How to Get Into the Bayonetta Series: The Best Game Order and Story Basics

Play the numbered games in release order: Bayonetta (2010), Bayonetta 2 (2014), then Bayonetta 3 (2022). After that, play Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (2023) if you want an optional childhood-era story with a very different style of play. Origins can also be a reasonable starting point for readers who prefer exploration and puzzles to a demanding action game, but release order is the clearest first experience for the main series.

The recommended Bayonetta play order

For a first playthrough, use this order:

1. Bayonetta — first released in 2010.
2. Bayonetta 2 — first released in 2014.
3. Bayonetta 3 — released for Nintendo Switch on October 28, 2022.
4. Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon — released for Nintendo Switch on March 17, 2023; optional after the numbered trilogy.

This preserves the order in which the three main games were introduced and lets their ideas, characters and escalating threats develop naturally. Origins is set during Cereza’s childhood, before she is known as Bayonetta, so it belongs earlier in her life but later in a release-order marathon.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Bayonetta -Switch	$59.99	Buy on Amazon
2		Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon	$59.00	Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Every game at a glance

Why release order is the safest first playthrough

The numbered games form the series’ main action-game progression. Starting with the first Bayonetta gives you the original version of the combat language, the game’s presentation of its witch protagonist and the initial mystery around her lost memories. Bayonetta 2 then assumes that you know the first game’s world and relationships, while also moving its immediate story forward. Bayonetta 3 follows with a new global danger and a new witch whose presence is easier to appreciate after seeing the earlier games.

Release order also avoids asking a new player to interpret the series’ larger continuity before they have seen the stories that created those questions. The official descriptions establish that Origins is a childhood story, but they do not provide a complete map for every relationship among later timelines, versions of Bayonetta or other continuity questions. Treat the straightforward order and the broader continuity debate as separate issues.

#1 Best Overall

Sale

Bayonetta -Switch

• Witch fell her angel with her smile and beautiful black hair
• The Nintendo Switch is the origin of the action game series that works with the beautiful and brutal witch "Beyonetta"
• The thrill of throwing off your enemy attacks with a single sheet of paper, and the variety of combos will overwhelm your enemy. You can enjoy brilliant and extreme climax action with the angels of attacking

$59.99

Buy on Amazon

What to expect from each game

Bayonetta (2010): begin with the original mystery

The first game follows a mysterious woman who awakens with no memories. She travels toward Vigrid, encounters hostile angels and gradually uncovers pieces of her past. That premise makes it a useful introduction: you learn the setting at the same pace as Bayonetta herself rather than arriving with a large glossary of names and factions.

It is an action game, so expect combat to be the main way you interact with the world. The official synopsis keeps the story introduction deliberately broad: encounters in Vigrid draw out Bayonetta’s history. Leave the details there if you are explaining the game to someone who has not played it. The first game is the correct starting point even if a later title is the one that first caught your attention.

Bayonetta 2 (2014): continue directly from game one

Bayonetta 2 takes place after the events around Balder’s defeat. PlatinumGames’ official setup describes Bayonetta and Jeanne enjoying a period of peace before Jeanne’s soul is taken to Inferno. Bayonetta then sets out to save her friend.

That is enough context for a spoiler-light recommendation: finish the original first, then move straight into the second game while its relationships and terminology are fresh. Its story is not an unrelated side chapter, and playing it before the original removes the intended introduction to Bayonetta’s world.

Bayonetta 3 (2022): save the new threat for third

The third numbered game introduces mysterious life forms attacking the world and a young “Third Witch” who asks Bayonetta for aid. Those facts establish the stakes without revealing the turns that make the game worth discovering.

Play it after Bayonetta 2. The official description is intentionally high level, and a short order guide should not try to solve every continuity question raised by the game. If you are new to the series, experience the story first and decide afterward how much of its wider mythology you want to analyze.

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (2023): a childhood story in another style

Origins stars young Cereza, before she comes to be called Bayonetta. She enters the forbidden Avalon Forest with her first demon, Cheshire, while seeking power that could save her mother. The two protagonists are controlled together: Cereza and Cheshire combine their abilities for exploration, combat and puzzle solving.

This is not simply “Bayonetta 4.” It is a distinct adventure with a different structure and a different feel from the numbered action games. Its childhood setting makes it earlier in Cereza’s life, but that fact alone does not answer every later continuity question. For a first series run, placing it fourth lets you recognize its references and appreciate its contrast. For a player who dislikes intense action games, it is also a legitimate alternative entry point.

Can you start with Bayonetta Origins?

Yes, with an important qualification. Hideki Kamiya, the supervising director of Bayonetta Origins, wrote that the team wanted the game to welcome both existing fans and “players who may not be comfortable with action games… or even players who are unfamiliar with the Bayonetta series in the first place.” That is a statement about the intended audience, not a guarantee that every player will prefer it.

Choose Origins first when these priorities matter most:

• You want to meet Cereza as a child rather than begin with the established Bayonetta persona.
• You prefer exploration, puzzles and coordinating two characters to a conventional action-game opening.
• You want a self-contained-feeling introduction before deciding whether to tackle the numbered trilogy.

Choose Bayonetta first when you want the main series’ release sequence, the original presentation of the world and the clearest buildup from one numbered game to the next. If you begin with Origins, continue with Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2 and Bayonetta 3 afterward to experience the principal release arc.

Release order versus Cereza’s chronology

There are two different meanings of “first” in this series:

Do not treat the second row as a replacement for the first. A prequel setting tells you when its protagonist is young; it does not, by itself, settle how every version, timeline or identity in a later game relates to every other one. The official game descriptions support the childhood placement and the release dates, but they do not present a complete continuity map.

Rank #2

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon

• Journey into the Avalon Forest as Cereza—a young Bayonetta—and her very first demon, Cheshire, to gain the power to save her mother
• Control both Cereza and Cheshire simultaneously and coordinate to solve puzzles and beat faeries
• Colorful environments look as if they were painted by hand, and fully narrated story scenes are told through the vibrantly illustrated pages of a storybook

$59.00

Buy on Amazon

Choose your starting route by the experience you want

If you want the classic action introduction

Start with Bayonetta. You will encounter the lost-memory premise, Vigrid and the angels before the later games expand the scope. Continue to Bayonetta 2 and then Bayonetta 3 without inserting Origins between them.

If you want the most story-conscious route

Use release order, then play Origins. This lets you see the numbered trilogy as players originally did and leaves the childhood story as an additional perspective rather than an explanation you must understand in advance.

If you are unsure about demanding action gameplay

Try Origins first. Its official descriptions emphasize exploration, puzzles, combat and the combined abilities of Cereza and Cheshire, and its supervising director explicitly included players unfamiliar with the series among its intended audience. If its world interests you, move to Bayonetta next.

If you mainly want to understand Bayonetta 3

Do not jump straight to the third game unless you accept missing the intended progression. Play the first two numbered titles beforehand. Their stories establish the protagonist and the relationships that make the third game’s new threat and “Third Witch” premise meaningful.

Platform and edition checks before you buy

Availability is not identical across the series, and a platform name in a review or video may refer to a different edition from the one you can purchase. The official listings establish the following baseline:

Nintendo’s Canadian store listing says the physical Origins edition behaves consistently with Nintendo Switch on Nintendo Switch 2. That statement applies to that edition and compatibility note; it is not evidence that every game in the series is available on every Nintendo platform.

Current prices and retailer stock were not established in the official material available for this guide, so treat any price seen elsewhere as time- and region-dependent. Platform-specific link text matters: a page for a Switch edition should not be assumed to describe a Wii U release or another regional package.

A practical first-playthrough plan

1. Decide whether release order or a different gameplay style is your priority. Choose Bayonetta for the mainline introduction, or Origins if its Cereza-and-Cheshire structure is more appealing.
2. Confirm your platform and edition. The original’s availability varies, Bayonetta 2 has Wii U and Switch listings, and Bayonetta 3 and Origins are listed for Switch.
3. Play Bayonetta before reading detailed plot explanations. Its lost-memory premise is designed to unfold through Bayonetta’s encounters in Vigrid.
4. Move to Bayonetta 2 next. Its opening situation involves Jeanne’s soul being taken to Inferno after the earlier events.
5. Play Bayonetta 3 third. Let the new threat and the young “Third Witch” arrive without searching for a full continuity solution first.
6. Add Origins when you want a different perspective. Play it fourth for release order, or first if you deliberately chose the childhood-era entry point.
7. Only then investigate continuity interpretations. Separate what the official descriptions explicitly establish from theories about how all versions and timelines connect.

How to explain the story without spoilers

Use one sentence per game:

• Bayonetta: A woman with lost memories travels to Vigrid, fights angels and uncovers her past.
• Bayonetta 2: After Balder’s defeat, Bayonetta journeys to Inferno to rescue Jeanne’s soul.
• Bayonetta 3: A mysterious new threat attacks the world, and a young Third Witch asks Bayonetta to help.
• Origins: Young Cereza and Cheshire explore Avalon Forest while Cereza seeks a way to save her mother.

These descriptions give a new player a reason to continue without revealing major twists. In particular, avoid presenting a detailed answer to every Bayonetta 3 continuity question as settled fact; the official summaries do not supply that complete explanation.

Common order mistakes

Starting with Bayonetta 3 because it is the newest numbered game

Being newest does not make it the best introduction. The third game’s premise assumes that Bayonetta, the earlier relationships and the series’ escalating scope are already familiar. If it is the only game you own, you can play it, but the recommended first run remains 1 → 2 → 3.

Putting Origins between Bayonetta 2 and Bayonetta 3

Origins is earlier in Cereza’s life, but it was released after the numbered trilogy’s first two entries and uses a distinct format. Inserting it into the middle of the numbered sequence is unnecessary. Finish the three numbered games first, then use Origins as an optional fourth game.

Assuming Origins is just a shorter version of the action games

Its design centers on controlling Cereza and Cheshire together, with exploration, combat and puzzles. Approach it as an adventure with a different rhythm, not as a direct mechanical substitute for the numbered titles.

Expecting one official timeline chart to answer everything

The available official descriptions establish the release dates, the childhood setting of Origins and each game’s broad premise. They do not establish a complete explanation for every continuity relationship. Keep that distinction in mind when reading fan interpretations.

Bottom line for a new player

Buy or access Bayonetta first, then play Bayonetta 2 and Bayonetta 3. Treat Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon as an optional fourth game that shows Cereza before Bayonetta and replaces the numbered games’ action emphasis with a Cereza-and-Cheshire adventure. Start with Origins only when that different style or the childhood perspective is specifically what you want.

Quick Recap

SaleBestseller No. 1

Bayonetta -Switch

Witch fell her angel with her smile and beautiful black hair

$59.99

Bestseller No. 2

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon

$59.00

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

Bayonettagame orderNintendo SwitchPlatinumGamesVideo game guides