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If you’re choosing between Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon and Bayonetta 3, pick Bayonetta 3 for the series’ combat-heavy action and release order. Pick Origins if you’d rather follow young Cereza through exploration and puzzles. The games play very differently, so your preferred style matters more than chronology alone.

How the two games differ

Bayonetta 3 is a mainline action game built around Bayonetta’s guns, the time-slowing Witch Time ability, and Demon Masquerade. Nintendo’s description sets the action against the Homunculi, with locations including Tokyo and China. It launched for Nintendo Switch on October 28, 2022. Nintendo’s Bayonetta 3 listing

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon follows a younger Cereza, before she is known as Bayonetta, and Cheshire, the demon inhabiting her stuffed toy. The game has you control both characters as they explore Avalon Forest and solve puzzles using their different abilities. Nintendo lists its Nintendo Switch release date as March 17, 2023. Nintendo’s Bayonetta Origins listing

That contrast is central to the choice: Bayonetta 3 emphasizes combat and spectacle; Origins emphasizes exploration, puzzle solving, and paired character control. Hideki Kamiya, Chief Game Designer and Supervising Director of Origins at PlatinumGames, described it as “a brand-new gameplay experience, different from anything in the Bayonetta games so far.” Kamiya’s statement on the PlatinumGames blog

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#1 Best Overall
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Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (European Version)
  • Once upon a time, there was a young witch named Cereza
  • Long before this trainee of the dark arts would come to be called Bayonetta, she took a fateful journey into the forbidden Avalon Forest. Alongside her was Cheshire, her very first demon, possessing Cereza’s stuffed toy. Play as both Cereza and Cheshire and search through the treacherous forest to look for the power to save Cereza’s mother
  • Any good story has a lesson about teamwork, no, In this tale, Cereza and Cheshire coordinate their efforts to fight faeries and solve puzzles. Use the Left Joy-Con controller to move Cereza and bind enemies with her magic. With the Right Joy-Con controller, move Cheshire to slash and chomp foes
  • Turn the pages of Cereza’s story as you explore the enchanting, storybook-inspired Avalon Forest. Avalon Forest is just as beautiful as it is beastly. Each new area looks like it has been painted carefully by hand. Fully-narrated story scenes are told through the vibrantly-illustrated pages of a storybook. Be sure to stop and smell the roses in this whimsical world, but don’t tarry too long – the forest has a taste for lost witches

Which should you play first?

Choose Bayonetta 3 first for action and release order

Start with Bayonetta 3 if you want weapons, Witch Time, large demon abilities, and the mainline action format. It also came out first, making it the natural choice if you prefer playing these two games in release order.

Choose Origins first for Cereza’s earlier story

Start with Origins if you’re more drawn to young Cereza’s story, exploration, puzzles, and controlling two characters together. Its different format may also suit you if you’re uncomfortable with action games or unfamiliar with the series; Kamiya said the team hoped it could offer an experience to people in those situations.

Rank #2
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon
  • Journey into the Avalon Forest as Cereza—a young Bayonetta—and her very first demon, Cheshire, to gain the power to save her mother
  • Control both Cereza and Cheshire simultaneously and coordinate to solve puzzles and beat faeries
  • Colorful environments look as if they were painted by hand, and fully narrated story scenes are told through the vibrantly illustrated pages of a storybook

Try the demo if you’re unsure

Nintendo offers a free Origins demo and says progress carries over to the full game. It gives you a way to see whether its exploration-and-puzzle approach suits you before choosing it.

Is Bayonetta Origins a prequel to Bayonetta 3?

Origins follows Cereza when she is young, before she is known as Bayonetta. That establishes its earlier character premise, but it does not by itself establish a definitive continuity order or show whether playing it first avoids every story spoiler. The official descriptions cited here do not recommend a spoiler-safe order across the series. If that is your priority, consult a spoiler-aware series guide rather than treating release dates or the premise as proof.

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Bayonetta 3 - Nintendo Switch
  • Play as the bewitching Bayonetta in the third installment of her climax action game series
  • Shoot, stomp, and slam your way through multiple locations and meet other Bayonettas
  • Channel the power of demons using the new ability, Demon Masquerade
  • Unleash Bayonetta’s Infernal Demons in larger-than-life battles
  • Slash and slay as witch-in-training Viola and harness the power of her feline demon, Cheshire
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Platform and editions

Nintendo lists both games for Nintendo Switch, with physical editions available for each. The Origins listing also includes the free demo. Prices and retailer stock can change, so check the current listing or retailer before buying.

Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 1
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (European Version)
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (European Version)
Once upon a time, there was a young witch named Cereza
$39.94
SaleBestseller No. 3
Bayonetta 3 - Nintendo Switch
Bayonetta 3 - Nintendo Switch
Play as the bewitching Bayonetta in the third installment of her climax action game series
$54.99
Bestseller No. 4
Bayonetta Origins
Bayonetta Origins
216950
$69.94
Bestseller No. 5
Bayonetta Origins Cereza and the Lost Demon (Español)
Bayonetta Origins Cereza and the Lost Demon (Español)
Unofficial title page; Release date is subject to change
$69.94
Best Value
Bayonetta Origins Cereza and the Lost Demon (Español)
  • Unofficial title page
  • Release date is subject to change
  • Players take control of Cereza, a young witch apprentice who embarks on a fateful journey into a forbidden forest, gaining the power to save her mother.
  • This game is a distinctive fairytale art style and offers gameplay aspects never seen before in the Bayonetta saga.
  • Both Cherry and her hellish demon companion Cheshire are controlled, with much of exploring, battling and solving puzzles helping Cherry to penetrate even deeper into the forest.

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.