Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Review – A Killer Comeback

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Review

Alongside Metroid, Castlevania changed the landscape of the industry, helping create a beloved genre that continues to influence and inspire a plethora of titles. While Samus has regularly featured in titles since its inception, fans of the vampire hunters have had to silently dwell in the darkness for the last 12 years, only stepping out for a glimpse of the Dead Cells crossover DLC. Following the success of that roguelike experiment, Evil Empire was given the keys to the castle to resurrect the Prince of Darkness. Will Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse breathe new life into the franchise, or will it be another nail in the coffin?

Set in 1499, 23 years after the events of Castlevania III, the inspiration for the Netflix anime, Paris is ablaze as monsters emerge and chaos engulfs the city. Word of the turmoil reaches the legendary slayer of Dracula, Trevor, who arrives with his daughter, Rose. Wanting to continue the rich family lineage that accompanies the Belmont name, Rose takes the lead, vowing to discover and vanquish the cause of the disaster. Harbouring a curse passed down from her mother, Sypha Belnades, she struggles to control the hate and anger that flares from her arm, adding an intriguing layer to her narrative arc.

Back from the Dead

The spirit of the series is immediately evident in its tightly designed map, which intersects with itself, creating shortcuts that let you travel from one area to the next. Its labyrinth ethos continues with secrets buried in corners of the environment and blockades that force you to either revisit areas once you acquire the necessary upgrade or find alternate routes to reach your objective. Each biome is distinct yet seamlessly intertwines with the others, creating a cohesive and interconnected landscape. While the world is expansive with no markers for your objective, you gain clues to learn where to go. Tarot cards point you in the right direction, allowing you to progress and discover organically.

Traversing the world is a thrill, featuring the best platforming in the series to date. Movement is fluid, allowing you to venture through Paris with ease. With your whip, you can hook onto areas in the environment to zoom across gaps and reach higher ground. This leads to some challenging and complex segments, where you must swing through spike-ridden areas, avoiding hazards to reach your destination. These sections develop in difficulty as your special abilities become part of the challenge, forcing you to combine them with your whip to navigate increasingly dangerous areas.

You can also grapple onto enemies with your whip, pulling you towards them to reach a certain area or closing the distance to attack. The strike you deliver varies with the weapon you equip. From a huge strike with the greatsword to an uppercut with the cestus, each of the seven weapons carries its own unique strike, giving you more options to personalise your approach to combat.

A Cut Above

Each weapon is distinct, offering new ways to approach battles. Some allow you to attack at a blistering pace, but inflict less damage, whereas others are slower to wield but cause serious harm. Each weapon also features a special charged attack, building upon its existing moveset. From hurling your spear across the screen, opening possibilities for ranged combat, to deadly combination strikes, these attacks add further versatility to your arsenal.

Due to Rose’s magical heritage, you can also use Arcana, different spells that aid you during battle. These powerful abilities are tied to your Mana meter, preventing you from simply spamming them. However, defeating enemies with melee strikes replenishes your Mana, encouraging an aggressive approach to combat. Work of Mercy challenges also link to your fighting style, granting items upon completion that allow you to upgrade your abilities. It’s a great addition that encourages you to experiment during battles.

Relics are hidden within, rewarding you for the completion of challenge rooms that test your platforming or combat skills. These offer offensive or defensive boosts to help you in battle. With only a finite number of slots available, you must equip relics that best suit your playstyle and experiment with the many options to create the perfect build. Although they provide small upgrades individually, together they can create exciting synergies that support you in battle.

Enemies are rooted in the franchise with zombies, skeletons, gargoyles and more, attempting to end your search for justice. Each character type has a unique attack pattern that requires you to counter. You can dodge back or roll past in order to avoid strikes and unleash an onslaught of attacks. In addition, you can also parry strikes and projectiles, allowing you to close the distance and quickly eliminate enemies.

Sinking Its Teeth In

Bosses are tough, requiring you to use everything in your arsenal to overcome them. Imposing and dominating the screen, these look incredible and feature an array of dangerous attacks that can kill you in an instant. Although their attacks are unruly, there’s a clear pattern that you must learn and counter. Once you do, it’s extremely satisfying to enter the arena, respond correctly to each attack, and ultimately, slay the towering beast.

Evil Empire nails the aesthetic, capturing the sophisticated, gothic architecture and eerie interiors. Each biome looks incredible, with small environmental clues that beckon you deeper into the world. Distinct colour palettes separate each area; however, they blend seamlessly to create a larger universe. Backed by a banging soundtrack, the game is a visual and audio treat.

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is the perfect resurrection for the franchise. Not only does the game capture the spirit of the series, but it expands on elements to create one of the finest examples in the genre. With its tight combat and wonderful world design, this is a killer comeback for the legendary series.

***A PS5 code was provided for this review***