Bayonetta & Vanquish (PC)

I’ve played Bayonetta on 360, Wii U, the Wii U version emulated on PC, and now the official PC release. I’ll also be picking up the Switch version. To say that I love Bayonetta would be an understatement. The question, I suppose, is which version do I think is the best?

At the time of writing, I’ve not yet played the Switch port, so I can’t comment on it, but if it’s equal to, or even a slight upgrade of the Wii U version, it will probably become my favourite. Because I must say, despite the sharper graphics and more consistent frame rate of the PC port, I actually still prefer the Wii U version.

Why? The extra, Nintendo themed costumes, mostly, some of which add some pretty fun gameplay effects. As much as I’ve enjoyed playing through Bayonetta again on PC – I probably won’t come back to it once the Switch version is released. But if you don’t have access to a Wii U or Switch, then the PC port is a fantastic alternative.

The PC version of Vanquish, on the other hand, is easily the definitive version. With sharper graphics and a rock solid frame rate, it’s the best Vanquish can possibly be. I wondered if I’d enjoy Vanquish more on PC, and I did to a degree – it’s nice not having the frame rate tank whenever there’s a missile spam. And switching to the precision of a mouse is a great – although it does make the game significantly easier as a result.

But overall, I still feel Vanquish is one of the weaker Platinum titles. The story/characters aren’t bonkers or interesting enough for you to care, and if you skip all cut-scenes, the game is only about 5 hours to play, with about 30 minutes of tedious ‘walk and talk’ segments.

The levels are kind of bland and don’t really do anything interesting with the enjoyable gameplay mechanics. Once you’re half way through the game you’ll have seen every enemy type Vanquish has to offer, and from that point on it just starts to recycle and double down on everything. It’s still damn fun to play and a game I’d recommend, but it’s a shame the game surrounding the combat mechanics isn’t more elaborate, extensive or clever.