Bayonetta 3 is, by all means, a bombastic game. It seems like in every mission, there's another massive set piece that has the game playing dramatically differently than usual. This isn't unusual for Bayonetta games, though, and it's something many fans have likely come to expect, but it's still a dizzying amount.

RELATED: Games To Play If You Like Bayonetta 3

Bayonetta 3 can wholeheartedly be enjoyed without prior knowledge, and in fact, the game almost feels built as such. But the bombastic style isn't the only thing fans can expect to see repeated. Just like those setpieces, there are plenty of other familiar elements that only people who played the past two games are likely to notice.

7 Everything About Cheshire

Bayonetta Cereza both at a distance and up close holding her doll, chesire

Introduced alongside Viola is Cheshire, the Infernal Demon, who...just seems to tag along. No contract, no reason. He's just there. The game treats him as a mystery without ever really offering a resolution to who he is or why he's so attached to Viola. That said, he's packed to the brim with little details.

For one, Cheshire is the name Bayonetta gives Luka in the first game, and Cereza (young Bayonetta) gives to her cat doll. The very same doll that hangs from the pommel of Viola's sword, Mab-Dachi. On top of this, Cheshire is around 500 years old, which just so happens to be how old Bayonetta herself is, too. Plus, he wears Luka's scarf.

6 Interactions Between Bayonettas

Bayonetta and B2 Bayonetta on Wartrain Gouon in Bayonetta 3

Bayonetta has, being the titular character of the Bayonetta games, always been in the spotlight. It just wouldn't be Bayonetta without her over-the-top antics. So with Bayonetta 3 taking place across the multiverse of Bayonetta, she's an even greater focus than ever.

RELATED: The Best Witches In Video Games, Ranked By Power

This is especially important at the end of the game when some familiar Bayonettas appear. Easy enough to recognise such popular faces, but it's what the original Bayonetta says that will confirm plenty to fans. "You didn't cry while I was gone, did you?". The same line she said to the young Cereza in the original, seemingly confirming a long-held fan belief.

5 Jeanne's Spy Items

Jeanne Cutie J Costume Bayonetta

Jeanne is second only to Bayonetta in the prevalence of her appearances. Jeanne is a common appearance in the third game, much more than in the previous game. Here, she plays a spy in an homage to films of the era with a wholly unique style of her own. Though the missions are brand new, fans may have noticed an extra detail or two.

The most obvious example here is the various pick-ups across the levels. The most major of these are the weapons of Garnet Roses, Samsa, and Col. Slade, all being weapons she can acquire in the first two games. Then there's her ultimate power-up, where she evolves into Cutie J, the superhero costume she previously had access to. Everyone needs a side job, even an Umbran Witch.

4 Bayonetta Playing With A Doll And Tarot Cards

Offical artwork or the tarot cards from Bayonetta 2, and official artwork of the Bayonetta wooden doll from Bayonetta

Rather than following directly into each other or choosing from a list, Bayonetta 3 has you choose chapters in a rather unique way. Taking place in Viola's room, you throw darts wherever you please to select your missions, as well as witness her ever-growing room.

RELATED: Genres Bayonetta Would Be Perfect For

The previous games had you select missions in a similar way, placing dolls of Bayonetta along a map in the first game and flipping tarot cards in the sequel. In the same scene where Viola is monologuing about the dangers of the multiverse collapsing, you can see Bayonetta playing around with those very same dolls and cards. A bit cheeky.

3 Playing As Young Cereza

Bayonetta and Cereza standing together leaning against a container in a military base

There are moments throughout Bayonetta 3 where you'll encounter Homunculi that turn you into a younger version of Bayonetta. These segments are entirely new, and the Cereza depicted here is a few years older than her appearance in the original game, though some aspects are a bit more familiar.

Playing as Cereza is a bit of a trope across the games, actually. In the original Bayonetta, the final boss, Jubileus, can turn you into this young Cereza in an attempt to defeat you quickly. Similarly, in Bayonetta 2, the demon Sloth can turn you into a child and chase you down for an insta-kill move. At least nothing so godly or cruel is trying to kill you here.

2 Bayonetta Getting Her Guns And Outfit

Bayonetta smirking at the camera during the prologue in Bayonetta 3.

The Bayonetta games have always been known for their absurd cutscenes where you simply can't tell what will happen next. In Bayonetta 3, the cutscenes are just as non-stop as the combat and just as filled with action. The beginning of the game, where Bayo gets her guns and outfit especially, is a great introduction.

However, the scene was a pretty predictable one. Bayonetta 1 opens with Bayonetta performing a sermon as a nun before performing some heinous acts of Blasphemy against some angels before Rodin tosses her Scarborough Fair. In the sequel, the same is true, but this time she's just out for a bit of shopping when Angels decide to rudely interrupt. The amount of money wasted by enemies constantly shredding her clothes must be extortionate.

1 Reoccuring Demons

Alraune in Bayonetta 3.

One of the greatest new additions to Bayonetta 3 is how Bayonetta can personally use her demons much more closely than before. From transforming into them with Demon Masquerade to directly controlling them with Demon Slave, Bayonetta has more demonic power than ever before.

Plenty of these demons are returning faces despite how they're encountered for the first time in the game. More interesting though, is which ones reappear and how. Labolas is only contracted after a Bayonetta from a previous game appears, replacing Gomorrah with them in their own game. Then there's the weapon and demon Alruna, a boss and weapon from the second game. They're smaller details in how they're presented, but they are pretty neat all the same.

NEXT: Bayonetta 3: Relatable Things Every Player Does