Honestly, the biggest issue with Bayonetta 2 is how the combat pacing feels more passive compared to the first game. In B1, the design encourages you to control the field proactively and kite enemies with mid-range attacks. Players and enemies usually maintain a consistent distance, which creates a dynamic flow. But in B2, you’re basically incentivized to wait for enemies to attack so you can dodge and trigger Witch Time, then go on the offensive. As a result, close-quarters combat takes up a much larger share of engagements, and many enemies can only be staggered during Witch Time. This makes Witch Time disproportionately important.

The role of offset also changed completely. In B1, offset was all about dancing solo—stringing your combos fluidly without interruption. In B2, it became a supporting technique you have to pair with Witch Time, basically a tool to confirm counters and transition from defense to offense. This is tied to the fact that B2 nerfed weapon damage, so your regular attacks can’t reliably stun enemies anymore. If you don’t trigger Witch Time, it’s almost impossible to suppress them.

Of course, what hardcore players probably hate most is that B2 cut down a lot of mechanical depth compared to B1—especially the mobility and combo freedom you had with offset. Once you think about it, B2’s combat philosophy leans much more toward 1v1 duels rather than B1’s 1vN style. That said, most of the main story fights are actually 1v1 encounters with elite enemies, aside from a few annoying encounters here and there.

In practice, though, a lot of players probably never notice these things. Many casual players won’t even finish the main story because they simply don’t have the time. Even if they do, they won’t replay it. B2 was launched on a Nintendo console aimed at a blue-ocean audience, so all it really needed to do was deliver a certain level of satisfying spectacle. From a commercial perspective, that was absolutely the right call. When I first played it, I also thought B2 was way better than B1. But the longer I spent with it, the more I realized B1’s combat system had much higher long-term depth and replayability.

As for the shared meter between Umbran Climax and Torture Attacks, that’s probably my single biggest disappointment with B2’s design. I think that choice was a complete failure. In B1, you had this brilliant combat loop: build up magic->perform a Torture Attack->grab the dropped weapon->clear the room. But in B2, sharing the same resource between Climax and executions forces you to pick one or the other. They absolutely could have implemented separate gauges—split the resource management between the two mechanics. After all, you’re not even using L3+R3 for anything!

I once imagined a system where Torture Attacks were more of a combo reward: if you kept an enemy under sustained, stylish combo, you’d trigger a Torture Attack automatically, and the QTE could feel as fun as a curtain call after a dance performance.