Few franchises have done more for gaming than Castlevania. Since it first rose to prominence in 1986, few games in the genre have matched the addictive gameplay that helped define the latter half of the 2D action-adventure space.
Pairing a storied franchise like Castlevania with a proven action-adventure developer in Evil Empire, backed by KONAMI’s blessing, delivers a full return to form in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. The game assaults the players’ senses to drive home one clear point: Castlevania is finally fully back, and not as a slot machine, rerelease or piece of add-on content for Vampire Survivors. This time, Castlevania returns alongside the Lord of Darkness as a full-fledged adventure and easily one of the best entries in the series.
Like Netflix’s Castlevania: Nocturne, and unlike the series’ long-standing focus on ancient Romania, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse kicks off on the streets of Paris. And much like Evil Empire’s The Rogue Prince of Persia, everything is on fire. The Belmont clan, made up of father Trevor and daughter Rose, is there on the bishop’s behalf to stop a string of monsters setting the streets ablaze.
“Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse has a soundtrack to die for, including remixed tracks from older titles and music that feels inspired by the Netflix animated series.”
It turns out Sypha Belnades, Rose’s mother, succumbed to Dracula’s Curse after his defeat 23 years before Belmont’s Curse, and Rose must now contend with the affliction, which appears as a corrupt discolouration on her arm. This sets the stage for some high stakes: if Rose lets her emotions get out of control, the Curse can turn her into her mother, meaning death. This revelation, of course, is where Trevor leaves her to her own devices on the streets of Paris, and instead of starting with a whip, you get a one-handed sword to swing around.
After gaining control of Rose, one thing becomes abundantly clear: Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is the result of years of evolution across Evil Empire’s previous titles. Since Dead Cells launched in 2018, Evil Empire and Motion Twin have been hard at work refining that frenetic 2D gameplay style, and Belmont’s Curse feels like the culmination of that work.
Rose is an absolute joy to control, and she moves through each environment with a general’s authority. Evil Empire focuses on the small details in every scene, and each backdrop is overflowing with touches that help flesh out this version of a burning Paris.
Throughout the many biomes you explore, you can find more weapons to add to Rose’s arsenal beyond the sword. Cestus let you beat monsters to death up close, a spear can be hurled at enemies from afar and a sword-and-board combination helps balance defence and offence. Castlevania’s namesake weapon, the whip, can also be used to dispatch creatures of the night with brutal efficiency.
While it is separated into two categories, a traversal ability and a weapon type, it’s clear that whip gameplay has never felt better in the series. Rose can lash her whip in eight directions, letting her crush opponents on all sides, while also using it to swing seamlessly through Paris and Dracula’s Castle. Adding a touch of personality and Belmont flair, Rose brandishes the whip with a flourish after landing a combo, displaying her mastery of the weapon. When you first pick it up, she also shares some lore about how her family painstakingly made her learn to use the whip before every other weapon.
Unlike Dead Cells and The Rogue Prince of Persia, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is not a roguelike and instead features an entire interconnected map to explore. Evil Empire has folded some of its multi-branching level design into the experience, allowing you to reach both the Clock Tower and Library from the same biome, and it works flawlessly. Surprisingly, the interconnected world feels more like Dark Souls’ Lordran in practice than Dead Cells’ island setting, especially since you don’t restart from the beginning when you die. Every area flows naturally into the next, tying the whole world together and allowing Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse to feel genuinely lived-in.
“Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is loaded with hidden secrets and massive obstacles that inject adrenaline into the player’s veins with every step.”
Castlevania is known for its music, and Evil Empire got the memo. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse has a soundtrack to die for, including remixed tracks from older titles and music that feels inspired by the Netflix animated series. Once you reach the foot of Dracula’s Castle, a familiar remixed tune starts to play, and you may find yourself humming along as you tear through opponents in a bloody fury.
Inspiration is pulled from many other Castlevania titles, including Castlevania: Circle of the Moon’s card system. In Belmont’s Curse, Rose can equip Arcana Tarot cards and cast spells worthy of the Belmont elite. When you defeat a major boss, you can absorb its ability and deploy it against the hordes of the night like Capcom’s Blue Bomber. After making short work of The Fallen, the lumbering first boss, I obtained a spell very similar to the cross from other Castlevania titles, and it behaves much the same way.
After defeating the named enemies of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, they become voices inside Rose’s consciousness and offer details on how to proceed. While The Fallen speaks with caution and gives Rose solid advice, Medusa constantly taunts her, and all of these characters are fully voiced. Although Medusa throws out some vile insults, including references to Rose’s fallen mother, the dialogue is welcome amid the quieter stretches of Belmont’s Curse and adds some much-needed character and interaction to the setting.
Unlike other Castlevania titles, Belmont’s Curse gives you a few objectives to accomplish for each spell, and completing them upgrades its utility. In the cross’s case, you can eventually throw two at once, letting Rose unleash a wave of big hits on Dracula’s hellspawn. Another wink to longtime fans comes from the destructible torches and sconces lining the walls. When destroyed in Belmont’s Curse, they provide extra mana for spells in place of the heart system and secondary weapons found in other entries.
Improving on its previous titles, Evil Empire has made Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse its best platformer yet. Rose can jump, swing, slide and, eventually, dash through the detailed biomes of Paris. With excellent traversal comes excellent puzzles, and Evil Empire deploys level design that, at its best, rivals Portal 2. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is loaded with hidden secrets and massive obstacles that inject adrenaline into the player’s veins with every step. Oh, and if you hit the right wall, you can find wall food, a fun Easter egg pulled straight from the rest of the series.
In one segment, I was tasked with getting across a bridge, and Evil Empire throws a crucible of skill at you. Across the many skill checks present in Belmont’s Curse, the game truly puts the player through the wringer. In these high-octane segments, you must swing, platform, dodge and kill enemies all at once while pushing forward. Everything works seamlessly together, down to being able to latch onto enemies and use them as footstools to avoid falling to your death.
“Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is an absolute triumph.”
When all of these elements come together, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is not only one of the strongest games in the series, but also one of the best games of the year. On top of everything you can interact with in-game, gorgeous backdrops grab your attention and refuse to let go. Evil Empire insists that every detail matters, regardless of how close it is to Rose.
Evil Empire also includes accessibility options so players who want to experience only the story can turn on “Prevent Death” mode from the menu and become immortal. There are also other difficulty sliders, including enemy damage, that can be adjusted to tailor the experience to your liking.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is an absolute triumph. Evil Empire pulled out all the stops to create one of the best games in the Castlevania franchise and, in the process, one of the best Metroidvanias of all time. Belmont’s Curse has it all: a strife-riddled member of the Belmont clan doing battle against the forces of evil, second-to-none level design, lush visuals and a soundtrack that ties everything together with a flourish. On top of that, Evil Empire has embraced the series’ mythology and redeployed it here, so fans who know their Belmont history will find plenty to appreciate.
Whether you’re swinging through the environment, running down a street or simply smacking a skeleton with your whip, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse keeps you fastened to your seat until “Bloody Tears” becomes ambient noise, and you won’t want to get up. I never thought I’d say this after seeing a Castlevania pachinko machine on a casino floor, but Castlevania is finally back, baby.
