Bayonetta was one of twelve games to receive a Japan

Bayonetta was one of twelve games to receive a Japan Game Awards 2009 "Future Division" award at Tokyo Game Show 2009. At the show, Daniel Feit of Wired News played both versions and felt the 360 version was "a little brighter and more colorful ... while the PS3 version cut scenes feel like you're watching a movie through a sepia filter." He found the game's commands easy to learn and perform Angel Beats!
, but criticized the camera angles sometimes used in the game in both versions: "When Bayonetta runs too close to the edge of a scene, the camera can automatically focus on her and the wall instead of showing the enemies cornering her. Some of her larger hair-based attacks can also obscure the action."

Sinobi, a Japanese blog known for its early sales data, reported Bayonetta sold 138,000 copies—93,000 for the PS3 and 45,000 for the 360—on its day of release in the country. Media Create reported the PS3 version sold 135,242 copies and was the top-selling game during its week of release there, while the 360 version sold 64,325 copies and charted at number seven. Phil Elliott of GamesIndustry.biz called the 360 version's lower sales figures "a very strong performance for the Microsoft platform, relative to installed base".The two releases fell to number eight and number 15 respectively the following week Cosplay NZ
. By March 31, 2010, Bayonetta sold 1.35 million units worldwide. In retrospective, Platinum's president Tatsuya Minami stated Bayonetta was their best-selling title but commented the sales did not beat their expectations.

A few days before Bayonetta's release, Japanese gaming publication Famitsu awarded the Xbox 360 version a perfect 40 out of 40, a relatively rare occurrence that many consider prestigious. The PlayStation 3 version received a slightly lower rating, criticized for its lesser visual quality, frame rate and control problems compared to the Xbox 360 version. Edge awarded the game a score of 10 out of 10, praising the game's combat system for being both deep and based around clear rules which are immediately accessible and well-taught to the player. Edge singled out the upgrade from Normal to Hard difficulties as "where Bayonetta transitions from the great to the legendary," concluding, "it's difficult to recall another third-person actioner that feels so worth mastering."GamesRadar's Nathan Irvine also gave the game 10 out of 10, calling it "nails ... the epic scale of everything that unfolds before your eyes and the manner in which it's delivered", believed it was better than God of War Collection, Devil May Cry 4, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, and praised its "superb action" and humor (such as "Luka doing his best Assassin's Creed impression by looking moody in an Altair/Ezio style hood"). However, he said "the only time anything makes sense with Bayonetta's story is right at the end", and complained about some of the game's "insanely frustrating" Quick Time Events (QTEs).

In contrast to Irvine, IGN UK's Martin Robinson said "it's not Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden or God of War that's the best point of reference but Super Mario Galaxy": he felt Bayonetta, like the Nintendo game, "loves to tinker with the player's sense of perspective, and fights that begin on street surface often wind their way up the surrounding walls." Ryan Clements of IGN called the game "stylish, entertaining", and "unique", and its voice work "a bit campy but still extremely enjoyable", but said its "plot is all over the place" and "isn't as skillfully told as game stories like Mass Effect and Uncharted. In his 360 version review, Clements called the game an "incredible work" with "final moments ... alone worth the price of admission", but said it sometimes exhibited minor "screen tearing and slowdown, which happen during explorative sections and intense action sequences, respectively."He said the PS3 version was "still a fun game" but had "a lot of problems, primary among them being the excessive slowdown and loading" Angel Sanctuary
.]Eurogamer commented that "the result is a game that exemplifies so much of what commentators claim has died in the Japanese game industry. A blast of creative brilliance, both technically accomplished, strategically deep and infused with rare imagination, Bayonetta represents the pinnacle of its chosen niche."