Konami has spent the last few years revisiting its back catalogue. Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill have both received attention, with Silent Hill in particular enjoying a bit of a revival. Castlevania hasn’t been as fortunate when it comes to new games. The Netflix series brought plenty of new fans to the franchise, and Konami has released several collections featuring older titles, including the Game Boy Advance games and other 2D entries. An entirely new game, though, has been missing for a while. Belmont’s Curse finally fills that gap, with developer Evil Empire at the helm. Given the studio’s history, I expected another roguelike. Instead, we have a traditional 2D Metroidvania.
The game is split between two main locations. Paris serves as the opening act, while the rest unfolds inside Dracula’s castle. If you’ve played a Metroidvania before, you’ll know the routine. New abilities open up previously inaccessible areas, sending you back through familiar locations to uncover secrets and find new paths. Belmont’s Curse handles this well. There’s usually a good reason to revisit somewhere you’ve already explored, and it seldom feels like a chore.
The story takes place in 1499, with Dracula’s forces occupying Paris and his castle looming over the city. You play as Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont, one of the franchise’s most recognisable characters. Her father has trained her to become the next Belmont hunter, and she carries Dracula’s curse, passed down from her mother.
Rose carries a tarot deck that belonged to her late mother, with each card representing one of Dracula’s servants. Once Rose captures a servant, its card remains in the deck, allowing her to communicate with it telepathically. Each has its own motivations, giving them a little personality. The opening is impressive, but the story fades into the background once the gameplay begins. It also takes a while to get going, and I never found it particularly engaging.
The gameplay combines exploration, combat and platforming. The last of these is where I had the most trouble. The tarot deck plays a surprisingly large role throughout the adventure. It keeps track of Dracula’s servants, and defeating one turns its card into an Arcana spell with its own upgrade path. The deck also offers hints about your next destination and ways to approach certain bosses. Some of the creatures you encounter provide useful clues, too. These systems fit naturally into exploration, so you’re rarely left wandering around without any idea of what to do next.
Getting around becomes more enjoyable as you unlock new abilities. Rose starts with very limited options, but gradually unlocks more. She also has a whip that can latch onto enemies and hooks scattered throughout the levels, letting you reach places that were previously out of bounds. The whip works as both a weapon and a traversal tool, while defeating bosses gradually unlocks more abilities. One allows Rose to phase through walls. These upgrades also make revisiting earlier areas much faster.
Combat offers seven weapon categories, each with four weapons, including long swords and spears. You can charge attacks to unleash stronger moves, and a Holy Shield lets you parry incoming attacks. The full range of options isn’t available from the start, so combat becomes more varied as you progress.
Dodging was my favourite mechanic. Time it correctly, and Rose can slide beneath enemy projectiles. There’s also a backward dodge that can be extended into a longer backstep. The difficulty, however, is all over the place. Some sections are fairly easy, only for a boss to appear and bring your progress to a halt. Checkpoints allow you to save your progress and respawn after dying, which makes these encounters less frustrating.
Visually, Belmont’s Curse looks very good. I played it on PC and also spent some time with it on Steam Deck. It doesn’t maintain 60 FPS on the Deck, but the game remains playable and feels reasonably solid. The colours look particularly good on the OLED screen. The art style suits Castlevania, although it reminded me quite a bit of Evil Empire’s earlier work, especially The Rogue Prince of Persia. Having played both, I couldn’t help noticing the similarities. Still, the developers have given Belmont’s Curse a distinct identity within the Castlevania series. The character and boss designs are another highlight.
My biggest complaints concern the controls and performance. The controls lack the precision I’d like, particularly when attacking in a specific direction or trying to jump and attack simultaneously. These actions can feel clumsy during combat, and platforming suffers even more as a result. Performance is inconsistent as well. Stuttering on Steam Deck became irritating after a while, and I encountered some hitching on PC, too.
Rose herself didn’t leave much of an impression on me. The developers clearly wanted to introduce an interesting new character, but her development never quite came together. The supporting cast fares better, which makes the lack of depth in the lead character more noticeable. I wish the game had given Rose the same attention.
Belmont’s Curse is still a good game, particularly for existing Castlevania fans. The story could have been more engaging, and Rose needed stronger character development. Clunky controls and uneven difficulty also get in the way of an otherwise enjoyable experience. The fundamentals are solid, though. This is a proper single-player 2D Metroidvania, with plenty of exploration and abilities that steadily expand your options. Longtime fans should find plenty to enjoy, while newcomers can follow along, though fans will get more out of it. It’s worth giving it a try.
Game Information
- Game Title: Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse
- Price: $29.99
- Publisher: KONAMI
- Developer: KONAMI, Evil Empire
- Platform: PC
- Review Code: Provided by the publisher
