Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a 2023 action-adventure title for the Nintendo Switch, developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo. It acts as a prequel to the Bayonetta series, originally from Sega, and centers on a younger Cereza who explores the forbidden Avalon Forest with a demon named Cheshire. Critics generally gave it positive reviews, highlighting its art direction, atmosphere, gameplay, and story, especially the bond between Cereza and Cheshire.

In terms of gameplay, the game is an action-adventure experience where players control both Cereza, a young witch in training, and Cheshire, a demon bound to her stuffed toy, using a twin-stick control scheme. Cheshire can switch between two forms: Unleashed mode, where he grows large to attack enemies or obstacles, and Hug mode, where he shrinks to toy size so Cereza can carry him for various tasks. Players must use both characters together to fight foes and solve environmental puzzles. In combat, Cereza binds enemies with spells while Cheshire attacks. Cheshire cannot die but can run out of magic; when that happens, Cereza must pick him up in his plush form to restore his magic before he can fight again. Some power-ups let Cheshire attack while in plush form. Destroying Elemental Cores found in the world upgrades Cheshire’s abilities, strengthening the duo in combat and unlocking new areas.

The story takes place six hundred years before the first Bayonetta. Young Cereza lives under the strict teacher Morgana after being exiled for being the child of the Lumen Sage Balder and Umbra Witch Rosa, which led to her father’s banishment and mother’s imprisonment. Feeling unappreciated, Cereza enters the forbidden Avalon Forest after a mysterious boy from her dreams guides her there. She is attacked by faeries and performs a desperate demon-summoning ritual, which binds a demon to her stuffed cat, allowing it to survive outside Inferno without harming her. She names it Cheshire and reluctantly teams up with it to find the power to save her mother and send Cheshire back to Inferno. They journey through the forest, following a white wolf, battling creatures, and destroying four Elemental Cores. As they travel, Cereza grows more confident, and Cheshire becomes more protective. Their bond is tested when a faerie disguises itself as Cereza’s mother, causing an argument and a brief separation.