Twelve years is a long time to leave a whip hanging on the wall. Lords of Shadow 2 arrived back in 2014, and in the years since, one of gaming’s great gothic franchises has lain dormant in its coffin, stirring only for the odd compilation and a mobile spin-off. Now, in the series’ 40th anniversary year, Konami has finally prised the lid open. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse picks up 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, passing the family whip to a new Belmont in 1499 Paris. Fittingly, French studio Evil Empire built it, the team behind The Rogue Prince of Persia and years of Dead Cells updates. The pedigree is promising, but can a series that has survived four decades and a revolving door of developers still deliver the blend of action, exploration and horror that made it a legend? Here’s my review of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Being born a Belmont comes with expectations, and Rose has two legends to live up to. The daughter of Trevor Belmont and the late Sypha Belnades, she travels to Paris with her father to investigate the monstrous forces tearing the city apart. Soon, Trevor hands over the reins entirely. Complicating matters is the mark Rose has carried on her arm since birth, a curse passed down from her mother that ties her fate to Dracula’s return. From there, the broad strokes will feel familiar to anyone who has spent time with the series: the castle rises, the Count stirs, and a Belmont must put him back to rest. The story finds its footing in Rose herself, with the truth behind her affliction unfolding gradually and delivering a few genuinely satisfying turns along the way. Longtime fans will also find plenty of references to earlier entries, some subtle and some not.
The other half of the story lives inside Rose’s tarot deck, a parting gift from Sypha that also gives Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse most of its personality. Each of Dracula’s servants Rose defeats is sealed within a card; rather than vanishing from the narrative, they take up residence in her head as a rather opinionated support crew. The Fallen, Joan of Arc, and Medusa form the core of this unwilling entourage, and their constant squabbling, along with their very different views on whether Rose should succeed, provides much of the game’s humour and heart. Rose is a likeable lead in her own right, headstrong and refreshingly capable from the outset, even if her own growth is fairly modest next to the colourful cast rattling around in her deck. If anything is missing, it is the world beyond her thoughts. For a city the size of Paris, the streets and halls are notably short on anyone who isn’t trying to kill you, and a few more living faces would have gone a long way.
On the presentation front, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is very pleasing to the eye, staying true to the aesthetic the series has long held on to while still feeling modern. Rather than drowning everything in shadow, Evil Empire paints its version of Paris in rich reds, oranges, and violets, and the city on the horizon makes for an unforgettable backdrop in the opening hours. The move into Dracula’s castle keeps the variety coming, from towering libraries to grinding gearworks and bone-lined catacombs. Classic foes have also received fitting makeovers. Purists may find it all a little too vibrant for a Castlevania, and I get the argument, but it gives the game an unmistakably its own identity. The world is cleverly constructed too. Paris serves as a sizeable prologue in its own right before the castle opens into a sprawling web of interconnected zones, each packed with secrets and paths that will make you come back once you have the right tools.
That same confidence carries into the soundtrack. Although rather than the rousing, guitar-heavy anthems the series is known for, much of the score is moody and restrained, leaning on brooding strings and organ that suit a city slowly being swallowed by darkness. When familiar themes do surface, they’re rearranged rather than simply replayed, and hearing an old favourite in a new light is a genuine treat. A few tracks fade into the background a little too easily, but overall, it serves the atmosphere well. The voice acting is more of a mixed bag. Several voices from Netflix’s animated series return, which is a lovely touch for fans of the show, but the English performances lean heavily into melodrama. Some will find that charmingly old-school, while others may feel it undercuts the more serious moments.
So how does Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse actually play? Combat is its biggest strength, as you’d expect. Rose is quick on her feet and hits hard, stringing together strikes, slides and aerial follow-ups in encounters that reward aggression over caution. Seven weapon families await discovery, each with four tiers of increasingly powerful variants that genuinely change a fight’s rhythm, whether it is the reach of a lance, the flurry of dual blades, or the sheer weight of a greatsword. Finding the one that clicks with your playstyle becomes part of the fun, and none of them feels like an afterthought or leads you to favouring one over the other from the outset. Evil Empire’s experience with fast, punchy action shines through here, and once Rose has a few tools at her disposal, tearing through a room full of monsters becomes one of the game’s most satisfying moments.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a Belmont adventure without a whip, though it plays a different role here than you might expect. Rather than serving as Rose’s main weapon from the outset, it arrives early in the adventure as a grappling tool first and foremost, letting her swing across chasms, latch onto anchor points and pull herself towards enemies for a powerful follow-up strike. Very “Indiana Jones” style, and that marriage of movement and combat is where the game feels most distinctive. Magic, meanwhile, comes from the tarot deck. Each defeated boss grants a new Arcana spell, fuelled by mana that refills as you land hits, and the system stands in for classic sub-weapons while slipping in a few familiar callbacks.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse isn’t easy, at least at first. It’s very much in the soulslike tradition: you get a limited number of healing flasks that only refill at save points, and resting there also brings defeated enemies back. The early going is particularly punishing, with lots of enemies in the rooms and a lot of ranged attackers, which makes the light shield feel far from optional. Parry fans will be right at home, but those who prefer to dodge will likely find the game’s opening a real slog. Interestingly, the difficulty turns the other way in the late game, with the late-game weapons and relics so overwhelmingly powerful that the final hours are surprisingly easy. It’s very much the Control Resonant experience at its base (which I reviewed very recently) in that the early hours are quite a challenge and very well done, but once you’ve gotten past the initial hurdle and are wanting to keep things viable for the player who wants to get through it all quickly, the challenge doesn’t keep pace with progression. The custom difficulty options are excellent, though, letting you adjust damage taken and dealt, experience gain, carry extra potions, skip boss runbacks, and even remove death altogether, so you can tailor the experience to exactly what kind of player you are.
Exploration is where the tried-and-true Metroidvania formula does its thing, and does it well. Gaining a new ability and immediately thinking back to a suspicious ledge or sealed doorway from hours earlier remains as satisfying as ever, and the tarot deck doubles as a clue system, steering you towards each boss with hints that are usually just obscure enough to make cracking them feel rewarding. Handy map tools, including completion percentages for each area and custom markers, also make it much easier to track what is left to find. Where things stumble is getting around. Fast travel between save mirrors exists, but it is poorly explained, slow to load, and unlocks later than it should; load times in general are frequent enough to interrupt the flow. Rose’s movement is occasionally a touch less responsive than the platforming requires. It doesn’t ruin the experience, but it adds friction to a game that’s best when it’s moving.
Twelve years after the last time the whip came down from the wall, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is convincing proof the franchise still has plenty of life. The action is by far the strongest element, with slick, responsive combat and a whip that is finally useful for getting around as much as for fighting. Exploration is quite good, despite the clunky fast travel and constant loading. The horror is where it falters a bit, somewhat diluted by a brighter colour palette and modern systems that sometimes take away some of the series’ more distinctive elements. That said, it’s a very enjoyable package with great presentation, a very likeable new lead, and a tarot cast that steals more than a few scenes; Evil Empire delivers a confident return that might divide purists at first but should still win over genre fans and give longtime devotees plenty to enjoy. Rose’s story feels like the beginning of something rather than a standalone, and I hope the lid stays off this time rather than for another decade-long wait.
Final Score for Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse
This review was conducted on a PlayStation 5 version of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. A review code was provided by Australian distributor Five Star Games to facilitate this review.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is now available to purchase on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
