When comparing Endless Legend vs Bayonetta, the Slant community recommends Endless Legend for most people. In the question“What are the best singleplayer games on Steam?” Endless Legend is ranked 96th while Bayonetta is ranked 124th. The most important reason people chose Endless Legend is:
Each faction has strengths and weaknesses, but the best part is swapping out traits before the game starts. You have 80 points to spend, and traits are more or less expensive depending on how powerful they are. Each trait gives you something other factions probably won't have, so spend those points wisely. It might win or lose you the game.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Choice of faction meaningfully impacts gameplay
Each faction has strengths and weaknesses, but the best part is swapping out traits before the game starts. You have 80 points to spend, and traits are more or less expensive depending on how powerful they are. Each trait gives you something other factions probably won't have, so spend those points wisely. It might win or lose you the game.
Pro Highly customizable
Some specific traits are unique to each faction. Most, however, can be traded for when customizing a faction, with a point-buy limitation to balance it. The world generation options are all knobs to turn one way or another as you like. Very fun option to fiddle with that can make every game a new experience.
Pro Engrossing fantasy setting
If you've played Civ V, you know how much history they put into it. With Endless Legend, there's as much fantasy as Civ's history. Faction quest-lines give you a feel for the people you're leading, and the minor factions are all interesting enough to read the flavor text for.
Pro Beautiful art style
Endless Legend represents a unique art style in the 4x genre, and it stands up graphically even after a few years. The game looks and feels very pretty, and the official art for the game is nothing short of stunning.
Pro Excellent depth
If you like exploring a game's mechanics, this one will give you a lot to chew on. The battle mechanics in particular are a serious improvement compared to Civ V's take on war, with units able to stack together into armies instead of spreading out over one tile each.
Pro Region-based territory system shakes up the expansion game
The map is divided into pre-generated regions. Settling a region claims all of it (even if it's not explored). That city can't have districts outside its region, and only one city can be settled per region. This curtails city-spamming and aggressive city placement, and creates interesting decisions about resource access.
Pro Amazing soundtrack
The music for the game is very well composed and is great to listen to. Not to mention, it's also free.
Pro Approachable without sacrificing depth
It's pretty easy to learn and get into as turn based strategy but still complex enough to give those looking for depth their fix.
Pro Interesting races, leaders and character design
Pro Combat system is more skill based than RNG based
Pro Nearly all of the races are viable
Pro DLC is great and isn't a ripoff
Unlike other games that have pieces of the game completely removed to be used as a bargaining chip for DLC, the game feels complete without DLC. Although the offered DLC is fun and adds many more aspects to the game, such as espionage and control of the seasons. You don't feel like you're missing out by not buying the DLC, however, it is recommended if you want to grasp the true experience.
Pro Art is masterful
Pro Good diplomacy system
Pro Feeling of power
When you arrive in the late-game, you, along with other empires have become very powerful and will be able to amass many resources in a much shorter amount of time. Although this doesn't give you an advantage over anyone else, it is still pleasurable to have a feeling of such power.
Pro Everything is described in the lore
From how Dust (the in-game currency) can buyout construction to the biological functions that provide an advantage (or even disadvantage), the game is careful to fully explain gameplay mechanics with lore aspects, leaving few to no plotholes.
Pro Autosaves every turn
Although the game is prone to errors, some that crash the game albeit rarely, the game autosaves at the beginning of every turn, so that should the game crash, a recent instance of the game may be loaded and strategies replicated, or entirely new strategies to be used if one wishes.
Pro Fun and complex gameplay
Bayonetta excels in its combat, going above and beyond to entertain the player with the scale of its gigantic, angelic enemies and the depth of its gameplay. The tutorial teaches you the bare basics of punching and kicking, and then it's up to you to experiment with inputs and find the best combos to keep up the pain. Even on normal difficulty, the game can seem punishing for newcomers, but there are lots of skills you can pick up on to make things smoother.
There's a ton of depth to the combat, especially in how you have the potential to keep up limitless combos with punches, kicks, and gunfire. When you hold down your buttons, Bayonetta will freeze her punching or kicking pose while firing the guns from her heels or in her hands. In the middle of that pose, you can dodge offset an incoming attack and initiate Witch Time, which rewards you by making enemies move at a snail's pace while you get more hits in than you normally could. In other situations where you're surrounded by enemies and need some crowd control, you can have Bayonetta do some handstands while she fires her guns. Each new weapon you acquire, whether it's a katana or a huge lance you pick up from a downed enemy, gives you a whole new set of combos to master.
There's an incredible variety in the gameplay for you to play around with, whether it's with new weapons or Bayonetta's punches, kicks, and guns. You'll constantly find new ways to enjoy the combat as you play through the game, keeping things fresh from start to finish.
Pro Bayonetta herself is unconventional and entertaining
Bayonetta is a character who exudes confidence and charm, and every aspect of the game's mechanics and design fits with her personality. She's over eight feet tall, wears a skin-tight suit that's actually made of her magical hair, and always fights with style and finesse. When you do a double jump, a butterfly's wings appear over her back, and when you use any type of long weapon like a lance, you can have her pole dance and quickly fire her guns in all directions. Since she's a sadistic character, her finisher moves are called Torture Attacks. After accumulating enough magic points through normal attacks, you can make Bayonetta conjure one of many types of medieval torture devices. She'll trap enemies inside and send blood everywhere, or she'll whip their backs with a flourish, doing more damage as you mash the button prompt on the screen.
Healing and buff items, instead of the usual potions, are different-flavored lollipops like the one that Bayonetta likes to keep in her mouth during some cutscenes. Upgrades to her jumping ability are also beyond the norm, letting you transform her into a black panther to run faster and jump higher. Overall, Bayonetta is independent and likes to have a good time, never missing an opportunity to strike a pose or dance in between pummeling and whipping her enemies into submission. If you see Bayonetta's sexualized moves and portrayal as the game's way of parodying other media, then you'll probably find her over-the-top presentation more entertaining than offensive.
Pro Excellent ports
Bayonetta was originally released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 back in 2009, but the PC version comes with improved graphics, 4K support and excellent performance. On the Nintendo Switch, you'll also get to enjoy the game at 60 FPS, though at a lower 720p resolution compared to the PC version.
Pro Unique enemy designs with angels that defy typical conventions
Angels in Bayonetta are far from how they are depicted in pop culture. Despite their bright glow and the religious music that you hear when they're introduced, they're hunched over, lumbering when they walk and fight in battle. They're designed in ways that definitely make them look like Bayonetta's enemies instead of entities that we're supposed to side with. The larger, gargantuan angelic bosses appear otherwordly and incomprehensible like Lovecraftian creatures, They're quite the sight to behold and make for interesting boss fights with cool set pieces, like Bayonetta surfing on a wooden plank as she fights a huge angel in the middle of an ocean.
Cons
Con Multiplayer is glitchy and sometimes unplayable
Playing with friends can be difficult. Desyncing means you have to reload the game (it autosaves every turn so that's good). For a time it would desync after ever turn, so you had to play the game 1 turn at a time.
Con Very few multiplayer games
The most games you'll play of Endless Legend will be by yourself or with friends; it's highly unlikely you'll find an open lobby at all times. The overall online life of the game is low. When and If you find rooms, they are mostly private games and no one can join without an invite. Overall the community as a whole is small.
Con Steep learning curve
Even for a 4X game, Endless Legend consists of lots and lots of deep systems that can make approaching it difficult. Though it's worth noting that there are mods that remove or tone down the complexity of the game making it more accessible.
Con Confusing tutorial
This is a game that takes experience to learn rather than reading or learning in a similar fashion. Although the tutorial has you doing things, it does not explain the various ways you can do things, nor ensure you actually understand what it is you're actually doing. It is better to have someone you know explain the game to you.
Con Weak technology interaction
When researching a powerful technology, the game does not give any feedback to your growth in power other than statistics. For example, Dust Alchemy is a very good mid-game tech that drastically increases your currency gained per turn, but all you get from it is a higher number on your screen. The same can be said for virtually all technologies. The tech tree is simply very bland to progress through.
Con Race concepts are difficult to latch onto/have specific roads to victory
It does not make use of standard fantasy races such as elves and dwarves but creates an entirely new set. On the one hand, this is great since they are fresh ideas, but on the other, it comes off feeling alien and difficult to connect to. Additionally, each race has more or less one path to victory which makes you feel pigeon-holed.
Con The story is nonsensical
While Bayonetta has some intriguing lore involving witches battling against a puritanical religion, you won't get to learn much about it. The storytelling is a mess, with sudden changes that don't make sense, and underdeveloped characters that the game expects you to care about. As long as you go in without taking the story and presentation all that seriously, you'll still be able to have a good time.
Con Locked at 60 frames per second on PC
Action sequences are locked at 60FPS which means that you can not go above that framerate regardless of your PC's capabilities.
Con On-rails sections can be frustrating
There will be a few times where you'll play through retro-inspired sequences where you race down a highway on a motorcycle, or shoot missiles at enemies from an airship. You have to handle quick time event button presses on the motorcycle and deal with a bunch of enemies firing at you on the ship. These sequences are a huge change from the normal combat, and if you're not good at them, you may find yourself getting frustrated.