So despite my raving about Bayonetta and its sexist ways, I tried out the demo to see if my bias was correct or not.Bayonetta is a witch whose outfit is composed entirely of her hair, and shapeshifts it into magical attacks. From the short opening flashbacks, Bayonetta has seemingly woken up after a long period of time after some important events occurred, of which she no longer has memory of.
I have to admit, it's not as sexualized as I thought, but that's because I couldn't see a darn thing on the screen from all the flashiness and brilliant colours going on. Most of Bayonetta's attacks seem to fill the screen entirely, obscuring what's really happening. They're quite impressive to watch, but there's so many elements onscreen that it's hard to focus on anything, even the enemies, as they get lost behind the "pretty". Environments are beautifully done from what I've seen so far (and I say "so far" because I really don't plan on buying a button-smasher).
Game Informer happened to come in the mail right after I tried out the demo, and one article was an interview with Kamiya, the director of Bayonetta. I skimmed through it (as I have a dislike for that magazine) and had to roll my eyes at the fact that Kamiya tries to "play off" the sexist nature of the game by saying Bayonetta was designed by a woman. For someone from a country that openly allows the groping of women on their public trains and treats them terribly, does he really think that justifies it? I really don't think the designer really had any say in the matter BECAUSE she's a woman and had to do what her male superiors told her to. NO artistic freedom there. But, of course, to those unaware of the culture, they'll read this Kamiya interview and say "oh, of course it's not demeaning towards women, a woman designed her!" to which I will shake my head and walk away.
