Bayonetta 3 on Switch – DF Tech Review – A Great Game With Polish & Performance Issues (Digital Foundry)
Bayonetta 3 on Switch – DF Tech Review – A Great Game With Polish & Performance Issues (Digital Foundry)
by Turbostrider27
34 Comments
Stock_Ad9268
Not surprised to see performance issues in a alpha effect heavy game. Memory bandwidth is really proving to be the biggest hardware limitation of the Switch.
SoulOfGwyn
I might wait for a patch then we shall see
musical_bear
Apparently renders below 480p when in portable mode. Pretty rough. I think his assessment in the intro about this game seemingly being produced with the assumption that more powerful hardware would come, but never did, is spot on.
SaltySteveD87
Nier: Automata runs at 30 FPS and feels great to play. It’s disappointing that Bayo 3 can’t keep up with the previous two games but a locked 30FPS would’ve been a nice option.
blueberrypizza
This is pretty disappointing to watch. Bayonetta 1 ran great on Switch (haven’t gotten around to 2 yet), so it’s weird to see 3 disappoint in both visuals and performance. Sounds like almost every aspect of this game was development hell.
desmopilot
Happy it exists but shame the platform holds Platinum’s vision back.
Tinkerwhite
I bought it on presale and played for around 2h today. I am used to play bayo on TV but I think bayo 3 might be better on handheld. TBH I am loving it on hand held and I highly recomend it. Graphics are not the best but do maintain that bayo “graphic” feeling. Also Bayo herself its so well done. The combat feels better than ever. If you are wondering if performance will suck, it doesnt.
hunterzolomon1993
Been playing all afternoon and the game is fantastic and worth the wait but god its rough. If any game shows the Switch really needs a Switch 2 or Pro or whatever its this, its too much for the Switch and it shows. Hopefully they can add a 30fps cap as that might improve things but right now that unlocked framerate is quite something. Again amazing game easily a GOTY contender i feel but i really wish i was playing this on my PS5 or Series S instead. I think it was Skill Up who said he wants a remaster of this and yeah i agree.
hardwarebyte
I returned the game the performance lets it down completely.
EarthDragon2189
I’m not a big performance-minded guy when it comes to my games…as long as they’re fun and aren’t running cripplingly poor, I’m fine…but when so many of Nintendo’s big releases are hamstrung by the hardware, it really does seem like the time is overdue for an upgrade.
Climax0
Can’t say I’m too surprised unfortunately. Seems similar to how Bayo 2 originally ran on Wii U and Bayo 1 on 360/Wii U.
Yes the Switch ports of both do hit a mostly stable 60, but that’s with docked specs at only 720p.
For some reason seems like Platinum is usually contempt with an wavering framerate for Bayonetta. I just wish they would prioritize performance more, especially for something that’s only designed with one console in mind.
“To their credit, Platinum has put all of the Switch’s processing power into character detail and framerate, which was totally the right call, and overall performance is actually very good. A few dips here or there but on the whole, but generally it runs smoothly.”
Really a few dips, they game can’t keep 60fps for more than 5 seconds and runs in the 40s most of the time. Runs smoothly my arse. At least DF has the balls to call out the
“so-called favourites” when it comes to issues. I’ll be adding well-played to the blacklist.
“Switch owners will breathe a sigh of relief at Bayonetta 3’s performance. The gunslinging witch’s agile combat feels incredibly slick on the system. And while there’s the odd hiccup, they were rare, which feels especially impressive given how extra all the additions to the demon-infused fighting are.”
There was no “the odd hiccup, they were rare”, 90% of the game runs like shite.
EDIT: Still going through all the reviews and well done to [shacknews](https://www.shacknews.com/article/132804/bayonetta-3-review-score) for calling out Platinum on this bullshit performance, unfortunately it looks like most other sites have decided to pucker up and ignore performance issues.
EDIT: Some lies from [NintendoLife](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/bayonetta-3) this time “in terms of performance. Yes, the camera can lose its way a little bit on rare occasions when ferocious battles happen in tight spaces, and yes, there’s some noticeable resolution scaling in handheld when things get ultra-crazy, but it’s all perfectly acceptable and understandable in order to keep that framerate smooth enough to let the action flow.”
I’m starting to think maybe these people played this on the Switch 2 XL Pro or they were paid of by Nintendo or something. “framerate smooth enough” the framerate isn’t smooth you liar.
zen1706
Well for hardware as outdated as the Switch, this is as polished as it can get.
iwannabethisguy
Was thinking of getting this at launch but now I’ll probably play through bayo1 first and then get bayo2. Hopefully this will be patched before the end of the year.
Toffly
It looks so blurry on my TV. I decided to dump the rom off the cartridge and try it through an emulator, lo’ and behold, it looks freaking great at 4K.
AtsignAmpersat
I’ve been playing it and enjoying it so far. This is the first time where I’m like ok, the switch is a little long in the tooth now.
kdogg2077
Astral chain was stunning yet performed well.
shust89
It’s a fun game but it looks like a Dreamcast game sometimes (but I kind of like that lol)
Dispersey29
Does this game have worse graphics than Bayonetta 2??? Serious question.
soulwolf1
The game is great but the graphics is definitely worse than B2
WhosthatMarmoset
Nintendo REALLY needs to get a sequel to the Switch out.
Isuckmangosforalivin
I am convinced Nintendo planned to have some kind of updated switch out by now
SoWokeIdontSleep
We’re overdue for a next gen switch.
Well next gen as far as Nintendo hardware goes
Thatsso70s
“***acts surprised”*** its Nintendo these days they do the bare minimum possible on their games its sad..
EazeeP
The next switch desperately needs to target 1080p 60fps as the base which it should easily be able to do with a cheap modern chip
justcallmeryanok
Man if Nintendo announce a follow up model I’m ordering a steam deck
MrDannySantos
Voice acting is amazing
Drakeem1221
I’m not the absolute biggest stickler for performance depending on my mood, but it’s getting a little bit embarassing for the console at this point.
​
I’m okay with dealing with lower specs and reduced visuals. Hell, I’m cool with a sprite based Pokemon, Zelda that looks like Wind Waker, etc. I just don’t get how you can have exclusives that are supposed to show off your system to some degree perform poorly off the bat when they should be the shining beacon of what can be done on the Switch, regardless of if it’s first party or not.
​
The new Hyrule Warriors, Xenoblade 3, SMT V, any Pokemon game after Lets Go, and now Bayonetta are all recent releases that just don’t seem to be able to keep up (some more than others). Hell, it gets worse if we include the Switch console exclusives (games that are also on PC) like Monster Hunter Stories 2, Triangle Strategy, etc.
​
I get that Nintendo doesn’t develop a lot of these games, but there has to be some sort of quality control. You’re basically telling the world that this is the best that can be done on the system. There are our exclusives and the big selling point as to why you should be here.
BigDreamsandWetOnes
God this game really does look rough. I usually don’t care for graphics but Damn
Jmask5
Its feels to me like a game made for ps4 that was ported to switch. Maybe they know something we dont regarding a switch 2 because its unacceptable to have game run like this and charge full price. Amazing gameplay wise though
begselwalch
The fact that as usual, Bayonetta has all these wacky scenes that are supposed to look wild and spectacular makes it all the worse, because these really don’t work with these blurry and rough graphics.
Platinum has already developed Astral Chain as a Switch exclusive and that game – thanks to the stylised graphics – looks a lot better than Bayo 3 while also running well on the system. The devs should have made a less ambitous Bayo spin-off tailored to the capabilities of the Switch or should have just waited for better Nintendo hardware with the next Bayonetta game.
I don’t think that for example SMT5 looks any better than Bayo 3, but that one is a turn-based RPG without over-the-top cutscenes and big real-time action. For this reason I wasn’t too bothered by the graphics in that game. The Switch is just not a good home for Bayonetta anymore – the game often looks like an absolute mess which also detracts from the gameplay experience imo. Real-time action of this scope needs hardware that’s a lot stronger.
(I also think it’s a bit dumb that Platinum finally added the option to retry single verses but this only applies to a select few…but the ones you have to visit again “manually” will get updated anyway if you reach a better rank so…why not let the player just retry all of them separately from the chapter menu?)
shust89
I know this gets said a lot, but I really feel next year is the year we get the Switch 2. Too many franchises they have have been quiet for too long.
New-Mathematician359
There was visible hitching in the very first gameplay trailer, and I remember getting downvoted to hell in the Bayonetta subreddit for pointing it out and saying The Switch was going to have issues running/hold back this game.
CoSMiiCBLaST
If Nintendo had done a better thermal job and made it so the switch wasn’t so underclocked in docked mode they could’ve maybe done a slightly better job with it
But Nintendo just make the weakest hardware that only themselves know how to master
34 Comments
Not surprised to see performance issues in a alpha effect heavy game. Memory bandwidth is really proving to be the biggest hardware limitation of the Switch.
I might wait for a patch then we shall see
Apparently renders below 480p when in portable mode. Pretty rough. I think his assessment in the intro about this game seemingly being produced with the assumption that more powerful hardware would come, but never did, is spot on.
Nier: Automata runs at 30 FPS and feels great to play. It’s disappointing that Bayo 3 can’t keep up with the previous two games but a locked 30FPS would’ve been a nice option.
This is pretty disappointing to watch. Bayonetta 1 ran great on Switch (haven’t gotten around to 2 yet), so it’s weird to see 3 disappoint in both visuals and performance. Sounds like almost every aspect of this game was development hell.
Happy it exists but shame the platform holds Platinum’s vision back.
I bought it on presale and played for around 2h today. I am used to play bayo on TV but I think bayo 3 might be better on handheld. TBH I am loving it on hand held and I highly recomend it. Graphics are not the best but do maintain that bayo “graphic” feeling. Also Bayo herself its so well done. The combat feels better than ever. If you are wondering if performance will suck, it doesnt.
Been playing all afternoon and the game is fantastic and worth the wait but god its rough. If any game shows the Switch really needs a Switch 2 or Pro or whatever its this, its too much for the Switch and it shows. Hopefully they can add a 30fps cap as that might improve things but right now that unlocked framerate is quite something. Again amazing game easily a GOTY contender i feel but i really wish i was playing this on my PS5 or Series S instead. I think it was Skill Up who said he wants a remaster of this and yeah i agree.
I returned the game the performance lets it down completely.
I’m not a big performance-minded guy when it comes to my games…as long as they’re fun and aren’t running cripplingly poor, I’m fine…but when so many of Nintendo’s big releases are hamstrung by the hardware, it really does seem like the time is overdue for an upgrade.
Can’t say I’m too surprised unfortunately. Seems similar to how Bayo 2 originally ran on Wii U and Bayo 1 on 360/Wii U.
Yes the Switch ports of both do hit a mostly stable 60, but that’s with docked specs at only 720p.
For some reason seems like Platinum is usually contempt with an wavering framerate for Bayonetta. I just wish they would prioritize performance more, especially for something that’s only designed with one console in mind.
LMAO at this review from [well-played](https://www.well-played.com.au/bayonetta-3-review/) is in complete denial.
“To their credit, Platinum has put all of the Switch’s processing power into character detail and framerate, which was totally the right call, and overall performance is actually very good. A few dips here or there but on the whole, but generally it runs smoothly.”
Really a few dips, they game can’t keep 60fps for more than 5 seconds and runs in the 40s most of the time. Runs smoothly my arse. At least DF has the balls to call out the
“so-called favourites” when it comes to issues. I’ll be adding well-played to the blacklist.
EDIT: Adding [gamesradar](https://www.gamesradar.com/bayonetta-3-review/) to the blacklist too
“Switch owners will breathe a sigh of relief at Bayonetta 3’s performance. The gunslinging witch’s agile combat feels incredibly slick on the system. And while there’s the odd hiccup, they were rare, which feels especially impressive given how extra all the additions to the demon-infused fighting are.”
There was no “the odd hiccup, they were rare”, 90% of the game runs like shite.
EDIT: Still going through all the reviews and well done to [shacknews](https://www.shacknews.com/article/132804/bayonetta-3-review-score) for calling out Platinum on this bullshit performance, unfortunately it looks like most other sites have decided to pucker up and ignore performance issues.
EDIT: Some lies from [NintendoLife](https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/nintendo-switch/bayonetta-3) this time “in terms of performance. Yes, the camera can lose its way a little bit on rare occasions when ferocious battles happen in tight spaces, and yes, there’s some noticeable resolution scaling in handheld when things get ultra-crazy, but it’s all perfectly acceptable and understandable in order to keep that framerate smooth enough to let the action flow.”
I’m starting to think maybe these people played this on the Switch 2 XL Pro or they were paid of by Nintendo or something. “framerate smooth enough” the framerate isn’t smooth you liar.
Well for hardware as outdated as the Switch, this is as polished as it can get.
Was thinking of getting this at launch but now I’ll probably play through bayo1 first and then get bayo2. Hopefully this will be patched before the end of the year.
It looks so blurry on my TV. I decided to dump the rom off the cartridge and try it through an emulator, lo’ and behold, it looks freaking great at 4K.
I’ve been playing it and enjoying it so far. This is the first time where I’m like ok, the switch is a little long in the tooth now.
Astral chain was stunning yet performed well.
It’s a fun game but it looks like a Dreamcast game sometimes (but I kind of like that lol)
Does this game have worse graphics than Bayonetta 2??? Serious question.
The game is great but the graphics is definitely worse than B2
Nintendo REALLY needs to get a sequel to the Switch out.
I am convinced Nintendo planned to have some kind of updated switch out by now
We’re overdue for a next gen switch.
Well next gen as far as Nintendo hardware goes
“***acts surprised”*** its Nintendo these days they do the bare minimum possible on their games its sad..
The next switch desperately needs to target 1080p 60fps as the base which it should easily be able to do with a cheap modern chip
Man if Nintendo announce a follow up model I’m ordering a steam deck
Voice acting is amazing
I’m not the absolute biggest stickler for performance depending on my mood, but it’s getting a little bit embarassing for the console at this point.
​
I’m okay with dealing with lower specs and reduced visuals. Hell, I’m cool with a sprite based Pokemon, Zelda that looks like Wind Waker, etc. I just don’t get how you can have exclusives that are supposed to show off your system to some degree perform poorly off the bat when they should be the shining beacon of what can be done on the Switch, regardless of if it’s first party or not.
​
The new Hyrule Warriors, Xenoblade 3, SMT V, any Pokemon game after Lets Go, and now Bayonetta are all recent releases that just don’t seem to be able to keep up (some more than others). Hell, it gets worse if we include the Switch console exclusives (games that are also on PC) like Monster Hunter Stories 2, Triangle Strategy, etc.
​
I get that Nintendo doesn’t develop a lot of these games, but there has to be some sort of quality control. You’re basically telling the world that this is the best that can be done on the system. There are our exclusives and the big selling point as to why you should be here.
God this game really does look rough. I usually don’t care for graphics but Damn
Its feels to me like a game made for ps4 that was ported to switch. Maybe they know something we dont regarding a switch 2 because its unacceptable to have game run like this and charge full price. Amazing gameplay wise though
The fact that as usual, Bayonetta has all these wacky scenes that are supposed to look wild and spectacular makes it all the worse, because these really don’t work with these blurry and rough graphics.
Platinum has already developed Astral Chain as a Switch exclusive and that game – thanks to the stylised graphics – looks a lot better than Bayo 3 while also running well on the system. The devs should have made a less ambitous Bayo spin-off tailored to the capabilities of the Switch or should have just waited for better Nintendo hardware with the next Bayonetta game.
I don’t think that for example SMT5 looks any better than Bayo 3, but that one is a turn-based RPG without over-the-top cutscenes and big real-time action. For this reason I wasn’t too bothered by the graphics in that game. The Switch is just not a good home for Bayonetta anymore – the game often looks like an absolute mess which also detracts from the gameplay experience imo. Real-time action of this scope needs hardware that’s a lot stronger.
(I also think it’s a bit dumb that Platinum finally added the option to retry single verses but this only applies to a select few…but the ones you have to visit again “manually” will get updated anyway if you reach a better rank so…why not let the player just retry all of them separately from the chapter menu?)
I know this gets said a lot, but I really feel next year is the year we get the Switch 2. Too many franchises they have have been quiet for too long.
There was visible hitching in the very first gameplay trailer, and I remember getting downvoted to hell in the Bayonetta subreddit for pointing it out and saying The Switch was going to have issues running/hold back this game.
If Nintendo had done a better thermal job and made it so the switch wasn’t so underclocked in docked mode they could’ve maybe done a slightly better job with it
But Nintendo just make the weakest hardware that only themselves know how to master