There hasn’t been a new 2D Castlevania game since 2008, which makes Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse the first one in nearly 20 years. I got the chance to play it earlier this month at PAX West, and it was one of the best games I played throughout the entire convention.
Media and content creators can enter PAX an hour early on the first day, and I used that whole media hour to wait in line for the Belmont’s Curse demo. I’ve had some wasted media hours in the past, but this was not one of them. The short Castlevania demo was the first game I played at PAX West, and it left such a strong impression that it stayed on my mind until the very end of PAX.
My first introduction to Metroidvanias was neither from Metroid nor Castlevania, but I love the genre all the same. Games like Ori and the Will of the Wisps, Ender Lilies, and Momodora 4 really pulled me into the genre. It’s almost odd playing a modern game from one of the classic franchises that started it all, but I can confidently say that Konami, Evil Empire, and Motion Twin (creators of Dead Cells) have done an incredible job with this one.
The Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse demo ran on a timer of about 20 minutes. I was told that I should try to get as far as I could within the time limit. It wasn’t long, but I managed to find a new weapon, unlock a traversal ability, and defeat a boss.
Belmont’s Curse takes place 23 years after Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse, which was released in 1989. This game focuses on Rose Belmont as she tries to save Medieval Paris.
The first thing that really grabbed my attention was the visuals. The game looks absolutely stunning, with vibrant colors, intricate backgrounds, and excellent character animations. The look reminds me of the colorful art seen in Hades, except in 2D environments. At one point, I reached the rooftops and got an instantly memorable view of Paris on fire. It’s just a shame I couldn’t stand still long enough to take it all in, for fear of wasting too much time.
Before getting to that rooftop, I sped through a few tutorial rooms and sewer locations to get used to Rose’s melee attacks, spells, slide, and wall jumps. The slide was especially useful, helping me dodge attacks, avoid obstacles, and slip past any skeletons or bats I wanted to ignore on my mad dash to the boss.
The boss, known as The Fallen, was a towering figure who used a throwable cross as a weapon. I thought I was doing a great job by dodging the crosses and claw attacks to defeat him, but then reality hit. One of the booth attendants told me that the boss fight is much more difficult in the full game. The fight is easier in the demo to help players obtain The Fallen’s weapon and unlock the whip traversal skill.
After defeating The Fallen, I equipped his cross attack to gain a new projectile. Rose collects info and skills in the form of tarot cards called Arcana that can be viewed in the equipment menu. Bosses become Arcana, giving you the ability to use their techniques for yourself. The traversal whip obtained after the boss fight let me attach myself to hooks on walls or ceilings and swing from designated grapple points. The chain can even attach itself to enemies, facilitating more creative movement and offensive options.
The whip opened up more routes, allowing me to explore more of the sewers, leading me to a second weapon. This new fist-type weapon let Rose square up at close range to punch away at all threats. And that’s when the thought hit me – what else is waiting to be discovered that might feel just as cool as landing punch combos on a skeleton? My experience with the game was short, but it felt great. I left the Konami booth feeling like I needed so much more of that. I needed more time for map exploration, for combat, for admiring the art – more time with everything. And that’s when you know a demo has done its job.
The demo ended shortly after I found the gauntlet weapon, but I was thinking about all of the game’s future possibilities for the rest of my stay in Seattle. I took a few seconds to open up the menus before time ran out in the demo, and I saw a ton of empty slots where discoverable items, abilities, skills, and Arcana would appear. The demo was a ton of fun in the moment, but most of my current excitement comes from thinking about what this new Castlevania still has in store.
We see Rose use air dashes, teleports, and several other weapons in the official trailers, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the full game to try everything in her arsenal for myself when Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse launches on Oct. 15. A public demo will also be available on Oct. 1 for those who want to try it early and carry their progress into the full game.
