Trying to avoid every sexual-tinted joke I could make in this preview.

Who could have thought many years back that Bayonetta would hit a Nintendo platform? I certainly wouldn't have believed you, and yet, here we are. The moment that Bayonetta 2 was announced as a Wii U exclusive is something that I will continue to remember vividly. There was happiness, anger, and distress that Nintendo would change what Bayonetta truly is. After spending a couple of hours with the Umbra Witch, I realized that is not the truth. Nintendo and Platinum Games have a clear understanding together of what this game is, and they are not trying to hide that fact at all.

It all starts with the opening of the game, where Bayonetta is out for some casual Christmas shopping. Well, casual for her standards you could say. After meeting up with Italian-American Enzo and other witch Jeanne, the baddies from Paradiso start to roam free. What follows is a spectacular transformation to a new outfit, and the game truly starts to kick off. Looking at these cutscenes, it is obvious that Platinum does not hold back for anyone. Enzo likes to throw the F-bomb around, suggestive themes are thrown around at you, and some pretty damning statements are made. This dynamic changes somewhat over time, mind you, but we have to be clear about what you are getting.

For a game that nearly got canned and takes place around Christmas, it has somewhat a serious edge to it. You see, Jeanne's soul gets separated from her body and gets dragged down to hell for reasons unknown. Bayonetta has 24 hours to get Jeanne's soul out of there or she is a total goner. Her journey brings her to the city of Noatun, where the gates of the different realms are apparently connected to one another. Along the way, she will meet up with characters who feed her with information. One in particular, is a young boy named Loki, who seems to have the power to control time and does some pretty nifty tricks to showcase it. He is not exactly on speaking terms with Bayonetta, but they both clearly need each other to accomplish their goals. Loki's goals are unclear, and it will be interesting to see how things progress.

On her way to various points in the levels, Bayonetta will of course have to deal with a hefty amount of resistance from Paradiso. Old and new lackeys join the fight to make the journey to hell as risky as you might think. Luckily, Bayonetta is well equipped to bring down these menaces with attacks performed by her arms and legs. You start out with a new set of pistols, called the Love is Blue, which you will get from Rodin. Rodin is your supplier of weaponry and will give you useful advice. If you bring him Golden LPs for example, similar to the first game, you will get additional toys to play with. A weapon that will get early on are the Rakshasa, which are swords you can equip to both legs and arms. Another is the Kafka, which is a bow for the arms that can fire shots a decent distance. With these weapons in hand, you are free to find the best combinations that will work for you.

Being a 3D action game, Bayonetta 2 will require a lot of twitchy movements. You will need to dodge enemy fire while performing your best combos to beat them into submission to deplete their health bars in fun ways. There is flow to it that sets Platinum Games apart from most other studios. Finding the combinations that work for you is vital and seeing it come together on screen brings a sigh of relief. What makes the layers around it additionally fun, is being simply rewarded for playing the game. Dodging at the brink of being hit will activate Witch Time, which allows you to beat down those enemies further for a couple seconds. There are also Umbran Climax attacks that will bring powerful demons to the battlefield, which makes for a small spectacle. The true shows are with the Torture and Infernal Demons Attacks, as you are being utterly cruel to your opponents. You can't help but smirk.

As a Wii U game, Bayonetta 2 supports various control options and ways to play the game. The game is playable with the GamePad, Pro Controller, and the Classic Controller Pro. In my personal experience, I liked the button layout of the GamePad the best. It provided a comfy way to play the game and the handling of the sticks felt perfectly executed. It doesn’t do many interesting things as far the second screen is concerned, but you can play the game optionally with touchscreen control. Here, you aim with the stylus at the locations you want to go and attack with simple taps. It works, and it might be good for someone who is not great at action games, but it is not my preferred way of playing. The game does a good job of balancing the three difficulty settings. That way, most players will experience the title without too many problems.

Beyond the action, you will explore environments semi- thoroughly throughout your endeavors. You will find lots of items, which provides a nice break from the standard proceedings. You can grab Umbran Crows, collect valuables from Resting Places, or other goodies that can increase Bayonetta's skills. What makes exploring fun are the downright beautiful locations you’re actually visiting. Noatun is a place very inspired by classic European structures. It provides delightful views, which are brought to life sharply on the Wii U. The colors are vibrant and cool, and the visual effects try to use many pages in the book. There is one particular location that I could spoil right now, but it would ruin the surprise. It is a true treat for the eyes.

Bayonetta 2 is shaping up to be an entertaining title for the Wii U. It doesn't shy away from its intended audience or from challenging you. The game is for the people that can truly appreciate an all-out bonkers game, and will delight lovers of the original. It’s a title that you need to get a feel for, but once that itch is there, it never truly leaves or breaks your spirit. We’ll know soon how the title will continue to progress. We are not far from the Japanese release, and the clock for the western date in October is ticking.