'Bayonetta,' a game about sex angels and magic hair, is out on Steam
Bayonetta is back, and now she's got 4K support.
The 2009 beat 'em up from PlatinumGames is available now on PC for the first time. The Windows-only Steam release beefs up the game's max resolution to 4K and lets it run at 60 frames per second. Major upgrades for a game that was originally released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
You also get to choose between the English-language dub and the original Japanese audio track (with English subtitles).
The story follows a bespectacled witch -- the titular Bayonetta -- whose long, flowing locks are imbued with magic. The skintight onesie she runs around in is actually just hair, as are the oversized boots and fists she seemingly summons out of thin air as she clobbers those that stand in her way.
She also wields two pistols in her hands and has two more affixed to her feet, with the barrels serving as her high-heels. Bayonetta is an intentionally sexualized character, but in a way that is meant to be empowering. Her sex appeal is just as powerful a tool as her more tangible weapons.
The game feeds into that vibe intentionally. Various shots are consciously framed in a suggestive manner, as is much of the character/monster design and writing. It's never explicitly "X-rated," but... well... just look at this.
You get the idea.
The story pits Bayonetta against the forces of heaven, the motives and denizens of which bear little resemblance to the Biblical paradise familiar to much of the world. Bayonetta is no anti-hero; suffice to say, her beef with heaven is just.
The game's creative sensibilities were guided in large part by its director, Hideki Kamiya, who also created the Devil May Cry series. Fans of those earlier efforts will see a lot of familiar ideas at work in Bayonetta, especially with regards to the combo-heavy combat and overall artistic direction.
I expect Bayonetta to hold up fairly well in its PC incarnation. It was a well-designed game in 2009 and it still felt fresh five years later when it was re-released (alongside a then-new sequel) for Wii U. The recommended hardware specs are very forgiving -- i5 4460, 8GB RAM, Radeon HD7870 / GeForce GTX 760 recommended -- so even a slightly older machine should run it with no problem.
Topics Gaming
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
