Bayonetta

Bayonetta is PlatinumGames' showcase for pure, maximalist action. The witch at its center fights with guns strapped to her heels and hair that summons demons, and the combat is built around Witch Time, the slow-motion reward for dodging at the last possible instant.

The series proper runs from the 2009 original through Bayonetta 2 and 3, each escalating the absurdity of its set pieces while keeping the underlying combat system precise enough for experts to master. The anime film Bloody Fate adapts the first game's story, and the joke project 8-Bit Bayonetta shows the creators are in on their own excess.

Bayonetta also reached a wider audience as a Super Smash Bros. fighter. The appeal stays constant: style as a skill you actually have to earn.

The Bayonetta franchise spans 4 games, 1 films in the CrossBinge catalog.