It’s been over a decade since the last new Castlevania game, and for a time it felt like the series was going to stay dead and buried forever. But in 2017, Netflix’s fantastic animated adaptation of Castlevania rose from the grave, giving Konami’s gothic franchise a new lease on life. What instantly made me love Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is that it expertly blends those two eras of the series; it looks and feels like an episode of the show, but has the satisfying, crunchy gameplay of the classic entries. Dead Cells developer Evil Empire was the perfect choice to reinvigorate Castlevania, and after just a thirty-minute demo, I’m incredibly hopeful about how it’s shaping up.
My demo at PAX West was a completely freeform experience, where I was given the chance to roam around the first two biomes of the game at my leisure, taking on bosses, finding secrets, and eating more than a few wall chickens.
Belmont’s Curse takes place two decades after the events of Castlevania 3: Dracula’s Curse and follows Rose Belmont, the daughter of Trevor Belmont. Even that setup hints at the smart choices Belmont’s Curse makes, and its effort to unite the animated and video game halves of Castlevania. Casting Rose gives this game a chance to branch out and do its own thing, while linking its story to that familiar setting and tone. The first thing you notice is that this game looks stunning in motion. As good as Belmont’s Curse has looked in trailers, it’s on another level entirely when you’re actually playing it. For all intents and purposes, it really does look like you’re playing an episode of the animated show: fluid character movements, dazzling colorful effects, and stunning backdrops of gothic cities and towering cathedrals.
The fluidity of that animation does add a little pop to the feel of gameplay, which uses that rock-solid Metroidvania formula to give Rose all the moves you’d expect — jumps, whip strikes, a slide to dodge attacks, and a grapple to both swing on points and pull yourself to them. It has all the foundations you’d expect from Castlevania, but with a little pizazz, like Dead Souls.
The systems I find most intriguing so far are the tarot cards and weapons. Rose can equip up to three tarot cards at any time, all of which serve as sort of spellcasting abilities. These cards correspond to the bosses you beat and unlock a new ability. Even more interesting, the spirit of that boss then accompanies Rose. Early in the demo, I beat The Fallen, who then became a sort of travelling companion, conversing with Rose and pushing the story forward with new details. This also gave me the Holy Cross attack, letting me throw massive crosses to hit distant enemies or objects for puzzles. Although I ran out of time, it seemed like the second boss, which I believe was Joan of Ard, would do the same thing.
What that means is that beating bosses gives you an incredibly tangible reward; not only does it give you a new weapon, but also a new puzzle-solving mechanic, and even more narrative context. And considering there are usually 22 cards in a tarot deck, I’m fascinated to see the breadth of how this game might expand across its playtime. It’s a brilliant way of building out the game’s story and that typical sort of Castlevania progression.
Practically the only thing I need to see now is whether Belmont’s Curse can nail satisfying exploration and world design. I saw some positives in that regard, but a 30-minute demo is too short to make a real judgement call. No matter what, Belmont’s Curse has genuinely inventive ideas and a strong foundation to build on. The wait for a new Castlevania has been long and excruciating, but there’s every indication that it might have been worth it.
