Bayonetta or God of War - Help settle a disagreement

God of war all the way but im not a big fan of 3.

Yep, agree entirely with rethla. I loved the first two but really didn't like three. As for what's better, I'd say since I love the first two God of War games and warmed up to Bayonetta more recently, but still hadn't gone through either of them, I'll go with God of War. That said, while I don't always feel you need to compare games to say which is better, in this case, these two games to me are different enough that it's a better argument to ask whether Bayonetta is better than Ninja Gaiden and/or DMC, than it is to ask if it's better than God of War. I think they are better in different aspects, and it depends on what kind of style you want to play. When God of War came out, I found it hard to want to play it because it wasn't similar enough to Ninja Gaiden, which I was really into at the time. The reason I prefer God of War is just that I much prefer the atmosphere/setting of the first two games and the soundtrack I like more, otherwise it's disputable. Can I ask what side you're on? Furthermore, you can't really settle a disagreement with this; it's just opinions unless that's what it's about, whether more people like one or the other (and even then, you can't settle it).

Not even the same genre. God of War is action-adventure, Bayonetta is action. I've never played Bayonetta, but I'll still say God of War. The first two (the only ones I played) were well made adventures. Metal Gear Rising is mediocre and the Bayonetta demo was lame. I don't like PG. I find their games (and their genre overall) shallow.

@ezekiel: action-adventure sounds like a sub genre of action. What's the big distinction between the two in your mind?

I do enjoy the God of War series but Bayonetta wins hands-down for me. I'm a character-action junkie and it's Kamiya and the boys bringin' the thunder not once but twice. Please. This world needs more of the Witch.

Can you provide some more context to this disagreement and this post in general? What are we judging here? Story, gameplay, style, graphics, overall package?

I like the story of the first God of War game. It's way better than it should be, it is this fucking close to being an actual Greek tragedy, only in video game form. But Kratos is rescued from his suicide attempt and was made into the new god of war and I guess that would be OK but then they went and made a bunch of sequels that watered down everything that made the first game's story surprisingly good.

Also, I like the gameplay. Mostly. I remember feeling like I could never really pull off much in the way of "cool stuff" because I would always get interrupted or something, so I just square-square-triangle'd my way through it and occasionally knocked an enemy into the air and juggled him. I also had never really played that sort of character action game, so I wasn't very good at it. Maybe I'll play it again someday, who knows? I have the PS3 collection.

I never got around to playing Bayonetta 1 or 2, so I don't really know which one I'd say is "better" for me.

I don't think GOW is very good. The first one is alright but got bored some time into the 2nd. Kratos is also one of the worst video game characters ever made. Bayonetta is awesome though

Metal Gear Rising for sure.

Bayonetta, there is no question! I'm not even a fan of the first game but Bayonetta 2 is so good that it's better than every God of War game.

Bayonetta is one of the greatest action games ever made. Its deep, rewarding and has tons of replay value.

God of War is more focused on spectacle and story, and mashing square.

It depends what you want really.

Action-adventure may feature more puzzles, exploration, platforming, dialogue, intricate level design, NPCs. They're usually not cut up into levels with scores. Action is much more about the action, almost exclusively so. Which is why I find most of them so lame. it's monotonous. It's like eating a piece of chicken without rice and salad to go along with it. I want adventure. MGR barely even does the action well.

Personally I prefer a game that does one thing really well (Bayonetta, MGR, DMC) to a game that does several things serviceably. (GOW, POP, the Arkham & AC series)

I'm torn but chose Bayonetta even though I only played the first game. God of War is a revelation when it first came out as it pioneered the larger-than-life spectacle modern action-adventure games have. On the other hand, Bayonetta is filled with so much style and panache that it turns that larger-than-life crank up to eleven making the set-pieces of God of War almost obsolete by comparison.

Don't want to trash GoW but Bayonetta is in another league in my mind. Tha new GoW looks sick though, love to see more of it.

I played the first God of War and thought it was just fine, but a bit shallow combatwise and way too caught up in bad platforming challenges. Bayonetta is freaking amazing, besides that one part where you fly a missile for like ten minutes.

I recall the Bayonetta demo running pretty poorly on PS3, so never gave it another try. I'm not too hot on Bayonetta herself either, she's just...I don't know, bit too over the top?

God of War has always been my jam, though, especially two.

Man, the first God of War was a cool thing at the time, but I have never understood how it has gone on for this long. Outside of it being a Sony exclusive, there was nothing really special about it. I mean, Devil May Cry, the xbox Ninja Gaidan, or even Veiwtiful Joe, were hands down better action games at the time.

No one God of War game, is close to as interesting as either of the Bayonetta games. Bayonetta is such a strange beast story wise, and mechanically very superior to GoW.

God of War is a spectacle, bayonetta is also a spectacle but with a much better and rewarding combat-system.

Also, Kratos is a giant asshole with no redeeming qualities. Just wholly unlikeable in every concievable way.

Not even a competition as far as I'm concerned. They are fairly different games though. Not really going for the same thing.

I mean God of War is garbage and Bayonetta is top of class so the answer is pretty obvious.

God of War lost a lot of good will with 3 and ascension.

I'm not too big on God of War. Played the first two (and a PSP one at some point) and just thought they were okay. I'm a big Devil May Cry fan, and I think Bayonetta captures that sort of intense, combo-heavy combat pretty well while providing an insanity all its own. I thought Bayonetta 2 was especially excellent, but I would rather play either of them before I went back to a God of War game.

But like others have said, they're two very different approaches to an action game.

I've played too many GoW games. 4 on consoles, 2 on PSP and 1 on mobile. I don't know if I ever need another one

Bayonetta OTOH hasn't overstayed its welcome yet.

They are both character action, unlike what some want to claim, except God of War has a weaker combat system that it tries to make up for with bigger spectacle rather than more satisfying minute to minute gameplay. They're both fun in their own right but Bayonetta is the better "game" so to speak, on a purely technical level. That said if you dislike anime or eastern design sensibilities then no amount of polished gameplay will win you over. Greek mythology does have a sort of universal appeal.

I don't like either series very much, but I managed to finish both Bayonetta games, and I've never found a God of War game compelling enough to finish. So, Bayonetta, I guess.

I tried to get into the God of War series in 2013. I had a miserable time for like 2 hours in the first game before putting it down and never looking back.

That said, even if I wound up enjoying it, there's still no way I'd put it above Bayonetta. Both of those games are fucking awesome.

@smeatbass What's the disagreement? You're not giving us much to go on.

God of War for the epic story feel. Bayonetta for the moment-to-moment action.

Bayonetta 2 is one of if not the best character action games of all time. God of War is good, and I'd say it does spectacle better than the first Bayo, but no game from the franchise can touch Bayo 2.

Bayonetta got STYYYYYYYYLE

God of War got ANGGGGGGER

I'm a big fan of God of War and have only played Bayonetta 1, but I'm still picking Bayonetta because they greatly improved the gameplay formula. That Witch Time mechanic feels so good, so much better than rinsing Square, square, triangle.

I liked the first God of War. It was a fun time murderin' all those fantastical beasts and gods. The latter games just felt like more of the same and I wasn't all that compelled by them. Also it felt pretty simple - more a case of being good at dodging stuff than utilising a deep combat system. Bayonetta is packed with style from end to end; its combat system was tougher for me to pick up initially but so much more rewarding once I started to get the hang of it. Throughout both Bayonetta games I was constantly amazed and impressed with what was going on - it continued to catch me off-guard at every turn with how crazy, or funny, or outrageous it was. A lot of God of War's "spectacle" feels just like scale - "Oh this monster/god/titan is really big and I'm a tiny, angry man" - whereas Bayonetta does that (on perhaps an even grander scale at times) but also the stuff which is happening feels crazier to me.

For me it isn't even close: I think the God of War games are good, but tonally not the most interesting to me. I think the Bayonetta games are both absolute Game of the Year contenders (at the least). I bought my Wii U specifically to play Bayonetta 2 and while I ended up getting plenty more use out of it, I would have been satisfied with my purchase if that was the only game I had cared about on the system.

Both are very limited character action games. I always felt like that whole genre was missing something deeper. They focus way too much on shallow spectacle and complex gameplay execution usually reserved for fighting games. Hopefully the new Nier with its wider scope, RPG mechanics and bullet hell elements will be able to fix my problems with this genre.

God of War, or as I call it, "what if a spinning top got very angry and bounced around a pinball table full of baddies for 15 hours"

Coming from DMC and Ninja Gaiden, I thought God of War always was way too easy and superficial gameplay wise.

In terms of combat and just the amount of batshit insane things that happen it I will choose Bayonetta. When you pull of those dodges and just stomp the living crap out a boss with a giant hair monster there are few things more satisfying.

If terms of story I think God of War is just ultimately better and more cohesive.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is the clear choice for both answers though.

God of War felt like to me it should have never been a franchise. The first game was great, but it didn't feel like it had anything new to say after that and Kratos is just a really unlikable protagonist. In retrospect I think they should have gone with Jaffe's original vision of having Kratos go after different mythology deities in each entry. At least that would have helped it feel fresher.

Definitely had world class production values for the time, mind blowing spectacle.

Bayonetta I think also just plays better, GoW always made my hands ache after long sessions. YMMV on aesthetics

That's not fixing the genre, that's just an action RPG. One of the reasons I like character action games (especially the ones made by Platinum) is because they're focused and lack filler. And the depth of the combat encourages replayability on higher difficulties. Which unlike most genres (that just raise enemy hp and lower player hp) are actually remixed to make it feel fresh. (different enemies, item placements etc.)

It's fine if you dont like the genre but wanting it be something diffent is like me wanting MOBAs to be RTSs, it's just kind of selfish for people who actually like that stuff.

(also it's a dying genre anyway what with all the souls clones becoming popular)

I cannot stand the universe/story of Bayonetta. So, God of War wins out for me.

I played the first God of War fairly recently and enjoyed it far more than I expected. Aside from a couple of questionable set-pieces, that whole thing holds up surprisingly well. The combat isn't super deep, but it's also not quite the "mash square for 10 hours" thing people decry it as. Of course, I can't speak for the rest of the series, but it does seem like they never really figured how to progress that stuff at all after the first one.

That said, Bayonetta 2 is one of my favorite games of the last 5 years. In terms of mechanical depth and the "feel" of the moment-to-moment gameplay, there's no competition.

Nier Automata (not the first one) has a very strong character action game core. The light/heavy attacks, the combos, the launcher move, the evade mechanic, the different kinds of enemies you fight in arenas. It very much feels like a character action game. The witcher 3, the tales series and maybe even dark souls are what you would call action RPGs. They have none of the mechanics of character action games. Nier Automata does but strips all of the bullshit combo input strings and needless complexity. They add other elements varying up the gameplay and expanding the scope of a usually very limited genre. If they nail it all it might be the first Platinum game that goes past the "very good rental game" status. If you like the genre and don't want it to die this seems like a great direction for it to live on.

Bayonetta, totally. I remember when GoW would get difficult, it would feel frustrating and kind of cheap. When Bayonetta got hard, it got more fun. The "good" Platinum games are hard to top, man.

@pyrodactyl: I think you missed the point I was making, the structure is one of the core things I like and consider to be essential to the genre. An action RPG with deeper combat mechanics is just that. The upcoming Nioh is an exampe of character action traits being bolted on to an action RPG. (which is fine, but it's no longer the same genre) But nobody knows what shape Nier Automata will take, I just know that the original game was structured like an action RPG, even if it didnt have very complex mechanics. (I enjoyed that game but it was filled to the brim with tedious filler)

I like being able to boot up a game, pick a level and try to improve my score, it's simple sure but it's a fun break from the vast amounts of open world time wasters out there.

How is Bayonetta a "very limited" character action game? It has one of the deeper and most satisfying core combat systems of the entire genre, easy to grasp but difficult to master. If anything I'd say Nier Automata appears to be a limited character action game as it's sacrificing some of that core complexity integral to the genre in favor of the mix and matching of perspectives that diversify it's own core gameplay.

I'm glad the actual voters are sane.

...Bayonetta is a statuesque woman who is beautifully clothed in nothing more than magic hair. She gets my vote for being, "librarian sexy" too.

Bayonetta all the way. I don't even like Bayonetta 2 that much ,but Bayonetta alone is more fun than all the God of Wars.

I could see the argument that GoW has more of a coherent story and also probably better paced. A lot of it comes to taste though. Platinum action games are kind of their own style and are never explained well. While GoW is way more manageable and coherent, while also not as deep.

If we're going to name random games not listed, on a good day I'd Wonderful 101 probably has the best of both.

@boozak: The things you think make a character action game are probably what I find totally off putting about the genre. I'm not the only one either since, like you said, that specific incarnation of the genre is dying if not already dead and buried. I personally hope the other stuff (fast pace, fluid and timing based combat) will live on.

I don't support the character action term. I think it's mostly relevant to Giantbomb. Most people just call Bayonetta a hack and slash or an action game. But your comparison ignores the big emphasis on puzzles and platforming in God of War. The level design is more intricate. It's not similar to Bayonetta, where the combat is almost the whole of it.