One of the top video games to hit shelves in 2009 was Bayonetta. A game by Japanese designer Hideki Kamiya (who was also behind the famed Devil May Cry games) it was highly rated by critics and sold gangbusters, something which paved the way for a sequel in 2014.
And now Nintendo and game makers Platinum Games are gearing up to launch Bayonetta 3 – the third entry in the series which will be hitting the shelves on October 28, the same day that Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is headed to consoles.
Bayonetta 3, however, will be limited to the Nintendo Switch – it will be exclusive to Nintendo’s console, letting gamers enjoy the adventures of the titular witch Bayonetta both on the go and in the living room.
The game has also been rated M or Mature by the ESRB (the rating board for games in the US), and PEGI-18 in Europe, but thankfully for those looking to enjoy the game in the living room, Bayonetta 3 is shipping with a nudity filter as Platinum Games revealed this summer.
The game’s “Naive Angel Mode”, as Platinum Games calls it in the tweet below, will censor the game’s most risky content – as seen in the video, with Naive Angel Mode on, the witch Bayonetta is seen dancing in her normal outfit, but with the nudity filter off she dances nude (but obviously some areas of her body remain covered by, err, her magical hair…).
Bayonetta dances in the game like this when she’s controlling “infernal demons”, giant creatures which the Umbra Witch can summon to aid her in battle.
Relax, the witch is back and sexier than ever????
We’ve added the revolutionary “Naive Angel Mode” to Bayonetta 3 so more people can fully enjoy it????
By turning it on, you can play right in the living room without having to worry about what’s on screen… we think????#Bayonetta3 pic.twitter.com/SEs3vqrdYc
— PlatinumGames Inc. (@platinumgames) July 13, 2022
Also, when Bayonetta uses the “demon masquerade” ability and transforms into a more powerful version of herself, she wears some pretty revealing clothing (and has butterfly wings too…), but she’ll be fully closed if the Naive Angel Mode is on.
Platinum Games calls the mode “revolutionary” and says it lets you “play right in the living room without having to worry about what’s on screen” in the tweet above, even if it’s just a simple nudity filter. Self-censorship is always better than it being imposed by a third party, though as stated earlier the ESRB has rated the game M for Mature, like the previous two entries in the series.
This is not only due to nudity, though, as Bayonetta 3’s gruesome Devil May Cry-inspired violence looks likely to be on a par with those of its predecessors.
Actually, the ESRB said of Bayonetta 2 in its description (the description for the latest Bayonetta 3 is not available at the time of writing) that the game features “exaggerated and intense acts of violence”. They also refer to the fact that “large blood-splatter effects and gore can be seen frequently” as Bayonetta deals death to demons (and angels) during the game.
The game’s nudity is also alluded to, with the ESRB saying that female characters in the game “perform suggestive taunts and poses”, and remove clothing during the game’s battles, “with characters’ breasts and buttocks partially exposed”.
And we can expect Bayonetta 3 to take things further still, even if its “Naive Angel Mode” should help make things a bit more palatable for sensitive types than its predecessors.
Nonetheless, a preview video which came out earlier this month, shows that the combat will be as intense and violent as players expect from a Batonetta game, with Bayonetta showing off her physique when she controls the giant “infernal demons” in battle. She’s also able to handle mobs of enemies using her pistols, magic and melee attacks.
There’s also the character of Viola – a young and sexy witch in training who fights with a sword and can summon a giant demonic cat named Cheshire to aid her during fights, in a game which will take players to Tokyo and other places.
Here’s hoping that this turns out to be another great entry in the Bayonetta series, then.
As for the game’s adult bent, there’s always the Naive Angel Mode nudity filter to make playing in front of others in the living room less embarrassing, but it’s not like the Nintendo Switch doesn’t have its share of adult-oriented games anyway. Just look at the likes of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is one of the most popular games on the platform. So it would be a great thing if both Bayonetta fans and newcomers will get the game they are hoping for when Bayonetta 3 releases on October 28, then.