When PlatinumGames introduced Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon at The Game Awards, it looked like nothing the Bayonetta developer had ever produced. A slow-paced, narrative-focused adventure that looked like it was ripped out of a children’s fairy tale is such a divergence from Bayonetta’s sexy swagger that it’s almost impossible to conceive it’s from the same studio.
Bayonetta creator Hideki Kamiya acknowledges that Cereza and the Lost Demon "is something very new for PlatinumGames" in a new blog entry posted to the developer's site. Kamiya also confirms that the game is being made "by a team of young ambitious developers with just a few vets to help along the way," which also helps to explain why Bayonetta Origins looks so vastly different from the rest of the series. He also described the game as "an enchanting picture book."
"This game is a brand-new gameplay experience, different from anything in the Bayonetta games so far," wrote Kamiya. "We created Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon with the hope that fans of the series to date will enjoy this unique take on their favorite badass heroine, and also endeavor to deliver an unforgettable experience to players who may not be comfortable with action games… or even players who are unfamiliar with the Bayonetta series in the first place!"
In a second blog entry, game director Abebe Tinari introduces himself as a long-time Bayonetta fan that played the original game back in high school. He'd originally wanted to work on Bayonetta 3 after landing a job at Platinum, but instead, Kamiya "had something else in store." After coming up with the initial idea for Bayonetta Origins, Tinari convinced Platinum management to green-light the game, and then Kamiya placed him as the game's director.
"In many ways, Cereza and the Lost Demon is unlike any game PlatinumGames has made before, including all the past games in the series," explained Tinari. "In place of jaw-dropping Hollywood movie-esque spectacle and non-stop climax action, this time we are focused on telling an intimate story in a world inspired by the subtle lines and pastel colors of an illustrated fairytale."
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon arrives on the Nintendo Switch on March 17, 2023, but you can get a preview of what's to come in Bayonetta 3's secret chapter right now.