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Castlevania is back after 12 years, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited.
Ever since I saw the previews, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this game. It looked so beautiful, stylish and fluid – like a proper metroidvania masterpiece I was itching to sink my teeth into.
I like to believe that we all watched Netflix’s Castlevania and cheered when Dracula was cracking skulls and seeking revenge for the death of his wife… No? Just me? Well, sue me, I am a sucker for Graham McTavish and eternal love stories. Either way, the series brought Castlevania back to the masses and made the franchise more popular than ever. It took a while for a proper game to follow up on that success, but it’s finally here.
Bringing such a beloved franchise back to life is no small task, and Evil Empire certainly felt the weight of expectations on their shoulders. And it wasn’t just expectations, but excitement too, as we were all waiting to see what a new Castlevania game had in store for us.
After spending time with it, I’m happy to say that Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is an incredible return that can stand proudly alongside the best in the series and the genre.
Like father, like daughter
Belmont’s Curse throws us into 1499, in a burning and wrecked Paris. Wherever you look, there are monsters and carnage. The story is set 23 years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, and even though back then Trevor Belmont killed Dracula, the king of vampires rarely stays dead for long; there is always someone who wants to revive him for whatever reason. He's a popular guy.
This time, it’s not Trevor who is fighting the monsters but his daughter, Rose Belmont. It's up to her to save everyone and prevent the return of Dracula. Trevor does make a brief appearance at the beginning of the game, before he and Rose split ways. And on top of that, there is also a strange family curse hanging over her head.
While she has her father’s skills, she also inherited something from her mother, Sypha Belnadess, who gave Rose a set of special tarot cards before passing away. It’s a small but meaningful connection to the family that Rose is coming from, and also those who watched the Netflix show will recognise the name, the attitude, and the inherited looks that are coming from Sypha. I was always a fan of how they connected her and Trevor, and I'm glad that while she doesn't appear in the game, she is still mentioned in one way, and a meaningful one too.
Since I don’t want to spoil much of the story, I’ll just add that while the story seems familiar, it’s worth following, and it adds its own interesting aspects. For fans of Castlevania, it’ll be a fun time for sure.
Crack that whip
Since this is a metroidvania, you probably already know the drill. You’re moving around, travelling through different areas, and completing objectives. As you do that, you acquire new abilities allowing you to revisit previously inaccessible areas, find secrets, loot and more. I’m a fan of metroidvanias, always will be, and since my OCD doesn't allow me to not explore every part of a game, neatly designed backtracking automatically gives a game a plus in my book.
Each level gives you interesting things to find, and the game rewards you for doing it.
There is no shortage of movement options. Rose can jump, dash, air-dash, backstep and dodge roll. And also, the Vampire Killer - your whip - can be used for parkour, since Rose can pull herself up, swing around, and even pull herself closer to an enemy. Using the whip for parkour can be a bit weird at the beginning, but you get a hang of it pretty fast, and let me tell you it’s so incredibly smooth. I’m not someone who has insanely good reflexes, but the fluidity of movement in this game sure as hell makes me feel like one.
The combat is stellar, and where the game really comes to life. I expected fun and interesting combat, and I wasn’t disappointed. The whip, the movement options, and the Arcana spells - which are the spells Rose can use - all combine nicely into a fluid combat experience. The game offers you certain challenges as you play, and completing them grants you a Holy Miracle, which you can spend to upgrade your Arcana with a new ability.
Chaining attacks feels bloody awesome (pun intended). The only bad thing, in my book, when it comes to combat is that the enemies can push you off the platform with your attacks. That always felt like a really cheap move, and I was never a fan of it, even when it does make sense, physics-wise.
There is also a parry mechanic. I am not the biggest parry enjoyer; I don’t consider it a bad thing, I just believe that not every game needs one. But hey, that’s just me.
The RPG elements are nicely implemented. As you play, you level up, and you also get experience when you destroy certain statues around Paris. You can equip up to three relics that give you some gameplay perks, and as for the weapons, there are seven types that you can find in the game, and each of them comes in four different variants. The weapons all have their unique fighting style, and all of them are fun to use, so it's just up to your preference.
The game also introduces a tarot system. You reveal these cards as you play, and the first three you get by defeating the first three bosses in the game, trapping them afterwards in the cards. I loved this detail; I found it fun to have these enemies - who are now freed and, if not good guys, then at least neutral - talk to Rose at certain points in the game.
Speaking of bosses, the boss fights feel truly epic, flashy and badass. The game adds a little twist here, too, in the form of a hint system that is carried out by ghosts. Rose can find different ghosts as she explores, which will give her hints. For bosses, they can tell her which attacks she needs to watch out for, where to find those bosses, and how to counter certain abilities. This "ghost hint delivery system" appears throughout the game and can help with different things, but it's also optional, not mandatory. You can go through the entire game without chatting to one of these helpful ghosties.
Be prepared, though, as Belmont’s Curse is challenging, with a steep learning curve. It reminded me a lot of Blasphemous, a game I did enjoy. However, I wouldn't say that it's a game you can't pick up; it'll just take a bit of time to learn the enemies' patterns, and the game is really worth it.
Your HP replenishes at save points, or if you’re lucky enough to come across a random drop somewhere.
Beauty and the bloodsuckers
Belmont’s Curse is a beautiful game. The art is very colourful, mixing hand-drawn and 2D elements, and it gives the franchise a fresh look while still keeping that gothic feel. The animations are very smooth too, and in general I couldn't find any issues; I had a lovely time playing it.
If you really concentrate, some of the backgrounds can appear a bit blurry at times, but that really isn’t something I cared too much about. Shocker, I know. It’s something I could easily overlook, as the game looks beautiful in every other regard, and it's not like everything is blurry. The colours are really gorgeous to look at: the light blues, dark greens, and especially the backgrounds that have crimson red elements in them. It's obvious why the red, and I felt like those backgrounds and levels were the prettiest to play through.
I liked the music as well. It felt suited for a game with these themes, and it fits the gothic atmosphere nicely. It’s fast-paced and energetic, and since you're swinging around and knocking skulls together, it fits. What might be a downside is that for some players, it might blend into the background as they play.
You can choose between English and Japanese voice acting, and there are cutscenes, but they appear at certain parts which are important to the story, and they're mostly short. My only wish is that the character voices were there for every interaction, not just the ones the game deemed important.
As for performance, zero issues on my PlayStation. The game played beautifully, and it was all smooth as butter.
Long live the Belmonts
Belmont’s Curse had a lot to prove, and I think it did exactly that. After 12 years away, Castlevania is back with a game that feels modern, but it also brings all the elements of this game that we loved and cherished. Evil Empire really created an amazing game, and one truly worthy of the Castlevania name.
At around 15 hours, it isn’t too long of a game, but it makes good use of that time. The combat is fluid and satisfying, the boss fights are a blast, and there’s always something worth finding if you’re willing to explore. It's truly a game that will captivate you, as it did me, and make you unable to stop yourself from playing it. It has certain flaws, but most of them you can overlook, or you won’t even notice.
Most of all, Rose earns her place in the family. She starts out as someone who doesn’t quite seem to belong even though she really wants to prove herself, and by the end, she’s every bit the Belmont her father was. With a little addition of Belnadess, coming straight from her gorgeous and incredibly skilled mother.
The Netflix shows gave me a Castlevania I couldn’t stop watching (not looking at you, Nocturne). Belmont’s Curse gave me one I couldn’t stop playing.
The Good
Fluid, satisfying whip-based combat- Epic, flashy boss fights with memorable personalities
- Enjoyable RPG elements
- Beautiful, colourful art
- A world that rewards exploration, with something worth finding in every level
- Unique Tarot system
The Bad
Latching onto things with the whip can feel awkward at the start- Voice acting is limited
