Platinum Games’ Bayonetta 2 is now available, and the majority of critics have recommended the Wii U exclusive with substantial praise.

GameSpot’s own Bayonetta 2 review scored it a 10, making it the ninth game ever to do so. That degree of praise was shared by other publications such as Edge and Eurogamer, but not all were in agreement about how highly the title should be recommended. Polygon, which scored Bayonetta 2 with a 7.5, wrote in its review that the game was let down by the prominent sexualization of its eponymous character.

Below is a sample of the first reviews for Bayonetta 2 from major publications. For more of a comprehensive breakdown, take a look on GameSpot’s sister site Metacritic.

• Game: Bayonetta 2
• Developer: Platinum Games
• Platforms: Wii U
• Release Date: October 24
• Price: $60 (UK- from £30)

GameSpot — 10/10

“Bayonetta 2’s combat is so expertly constructed, and its presentation so joyously insane, that you’d have to try so very hard to get bored of it all. In a year filled with the promise of ever more elaborate experiences on all the shiny new hardware, that Bayonetta 2–a homage to classic game design and escapism–should be the most fun I’ve had playing a game all year is unexpected. But maybe it shouldn’t have been. After all, its predecessor still stands as one of the finest games of its genre. To have surpassed that with Bayonetta 2, and to have created a game that will be remembered as an absolute classic, is nothing short of astonishing.” – Mark Walton [Full review]

Edge — 10/10

“Sega’s loss is Nintendo’s gain: Bayonetta, twirling away from a gigantic demon’s maw and smacking the highest choir of angels on the nose, has just given Wii U its first true classic.” [Full review in magazine’s latest issue]

Joystiq — 10/10

“Bayonetta 2 is the perfect action game. It oozes style and boasts gameplay that’s both refined and lacking in excess. The combat is so purely entertaining that it’s easy to lose yourself in the almost-zen flow of dodging, countering, and kicking enemies to death. Bayonetta 2 rewards a player’s drive to look as cool as possible in combat with gameplay designed for exactly that–and with the acrobatic violence of a winking heroine who is as legitimately endearing as she is completely ludicrous. Even if Bayonetta 2 did not include an enhanced remake of its predecessor, it would launch as one of the Wii U’s best games, but this generous inclusion pushes Platinum’s first sequel into no-brainer territory for anyone with even the slightest affection for action games. If you bought the Wii U months ago explicitly in anticipation of Bayonetta 2, congratulations, your decision has paid off in spades.” – Earnest Cavalli [Full review]

Polygon — 7.5

“When Platinum Games is on, it’s really, really on, and Bayonetta 2 is in almost any respect that counts a better game than the first, whose mechanics were already exemplary. But every time I’d feel on a roll, enjoying my time with Bayonetta 2 immensely, I’d be broken out of it by another cheap shot of T&A. I would be wrecking a flock of angelic or demonic enemies, sliding in and out of witch time almost at will, and then the special weapon I had picked up became a literal stripper pole for Bayonetta to dance on, because … well, because, I guess.” – Arthur Gies [Full Review]

Eurogamer — 9

“The rhythm of combat remains the same, though it’s hard to complain when it’s riffing off such a heady beat, where chimed enemy attacks are lithely dodged into slo-mo pugilism, where impossible combos culminate with a 20-foot boot weaved from hair crashing from the heavens and where spinning amidst the avalanche of color and cartoon violence is Bayonetta herself, stopping only briefly to wink at a player exhausted by the unrelenting joy of it all. Bayonetta 2’s biggest disappointment may be that it’s an iterative sequel, but it’s not such a problem when it’s iterating on genius.” – Martin Robinson [Full Review]

Further reviews can be found in the selection below:

• IGN – 9.5
• Metro – 9
• The Sixth Axis – 9
• CVG – 9
• GameInformer – 9
• VideoGamer – 9
• Digital Spy – 8
• God is a Geek – 10
• Destructoid – 10

Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com