![\"Castlevania:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SEI_316601940-ad96.jpg\")
\n\t\tCastlevania: Belmont\u2019s Curse \u2013 Drac is back (Konami)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tCastlevania: Belmont\u2019s Curse \u2013 Drac is back (Konami)<\/p>\n
One of the founding fathers of the Metroidvania genre gets its first major new entry in over a decade, as Konami<\/a> tries to revitalise one of its most storied franchises.<\/p>\n Much has been said about Nintendo<\/a>\u2019s strange priorities over the last two years but while they have fast-tracked some unusually low profile series, while ignoring more famous names, their decisions have nothing on Konami\u2019s peculiar resistance to making a new Castlevania<\/a> game. With no easy way to develop a new Metal Gear<\/a> title without Hideo Kojima<\/a>, Castlevania is arguably their biggest franchise, especially given the success of the Netflix<\/a> animated series, and yet there hasn\u2019t been a new entry since 2014.<\/p>\n Even without the mainstream appeal provided by Netflix, the Metroidvania genre, which the series helped popularise along with Nintendo\u2019s Metroid, is more popular than ever, with seemingly every second indie game riffing on the concept.<\/p>\n Perhaps that has been the problem though, as it makes it difficult to create anything that will rise above the sea of other similar titles without devoting a lot of time and money to the project. We\u2019re not sure they shouldn\u2019t have anyway, given they\u2019re apparently planning to make a new Silent Hill every year<\/a>, but for whatever reason the first new Castlevania in over a decade is a low budget, mid-priced 2D game that could easily be mistaken for one of its own homages. But it\u2019s still pretty good anyway.<\/p>\n The obvious point of comparison here is Metroid Dread<\/a>, which was also the first new 2D entry in a long time, for one of the genre\u2019s two founders. We\u2019ll say straight off that Belmont\u2019s Curse is nowhere near as good as Metroid Dread. Its budget is clearly much smaller \u2013 it can\u2019t even afford a proper animated intro \u2013 and while both games emphasise a lack of handholding, Belmont\u2019s Curse gets the balance wrong and there\u2019s an awful lot of aimless wandering around, where you\u2019re not sure what you\u2019re meant to be doing.<\/p>\n Storytelling is not a Castlevania forte but all you need to know here is that someone is trying to resurrect Dracula (again) and you play as a member of the Belmont family who, for reasons that have never been adequately explored, are convinced that a magic whip is the best way to deal with vampires. This time you play as Rose, a new character, who has the game\u2019s titular curse, that risks her succumbing to the Dark Side if she gives in to hate and revenge.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tWant GTA 6 news?\t\t\t<\/p>\n Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter<\/a> for the latest GTA 6 news, reviews of new games you should play and exclusive analysis of the biggest stories of the week.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Paris is the setting for the game but, inevitably, the biggest influence here is PS1 classic Symphony Of The Night. The nods and references aren\u2019t too obnoxious, although when a certain castle enters the story, developer Evil Empire, who made The Rogue Prince Of Persia<\/a> and later helped with Dead Cells<\/a>, can\u2019t stop themselves from re-running all the most famous areas and remixes of familiar tunes.<\/p>\n What is different, though, is that Symphony Of The Night was always surprisingly easy for such an old game, in terms of both the action and the exploration. Belmont\u2019s Curse isn\u2019t excessively difficult, but there is a clear Soulslike<\/a> influence, in terms of respawning enemies and potions when you visit a save point, an often long walk to a boss battle (which are always very unforgiving), and an emphasis on parrying in battle.<\/p>\n The best part of the game is definitely the combat and traversal, with the latter in particular resulting in some very enjoyable 2D platforming that plays out like a less extreme version of Super Meat Boy<\/a> or Celeste<\/a>. Just getting around the large, open world map is fairly easy, since you can wall jump and use your whip to swing around on hooks, but the game often stops for what are essentially platform puzzles that require careful planning and clever use of all your abilities. These are often optional, to retrieve one of many hidden weapons or buffs, but always very rewarding.<\/p>\n \t\t Combat is good too, with the parry move being very satisfying, although despite multiple different weapon types, including various swords and a lance, they never seem to make as much difference as it first seems. The game is an action role-player, but all you do is automatically level up and there are no skill trees and only two stats. However, there are a lot of buffs, called talismans, to collect, which allow you to customise your abilities to some degree by giving attack or defence bonuses or doing things like increasing the efficiency of health potions.<\/p>\n Although Evil Empire\u2019s last couple of games have both featured procedurally generated levels, you\u2019d never know playing Belmont\u2019s Curse, whose maps are well designed and make good use of the Metroidvania staple of having inaccessible areas that you only realise later you can use a new item or ability to access.<\/p>\n Where to go is a big question though, as simply aiming for a blank spot on the map is rarely enough. Instead, Rose comes equipped with a set of tarot cards, each of which represents a boss in the game and, once you defeat them, grants a special move, like turning enemies to stone or throwing a traditional Castlevania sub-weapon, like a giant spinning cross.<\/p>\n \t\t Before you get to that point, though, you have to collect clues associated with each card, which give hints as to where the boss is or how to reach them, such as interacting with an otherwise innocuous part of the scenery. It\u2019s a neat idea, but the game doesn\u2019t make it clear that this is the only way to proceed, and you can easily spend hours exploring previously unvisited areas of the maps without making any actual progress.<\/p>\n You do eventually begin to learn the game\u2019s logic, but considering backtracking is the one aspect of Metroidvanias that many non-fans balk at, Belmont\u2019s Curse seems to go out of its way to encourage it even more. So much so that it point blank refuses to tell you there\u2019s a fast travel system using the game\u2019s save points. We got through almost the whole game without knowing that all you have to do is press down when standing next to a mirror \u2013 so you\u2019re welcome on that tip.<\/p>\n No doubt Konami is trying to reestablish the game\u2019s hardcore credentials, but while there are small innovations here, if it wasn\u2019t for the name this wouldn\u2019t particularly stand out above the morass of other similar indie games. But it\u2019s sensibly priced, and the quality is above average for the genre, so given the limitations of the budget, this is still a fairly encouraging return.<\/p>\n We wish the art style was more distinctive, with both it and the soundtrack lacking the overblown gothic charm of the older games. Nevertheless, it\u2019s a fine restatement of the series\u2019 qualities, even if there are few people nowadays who don\u2019t know what a Metroidvania is. Castlevania helped to establish the formula, but if it\u2019s going to have a future as a major franchise, it needs to help evolve and move that formula forward. A bigger budget 3D game seems the obvious way, but for now the more modest ambitions of this revival will have to do.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tCastlevania: Belmont’s Curse review summary\t\t\t<\/p>\n In Short: The long-awaited return of Castlevania offers little in terms of innovation or surprises, but it\u2019s a competent Metroidvania with some fun platforming challenges.<\/p>\n Pros: Good level design and enjoyable combat, with imaginative boss battles. Platforming sections are a particular highlight and there\u2019s plenty of secrets and extras. Sensibly priced.<\/p>\n Cons: It\u2019s not really adding anything new to the Castlevania, or Metroidvania, concept. Bland art style and frustratingly obscure progression.<\/p>\n Score: 7\/10<\/p>\n Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X\/S, and PC \t\t Email\u00a0gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a>, leave a comment below,\u00a0follow us on Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n To submit Inbox letters and Reader\u2019s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our\u00a0Submit Stuff page here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For more stories like this,\u00a0check our Gaming page<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"Castlevania:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SEI_316601935-5cfe.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe boss battles can be a bit of a difficulty spike (Konami)<\/p>\n![\"Castlevania:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SEI_316601830-cb54.jpg\")
\n\t\tSomeone\u2019s been playing Super Meat Boy (Konami)<\/p>\n
Price: \u00a324.99
Publisher: Konami
Developer: Evil Empire
Release Date: 15th October 2026
Age Rating: 16<\/p>\n![\"Castlevania:](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/SEI_316601822-2a6c.jpg\")
\n\t\tJoan of Arc is in the game\u2026 you can imagine the accent (Konami)<\/p>\n
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