In these dark and troubling times, Bayonetta is the exact hero the game industry needs. With so many frothy mouths and so much negativity surrounding gaming right now, Bayonetta 2 comes along and shows the world what video games are all about—FUN. This game is unapologetic, bombastic, over-the-top of over-the-top, careening out of control, "Oh my gerd, what the hell am I looking at?!" FUN.

In this game you play the titular hero (I’m pretty sure I'm about the 1,000th person to make this pun) Bayonetta, who must use all her incredible assets (prolly been used before too) to save the day from a variety of terrifying monsters. Well, I’m assuming she’s saving the day. The story is a hot mess, but it’s not really important because the game is all the about the beauty of combat.

And beautiful combat there is! Lots of it! You’ll be mashing buttons or pulling off complex combos, depending on your skill, while watching Bayonetta do a graceful bullet ballet that is visually impressive no matter what buttons you push. Her contortionist body twists and turns in impossible directions, while shooting bullets from all four limbs. Her numerous attacks flow seamlessly together as she leaps from enemy to enemy in an elegant dance of death. And the more moves she does, the more clothes, or hair, as her clothes are made of hair, disappear from her body. It’s hilarious to see in action!

Combos conjure giant fists and stilettos made of hair that punch and stomp enemies into meaty chunks. Super moves conjure torture devices or massive creatures (also made of hair) that dispose of foes in hilariously gruesome ways. But the game's not all offense. A well-timed dodge will send the game into Witch Time, or cool purple slo-mo as I like to call it, and enemies will be at your mercy for a short time. Fighting is augmented with weapons, bought or found on the battlefield, healing items, power ups and combo upgrades as well. There’s a lot here, folks—especially for those who geek out on the huge variety of combos in the game.

Luckily, it's not just non-stop pummeling. There are downtimes as well where you’ll be scouring areas for hidden items and timed challenges. This gives the game much-needed breaks between fights. As fun as it is to flip around and beat up bad guys on top of an out-of-control jet or some other Michael Bay-style action scene, after awhile it starts to make your eyeballs dry out as they try to take it all in. These exploration parts are a welcome rest. And fun! You can find witches tombs to get items, do timed challenges by gathering all the pieces of a tomb before the clock runs out, or just bust up barrels and fruit carts to get Halos (Sonic the Hedgehog rings) to buy weapons and whatnot. Plus, there are special challenge areas where you must defeat monsters in an arena with a specific set of conditions. And they actually give you great stuff. Not just meaningless trophies. Things you can use to become more powerful in the game. Exploring the areas to find secrets is made much easier by the fact that you can turn into a super-fast panther, which makes traversing the wide-open areas a lot faster.

The enemies in Bayonetta 2 are a huge part of the game's appeal. They’re just so visually fascinating. Some look like someone plucked a monster from a D&D Monster Manual and fused it with a grandfather clock. Others look like drag queen jewelry gone mad. And the screen-filling bosses resemble out-of-control Mardi Gras floats. They’re all beautiful, horrifying and wondrous to behold.

Speaking of beautiful, the graphics in this game are some of the best the Wii U has to offer. Which isn’t saying a whole heck of a lot, because there aren’t many Wii U games in general, but you’ll definitely feel like you’re playing something on the PS4 and Xbox One level.

Of course, I couldn’t write a Bayonetta review without mentioning how stylish the game it. That’s PlatinumGame’s shtick, and they’ve outdone themselves here. From the opening cut scene with logos cleverly placed on taxicab lights and soda cans rolling around on the street to Bayonetta’s sleek and sexy design to the menus to every single aspect of the game. It’s all been put through the “SUPER COOL” machine at PlatinumGame’s headquarters.

This sequel improves on the first and is a much smoother experience over all. And it comes with the first game! I love when games do that! It’s such a nice gesture. If you have a Wii U, or a friend with a Wii U, I highly recommend spending some time with Bayonetta 2. It’ll take you away from the doom and gloom and remind of how fun and amazing video games can be.

Hint: Smash everything! Not only can you buy cool powerups with Halos, you can also buy ridiculous Nintendo-themed outfits!  

by Urian Brown