Bayonetta Origins: A Nintendo Switch prequel full of co-op puzzles

Bayonetta’s next adventure, a storybook-styled prequel called Bayonetta Origins: Cereza, the Lost Demon, calls for a different type of the agility required to play a video game — particularly a game of developer PlatinumGames’ pedigree. Contrary to existing Bayonetta video games which feature complex, balletic action and are often bullet-buffeted, this game is more relaxed. Bayonetta OriginsThis game is more relaxed. Nintendo Switch games are powered by story-telling and puzzle-solving.

But Bayonetta Origins does require a level of ambidexterity; players control two characters at once in Platinum’s new game. Cereza (the young Bayonetta) is controlled using the Switch’s left-side controller. Cheshire, Cheshire the demon-infused cat, can be controlled using the Switch’s right side controller. Movement for each character is mapped to each Joy-Con’s analog controller. You can use the shoulder buttons to perform actions such as attacks or spells. Throw in some light combat and spells — some of which are powered by a small rhythm game — and Bayonetta OriginsThe game becomes more complex than what its appearance might suggest.

Image: PlatinumGames/Nintendo

I got into a game. Bayonetta OriginsA few chapters into the book, Cereza finds herself exploring and studying the haunted Avalon Forest. Cereza, a young witch is still learning basics of witchcraft. She uses her spells for Infernal Plants, which allow her to transform and grow vegetation. This root can be used to create bridges or walkways in the forest by growing out of the ground. Cereza is also capable of enticing enemies with a magic circle known as a Thorn Bind.

Cereza does not have the best fighting skills. That’s where Cheshire, a disgruntled demon who gets summoned into (and cannot escape from) Cereza’s raggedy stuffed cat, comes in. His powerful claws can slash through evil fairies and thorny roots that block Cereza’s progress. Cheshire is a hulking beast — heavy, but not very agile. Cereza can shrink him down to a regular-sized stuffed-cattoy, which allows Cereza to carry him as a big-baby. (Adorably, picking up and carrying Cheshire is referred to as “hug mode.” Otherwise, Cheshire is in “unleashed mode.”)

Image: PlatinumGames/Nintendo

To travel through Avalon Forest, Cereza must collaborate with Cheshire. They must also stay within close proximity of each other in order to survive. When the duo encounter a group of bad guys, it’s up to Cheshire to claw his way through them while Cereza steers clear of danger (or ensnares one in a magic spell). And when they encounter a patch of rosemary — poison to poor Cheshire — it’s up to Cereza to summon a new path using a little rhythm game spell for her feline demon friend to follow. The two of them can leap from one platform to the next while they are in hug mode. Cheshire acts as a grappling hook.

To solve the puzzles in the forest, you can use all these cooperation elements and codependencies. Because I spend so much time working with them, Bayonetta OriginsThis was only a small part of the game. It is exciting to see how developers will build upon these puzzles. There are additional elements I didn’t get to explore, like concocting magic potions, that will seemingly add even more depth.

And so on Bayonetta Origins certainly looks and plays differently from the other Bayonetta games on Switch, it’s no less intriguing. It’s possible to discover the fairy-tale magic for yourself. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza, the Lost DemonStarts on March 17