Bayonetta 3 breaks the series’ eight-year silence since the last game was released in 2014. Of course, fans are ready to revisit their favorite Umbra Witch — and maybe some newcomers who are interested in witnessing what the fuss over the game is all about. The Bayonetta series isn’t known for sprawling sagas like Xenoblade or Elden Ring that can last over 100 hours. It’s a compact action RPG with a story that wraps up in a fraction of that time. So if you’re gearing up to dazzle through every battle as the Umbra Witch in her latest game, here’s how long you can expect to spend playing Bayonetta 3.

How long does it take to beat Bayonetta 3?

It should take approximately 15 hours to beat Bayonetta 3. That’s if you focus on the story with some time left for exploring. Most reviewers took between 10 to 15 hours to complete the game. It took me 20 hours for my playthrough for Inverse, possibly because I was new to the series and redid some levels before circling back to the story. In short, it should take anywhere between 10-20 hours based on experience and how much you like to explore.

Of course, completionists can easily double that time grinding for platinum medals and earning every reward from out-of-the-way challenges. Some of these challenges are difficult, like ones with strict time limits or lava floors that sap your health in seconds. Some players might even feel the need to collect all the Umbran Tears of Blood from different chapters.

How many chapters are in Bayonetta 3?

Most of the Bayonetta 3 story spans over 14 chapters, focusing on witch-in-training Viola and the titular witch herself. These chapters take place in realities from New York to spacial rifts, and even back in time as far as Imperial China. Jeanne also has four side chapters dedicated to finding Dr. Sigurd, which aren’t actually side chapters because you need to do them to progress the story. Here’s a breakdown of the main chapter list:

• Prologue – A Chaotic Encounter
• Chapter 1 – Scrambling for Answers
• Chapter 2 – City on Fire
• Chapter 3 – A Sinking Feeling
• Chapter 4 – Worlds Apart
• Chapter 5 – Hot Pursuit
• Chapter 6 – Off the Rails
• Chapter 7 – Burning Sands
• Chapter 8 – A Croaking Chorus
• Chapter 9 – Learning to Fly
• Chapter 10 – Cover of Night
• Chapter 11 – A Familiar Dance
• Chapter 12 – The Edge of Madness
• Chapter 13 – Kingdom of One
• Chapter 14 – The Single Truth

Chapters take different lengths of time but don’t drastically differ from each other. Even beginners can knock out the earlier chapters in about 20 minutes each. However, this time grows longer in later chapters (past Chapter 5 or so) because of the heightening difficulty and puzzles that you might need to redo. Think about it this way: If the chapters average about 30 minutes each, then the game would take about 9 hours — but that’s if every chapter played out perfectly.

Bayonetta 3 might be difficult, but it isn’t unforgiving. Take as long as you need to complete every chapter, even if it means scraping by with a Bronze medal.

Bayonetta 3 is available for the Nintendo Switch.