Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon

Moderate overall intensity
Highest flag: Occult & ritual — player performs occult ritual
AdventureFantasyPuzzle

What's in it

Occult & ritual player performs occult ritual
High

The plot turns on a demon-summoning ritual: Cereza binds a demon from Inferno to her stuffed toy, and pact-making with demons is the central mechanic.

Violence cartoon/stylized
Low

Stylized storybook combat in which the bound demon Cheshire strikes faeries and forest creatures; hits are fantastical with only faint blood and no gore or dismemberment.

Dark themes mild
Low

The story carries mild heavy undertones — a child's loneliness and yearning for an imprisoned mother, a banished father, a curse tied to mixed heritage, and a demand to sacrifice a companion.

Horror & psychological spooky
Low

The forbidden forest has an eerie, spooky atmosphere with menacing fae creatures, but no frightening jump-scares or graphic imagery.

Who can reach your kid

What it is

In this single-player action-adventure, the presentation resembles a moving picture book. The narrative centers on Cereza, a witch still learning her craft, alongside Cheshire, a demon tied to her plush cat toy. The pair travels into an off-limits woodland aiming to free Cereza's captured mother. A player operates the two figures simultaneously, working out surroundings-based puzzles and battling faeries plus other woodland beings in combat that is stylized and free of gore. Lore about witches and demons underpins the tale, which begins as Cereza carries out a rite to call forth a demon. Its narrative brushes against heavier and emotional subjects, among them captivity, banishment, giving oneself up, and one figure whose soul is carried off into a realm below. Nothing sexual appears, nor nudity, harsh language, or interaction with other players online.

How it's framed

The material is cast as a tender fairy tale of maturing, revolving around the deepening connection linking Cereza with Cheshire. Danger and grief arrive through a fantastical, painted-by-hand style instead of a graphic one. Summoning demons and practicing witchcraft function as the setting's own legend and as instruments the young heroine wields to shield both her mother and her companion.

Details

Developer
PlatinumGames
Publisher
Nintendo
Released
2023-03-17
Metacritic 83critic score (third-party) · out of 100

Similar games

We built this because we needed it

Balanced Play pools your kids' game time into one budget across Steam, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and more. We're taking 100 founding families — free for life.

Claim a founding spot →

Free for life for the first 100. No card, no spam.