Though perhaps she’s more widely-known to the casual gamer for her appearance in Super Smash Bros., the fashionable witch Bayonetta first got the gaming world’s attention when she debuted in her first self-titled game, which arrived in the U.S. a decade ago this month. Developed by PlatinumGames, Bayonetta is a video game based almost entirely on the flashiness of its action.

The story follows Bayonetta, a witch who woke up 20 years prior to the game’s events at the bottom of a lake with amnesia. With one half of the “Eyes of the World,” she travels to the town of Vigrid, seeking answers about her past, eventually crossing paths with another Umbra Witch, Jeanne, with whom she battles against a few times throughout the game. Bayonetta also meets a child named Cereza, who believes Bayonetta to be her mother. Eventually Bayonetta learns the truth about her past and her heritage from Jeanne, and must confront the powerful safe Father Balder before he destroys the universe as they know it.

Bayonetta was directed by Hideki Kamiya, who also wrote the original storyline and was responsible for co-designing the title character with Mari Shimazaki. Bayonetta’s design was based around the idea of a modern witch, resulting in her all-black clothing complete with a beehive hairdo (to evoke the same kind of feeling as a classic witch’s pointed hat). Both Bayonetta and Jeanne were designed with their sex appeal in mind, and accordingly made design choices that highlighted their femininity, such as having Bayonetta release rose petals when hit by an enemy (rather than bleed).

The game was universally loved upon release, with plenty of praise going to the nature of the action as well as to the character designs. It picked up several industry awards and was ranked among the best games released in 2010. Bayonetta also received an anime film adaptation in 2013, directed by Fuminori Kizaki. A sequel, Bayonetta 2, released on the Wii U in 2012; both games were later ported to the Switch. Bayonetta 3 was announced in 2017, and is currently in development.