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

This prequel can be considered one of the most personal bets of recent times PlatinumGames, with surprising visual and narrative quality for what could have been an entirely secondary title in 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 puts it on par with its predecessors, and because it is a independent storyit can be enjoyed by die-hard fans as well as any gamer who wants to dive into it fairytale.

The origin of the witch

We got into each other’s shoes Bayonettait’s just that there’s still a long way to go before we know her by that name, she’s just her now CherryA frightened and clumsy girl, shunned by her own people and condemned to a life of exile with her teacher, Morgan.

Cereza ignores the warnings and the legends and enters the mystery Avalon Forest, the territory of fairies, natural enemies of witches. She begins this journey alone, lost in a strange and dangerous place, but soon finds a powerful ally through summoning his first demon, Cheshirelocked inside her stuffed animal, who offers to help her in exchange for returning him to Hell.

This story is a rite of passage, a path of initiation it shows us the path that little Cherry followed to eventually become the powerful witch Bayonetta. The plot may seem simple, but it works perfectly, relying on classic fairy tale storytelling. The game will literally open the story in front of us and we will go through its pages during the adventure.

If this structure works so well, it is partly due to the charisma of its protagonists.Cherry and Cheshire, two radically opposite characters that create a fun and endearing dynamic that’s easy to relate to from the first moment. Our heroes must complement each other to overcome obstacles and survive., this creates a very interesting connection that is masterfully represented in the game’s split controls, as we’ll see later. It’s very different from what Bayonetta is used to, far from the action on the run, focuses on map exploration and puzzle solvingof course, there is also fighting, but it is relegated to the background.

While it is true that this title is presented independently of the main plot of the saga and opens up to a much wider audience, this does not mean that fans will not particularly enjoy it, because you’ll discover plenty of references and nods to the original trilogy.

We met with a fun adventure with lots 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 button bashing

As I told you before control is quite specific. With the left Joy-Con we will control Cherry and with the right Cheshire, it may seem a little confusing, but you will quickly get used to it. Each character has their own abilitiesOn the one hand, Cherry isn’t very strong yet, so she can’t face enemies directly, but she can immobilize them, open chests, interact and change stage elements… and Cheshire will already be in charge. clawing, both to fight and to clear a path from any obstacle.

As we progress through the story, we will collect a series of collectibles that will allow us to unlock or improve the qualities of our protagonists. At some save points we will have access to the “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 resources. These improvements will necessary to overcome certain areas, which we will have to come back to when we have the right skills. It is not necessary for the main plot, but it is necessary to finish the game at 100%.

An adorable feature of the game’s controls is the “hug mode”when we return Cheshire to his plush form and carry him in our arms. This mode has several uses: throwing a demon into high areas where we can’t reach, pushing between platforms, collecting collectibles… also helps Cheshire recover health when he’s been hit too many times, and control only one character when it’s not necessary to fight or destroy obstacles, which is much more comfortable.

It can be a bit overwhelming to have so many controls, but that’s where the real charm of the game lies, finding a way to combine them to beat each puzzle. The balance is very well achieved with a combination of hitting the coconut to get a solution to the problem with our button ability. And as I said, we continue to have battles to focus on protect Cherry as we attack with Cheshirealways attentive to our wizard life counter, a very different dynamic than usual. An element to be thankful for is the variety of enemieseach of which has its own weaknesses, reinventing our way of fighting from time to time and moving away from the monotony that some more combat-oriented games are guilty of.

To make a negative point, the first round of the game can be too easy, both in their puzzles and in their fights. This is somewhat offset by the time you have to spend analyzing the elements of the environment to get through the various puzzles and progress further, but it’s true that it could be a bit more challenging. That doesn’t mean it isn’t just as enjoyable, and you can always make it harder to try to complete the entire game.

The duration will be approximately 10 hoursif you focus on the main mission and don’t explore too much, but this time it depends on you and the game you want to get from this title.

Magic outside the game

If there’s one thing that stands out about this prequel, it’s the art aspect. With a sublime artistic direction, it fully immerses us in the magic of a fairy tale. Colors, original character design, backgrounds with attention to detail, smooth animations and with that traditional cartoon effect… it’s a pleasure, you will enjoy every little movie, of each frame. Within this style, he masterfully used his tools to trap the player. This also applies to its performance, both in portable and desktop mode.

On the other hand, the sound aspect is not left behind. The soundtrack starts without much of an idea in this story, but it builds in intensity and gives us memorable songs that, combined with some of the most famous melodies of the saga, achieve an exceptional result. The sound effects follow this line of quality, and the English and Japanese dubbing with Spanish lyrics have voices chosen with care and concern, with perfect interpretation.

total, 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 fairy tale.

Bayonetta Origins: Cherry and the Lost Demon data sheet

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is available on the Nintendo website at the official price of 59.99 euros, on the channel dedicated to video games and on global platforms such as Amazon, which is currently offering a 20% discount keeping the price of the game. in €47.49.