Nearly four years after being announced at 2017’s Game Awards, Bayonetta 3 finally received a gameplay trailer. One of the biggest announcements from the latest Nintendo Direct, the trailer was a welcome sight to fans who were left wanting more at the end of Bayonetta 2, whether they played its original incarnation on the Wii U or its Switch port.
For new players, getting into Bayonetta can be a daunting task. Its occasionally convoluted lore, over-the-top aesthetics and Devil May Cry-esque stylish action can be intimidating for players who didn’t get in on the ground floor of the series. That includes one of its core gameplay mechanics, Witch Time.
When Bayonetta dodges the first attack from the gigantic monster she encounters in the trailer, we see her using Witch Time to land multiple attacks on it while it appears to be standing still. It’s what helps her take down the massive threat without taking any damage before summoning her own kaiju to beat down the monster. In the Bayonetta series’ lore, Witch Time is an ancient skill that allows users to increase their speed. Only powerful Umbra Witches can enter Witch Time thanks to their mastery of Temporal Control, though it is similar to the Light Speed skill used by their rivals, the Lumen Sages.
Using Witch Time is a mandatory part of clearing some challenges in Bayonetta. Mechanically, it allows players to bypass enemy defenses and perform attacks that would be impossible during regular gameplay. It helps mitigate the game’s speed and difficulty for novice players, evening the odds when Bayonetta is confronted by mobs of enemies. While Witch Time can help players on lower difficulties play the game as a button masher, it allows more experienced players to see how far they can push the game’s combo system and see how far they can get through a level without taking any damage. It is also a multifaceted skill; though it’s initially initiated by dodging melee attacks, players can also use it to dodge projectiles and even send them back at an enemy.
Witch Time does require a certain amount of precision on the player’s part, so simply dodging an enemy attack won’t cut it. Activating Witch Time is a matter of timing a dodge for the last possible second, but Bayonetta does give players a cue when the enemy’s weapon lights up before following through on their attack. In Bayonetta 2, how long Witch Time lasts depends on how it was activated. While dodging attacks from standard enemies remained the same, dodging attacks from boss character Glamor only offers half a second of Witch Time.
Witch Time also works differently with one of the series’ other playable characters, Jeanne. Jeanne can’t activate Witch Time with a standard dodge; instead, she uses the Moth Within shape-shifting technique to avoid attacks at the last minute. The trade-off for using an acquired ability instead of a regular dodge is that Jeanne’s combo bonuses increase to 2x instead of Bayonetta’s 1.5.
Witch Time has remained a staple of Bayonetta’s character, following her into her Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Nintendo 3DS debut. In Smash, it’s a special attack, with the major difference from her games being that it only makes the fighter that hit her vulnerable. The amount of Witch Time activated depends on factors including enemy damage, strength and how often it’s been used in succession. Witch Time is also part of her Final Smash, Infernal Climax, which slows down the entire arena.
Even on its lowest difficulty setting, Witch Time is an integral part of Bayonetta’s gameplay. It looks like that isn’t going to change in the third installment. What tweaks Platinum Games will make to the mechanic aren’t clear yet, but it’s still likely to be the main thing allowing players to survive and thrive in the game’s fast-paced battles when Bayonetta 3 releases in 2022.
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