The streets of Paris are on fire. The people are losing their minds and literally turning into monsters. All the mayor can do is call for help, and of course, he turns to the Belmonts, the legendary family that killed Dracula himself. In the introductory cutscene of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, Trevor Belmont plays the role of the battered but ever reliable vampire hunter well, but the focus isn’t on him this time around. We step into the shoes of his hard-headed daughter Rose instead, who’s eager to prove her worth and show that she can rise above the challenges presented both by the demons plaguing Paris, and the darkness that lurks within herself.
Developed by Evil Empire with Motion Twin serving as an advisory studio, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is a project that feels like it’s come full circle. Evil Empire, which spun off of Motion Twin, is comprised of developers who are notably fans of Konami’s Castlevania IP. Working on games like Dead Cells and The Rogue Prince of Persia, these are studios that have helped to breathe new life into the genre, bringing new fans (including myself) into the fold. They’re a natural fit for a brand new Castlevania game, and Belmont’s Curse is proof of that.
From the start, you’re immediately introduced to newcomer Rose Belmont and learn what she’s all about. Rose is voiced by Ishikawa Yui in Japanese, and if you’re familiar with Ishikawa’s most iconic work (Mikasa Ackerman from Attack on Titan, 2B from NieR: Automata, Violet Evergarden, etc), then this should instantly tell you everything you need to know about Rose’s core character traits. Rose is, indeed, a bad bitch character who likes to put up a strong front, while hiding a certain tenderness underneath that tough facade. There’s more to Rose than just her tsundere nature of course, but it helps that this is exactly the kind of female character archetype that I’m naturally drawn to, and everything about Rose as a protagonist just works for me.
It’s quickly established that Rose’s right arm is cursed, and there’s some form of darkness within her that could threaten to take over if her emotions get out of hand. She’s eager to prove to her father that she’s gotten stronger though, and tells him to go meet the mayor while the scouts out the city.
The first act of Belmont’s Curse has you exploring Paris itself, with three bosses for you to take down in (almost) any order to unlock all of Rose’s core exploration abilities. As you’d expect from any good Metroidvania game, the map is sprawled out with an overwhelming number of paths and little nooks for you to find. Not all of them are accessible of course, and the game allows you to put pins on your map that serve as a reminder to come back later once you have the relevant ability to help you progress further.
Traversal and exploration tools include Rose’s ability to grab onto purple and white colored hooks with her whip and swing from them, allowing her to reach new heights. Eventually, you’ll gain the ability to pass through certain surfaces as well by holding down the trigger button, then releasing it to let them form again. There are the usual Metroidvania suspects as well, like a ground slam, along with other cool combat-related skills like the ability to hook an enemy and launch yourself towards them with a powerful whip attack.
All of these abilities come together to create some incredibly challenging platforming sequences that both frustrated me and filled me with a sense of pride when I did eventually overcome them. We’re talking jumping off a crumbling platform and hooking onto a flying enemy while dodging a medusa head that can freeze you in place, while holding L2 to pass through a platform and releasing it at the right time so you land on solid ground instead of falling straight into spikes, sending you right back to where you started.
As someone who is notoriously bad with platforming, Belmont’s Curse definitely put me through my paces. I’m the kind of player who needs to fail at something multiple times as I hone my method and slowly figure out how to get through a platforming challenge instinctively. Whereas a game like Celeste encourages that sort of trial-and-error approach, Belmont’s Curse punishes it by eating away at your health bar each time you get caught by a trap. Run out of health and potions, and you’ll be sent all the way back to your last safe room, which could be several screens away depending on the situation. This is frustrating, but the good news is that Belmont’s Curse also comes with several gameplay modifiers and sliders that allow you to make things more bearable.
It didn’t take long for me to reach for those modifiers and turn down the amount of damage dealt by traps. This makes the game significantly easier, yes, but it also meant I could take my time learning a platforming challenge in and out without dealing with the stress and frustration of running out of tries.
Combat in Belmont’s Curse is also challenging in different ways, with a whole variety of enemy types designed to test your reaction times and force you to experiment with Rose’s arsenal. The game isn’t shy about showering you with a whole bunch of weapon types, ranging from the classic whip (my favorite) to dual swords and greatswords. Rose can cast magic, and of course, there are a ton of different spells to choose from as well, including the classic crosses and the ability to summon flames from the ground.
Once you enter the game’s second act, Belmont’s Curse really opens up. Rose has her father’s weapons and combat-oriented gifts, but she also comes equipped with her mother’s tarot cards, which give her clues as to where to go next, who to hunt, and other secrets the world may be hiding. The game alludes that you could just go straight for the final boss, but if you take the time to explore and fill in the missing details on Rose’s blank tarot cards, you’ll discover new NPCs and secrets to help Rose overcome the darkness lurking within her.
Indeed, actually locating the bosses you need to fight in this game isn’t exactly the most straightforward task. Occasionally I’d get lost in the game’s sprawling environments, even when I thought I had a good idea of where to go next. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse really makes sure to reward exploration though, as you’ll find objects you can interact with that give you hints to the game’s secrets and main objectives. I’d recommend checking your tarot cards whenever you’re unsure what to do next. Usually you’re just missing something incredibly obvious, and the tarot cards do a good job of nudging you forward.
I also greatly enjoyed the supporting cast of characters accompanying Rose on her journey. They come in the form of defeated bosses sealed away in Rose’s tarot cards, and they’re constantly yapping away at her at crucial story moments. The heroic Joan of Arc would give Rose genuinely good advice, while the chaotic Medusa would undermine all of that by cackling and trying to get Rose to follow her most destructive impulses. It was a lot of fun watching these characters banter with each other, with Rose trying to shut them all up with no avail. Rose may be your classic tsundere protagonist, but there’s also a softer side to her that only comes out when she’s internally monologuing with these side characters.
I’ll note at this point that I played the game on Switch 2, and almost entirely in handheld mode. Performance-wise, Belmont’s Curse runs admirably. While there isn’t a dedicated Switch 2 version of the game, Nintendo’s more powerful console does allow it to run at a higher framerate, which is nice. That being said, there are some noticeable issues with this particular version. The graphics are the most noticeable downgrade, as character models and environments look a little muddy. More egregious, though, are the load times between areas and the way the game straight up freezes for a few seconds whenever I bring up the menu to tab through my weapons.
I never actually experienced a crash of any sorts, and the game is still very much playable on the Switch 2. The controls are pretty responsive for the most part, though Konami has stated that there will be a day one patch that addresses all of my aforementioned issues. I’ll be issuing a final score once I’ve had some time to play with the patch applied, as well as my final thoughts on the Switch 2 version.
Evil Empire and Motion Twin prove once again that they understand what makes a Castlevania game special. Belmont’s Curse strikes a deft balance between exploration, story, and combat, tied together by a strong new protagonist whose journey is fun to follow from start to finish.
A review code for the game was provided by the publisher. You can check out our review policy here. Reviewed on Switch 2.
