Bayonetta is a stylish third person action game developed by Platinum Games for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. The game's director, Hideki Kamiya, is also the mastermind behind games like Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, and Okami.

Hidden inside the game are a total of 40 Broken Witch Hearts and 16 Broken Moon Pearls, which can be collected to increase Bayonetta's maximum health and magic respectively.

Many of these collectibles are located inside what are known as Alfheims, which are Bayonetta's version of challenge rooms. Alfheims pose the player with a unique challenge, give them a limited amount of time to complete it, and a limited number of times they can get hit. These challenges range from defeating a group of enemies using only a certain number attacks to staying in the air for a full minute.

When the story begins, Bayonetta is in pursuit of a rumor involving her forgotten past that leads her to a European country called Vigrid. As Bayonetta fights against the forces of Paradiso (Heaven), she slowly begins to unravel her own past regarding the history of the Umbran Witches and the Lumen Sages.

Along the way Bayonetta runs into a cast of supporting characters including a human journalist named Luka who believes that Bayonetta murdered his father, a young girl named Cereza who looks mysteriously like Bayonetta, and a fellow Umbran Witch named Jeanne who acts as Bayonetta's rival throughout the game.

Combat in Bayonetta revolves primarily around a mechanic known as Witch Time, which activates when Bayonetta just barely dodges an enemy's attack. Witch Time slows down everything but Bayonetta and allows her to inflict massive damage on enemies who are unable to fight back.

Bayonetta is able to equip herself with two weapons at a time that she can wield in her hands and strap to her feet. Each weapon has their own set of unique traits and abilities, despite all having the same basic combo tree.

Bayonetta is the first game in the series, but it borrows heavily from already established action franchises like Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe.