is also combat, of course, but it is relegated to the background.

Although it is true that this title is presented independently from the main plot of the saga, opening up to a much broader audience, this does not mean that fans will not enjoy it in a particular way, since you will discover a multitude of references and nods to the original trilogy.

We met with a fun adventure with a lot of personalityfull of original puzzles, interesting characters and a very careful design of scenarios, resulting in a huge map with all its areas connected in the most curious ways.

This is not about pounding buttons

As I already told you, the controls are quite particular. With the left Joy-Con we will control Cherry and with the right one Cheshire, it may seem a bit confusing, but you get used to it quickly. Each character has their own abilitiesOn the one hand, Cherry isn’t too powerful yet, so she can’t face the enemies directly, but she can immobilize them, open chests, interact and alter the elements of the stage… and Cheshire will already be in charge of clawing, both to fight as to clear the way of any obstacle.

As we progress through the story, we will gather a series of collectibles that will allow us to unlock or improve the qualities of our protagonists. In some save points we will have access to a “skill tree”, where we will pay a price for each action we want to activate, and this will not be easy to achieve, you will have to be very attentive to the secrets of the map if you want to find the resources. These improvements will be essential to overcome certain areas, to which we will have to return when we have the right skills. It is not necessary for the main plot, but it is necessary to complete the game 100%.

An adorable feature of the game controls is the “hug mode”when we return Cheshire to his stuffed animal form and carry him in our arms. This mode has several uses: throw the demon to high areas that we cannot reach, push ourselves between platforms, pick up collectibles… it also helps Cheshire recover health when he has been hit too many times and to control only one character when it is not necessary to fight or destroy obstacles, which is quite a lot more comfortable.

It can be a bit overwhelming to have so many controls, but that’s where the real grace of the game lies, in finding how to combine them in order to overcome each puzzle. The balance is very well achieved by combining hitting the coconut to get the solution to a problem with our ability with the buttons. And, as I have already commented, we continue to have battles, where we must concentrate on protect Cherry while we attack with Cheshirealways attentive to our witch’s life counter, a very different dynamic from the usual one. An element to be thankful for is the variety of enemieseach with their own weaknesses, reinventing our way of fighting from time to time and moving away from the monotony of which some more combat-focused games sin.

To put some negative point, the first round of the game can be too easy, both in their puzzles and in their combats. This is somewhat offset by the time you have to spend analyzing the elements of the environment to get past the various puzzles and progress further, but admittedly it could be a bit more challenging. This does not mean that it is not equally enjoyable, and you can always make yourself more difficult trying to complete the entire game.

The duration will be around 10 hoursif you focus on the main mission and do not explore too much, but this time depends on you and the game you want to get from this title.

The magic beyond the game

If something stands out in this prequel it is the artistic aspect. With a sublime art direction, it immerses us fully in the magic of a fairy tale. The colors, the original character design, the backgrounds with attention to detail, the fluid animations and with that traditional drawing effect… it’s a delight, you enjoy every little cinematic, of each frame. Within this style, he has masterfully used his tools to trap the player. This outstanding extends to its performance as well, both in portable and desktop mode.

On the other hand, the aspect of the audio is not far behind. The soundtrack begins without much prominence in this story, but it gains intensity and gives us memorable songs that, when combined with some of the most recognizable melodies of the saga, achieve an exceptional result. The sound effects follow this line of quality and the dubbing, in English and Japanese with texts in Spanish, has voices chosen with care and care, with a perfect interpretation.

In summary, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a title that will not leave you indifferent. Whether it is the tenderness of its story and the charisma of its characters, the fun of its puzzles and riddles, or the amazing personality of the art of this magical world, the game will captivate you and you will not be able to stop reading this beautiful tale.

Data sheet Bayonetta Origins: Cherry and the Lost Demon

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is available on the Nintendo website with an official price of 59.99 euros, on the channel specialized in video games and on global platforms such as Amazon, which currently offers a 20% discount leaving the price of the game in €47.49.