Bayonetta 2 has two control modes—a standard mode and touch screen controls. Yeah, you read that right: you can play Bayonetta 2 on the Wii U GamePad using the stylus. I tried out the new mode which only has two difficulty settings easy and easy automatic. A Nintendo rep explained this is designed for newcomers.
Here’s how the controls works:
Move – tap to where you want to go
Jump – swipe up
Attack – tap an enemy and repeat taps start combos
Evade – swipe backwards
Witch time – do an evade swipe right before an enemy attacks
Umbra Climax – a command shows up on screen to tap
Umbra Climax allows players to use different monsters from the game. The umbra climax attack changes depending on the weapons Bayonetta has. In the demo she had guns as one weapon and a sword/heel whip combo as the other. You can change weapons by tapping the bottom of the screen. There are inventory items like health refilling lollipops too.
The Bayonetta 2 demo had three verses. It started with a battle on an airplane. Bayonetta fought centaur-like enemies. I can’t comment on the difficulty since it was set to easy and it was a walk in the park. I practiced using Witch Time and it was simple to pull off. Bayonetta 2 has bombastic scenes that the series is known for.
Before switching verses Jeanne came in surfing on a another fighting her firing missiles at enemies. Bayonetta has climax attacks like where she sunmons at spiked treadmill and kicks an enemy into it. Jeanne is an ally in Bayonetta 2 and when I spoke to PlatinumGames they said she will show up here an there. They would not confirm if she was playable in two player mode.
The second verse switched to train where I fought small fry enemies and then a mid boss called Believe. During this fight, Believe picked up the train Bayonetta was on and tilted it upwards so I had to run towards the screen to avoid taking damage.
The final verse was a huge boss fight against Gomorrah (spell check that). Bayonetta grew wings and the fight was totally in the air. She could move freely by tapping the screen but could not ascend or descend. Ascension happened automatically as the fight continued and Gomorrah climbed up a building. This boss was gigantic and it took quite a bit of tapping before it was defeated. Bayonetta used her witch magic where her hair wrapped around the boss and finished him off.
