Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse review – every fantastical vampire-hunting vision is fulfilled

A gorgeously gothic Paris swarming with demons should be a perfect setting for Konami’s long-running vampiric adventure series. Unfortunately, while the sights and sounds of this vivid and haunting world leave a bold impression, developer Evil Empire doesn’t always provide an enjoyable experience to go with them. It takes far too long for the most imaginative elements of the game to be revealed.

Players take the role of Rose Belmont, daughter of vampire hunter (and Castlevania regular) Trevor Belmont and the witch Sypha Belnades, and her quest is to free Paris from demonic occupation. This murderous noctural journey feels best when you’re fighting monsters; combat is frenetic, sometimes to the point of being overwhelming, while boss fights require considerable focus and skill. Combat is the game’s strongest component and what sets it apart from previous entries. Minimising the series’ role-playing elements (levelling up has never felt more perfunctory) in favour of twitch-based action will annoy purists, but they’d be hard pressed to call battles dull.

To its benefit, Belmont’s Curse doesn’t pull any punches. Literally. The smallest minion can land a heavy blow and dodging even basic attacks, though occasionally counterintuitive, forces the player to intimately learn enemy habits. Every fantastical vampire-hunting vision is fulfilled: bats burst into blood, demons burn to cinders. Every battle holds fresh twists and gimmicks.

Exploration is less about remembering old, previously inaccessible routes then circling back, so much as mastering challenge rooms full of buzzsaws and blood pits. Learning how to juggle multiple tools at once becomes crucial, as some rooms start to resemble the notoriously tough platformer Super Meat Boy more than Symphony of the Night. Navigating these challenges requires acrobatics, air dashes and death-defying leaps. And while Castlevania veterans may expect something more subtle (secret-hunting and puzzle-solving is the classic stuff of the series), a significant portion of the maps is devoted to platforming challenges.

As Rose progresses, she gains new magical attacks via tarot cards, and tools for reaching new areas. This is, however, an inconsistent game world. The castle library offers notebook-worthy puzzles, including a cathedral hidden within a cursed portrait that tasks you with playing music on a magic organ. After that, however, you might have to explore underground waterways packed with uninspired combat challenges. This may be the most virtually striking Castlevania since 2002’s Harmony of Dissonance and sometimes it’s also the most inventive and brain-teasing. In other moments, you’ll be bored to bloody tears.

Belmont’s Curse improves considerably after an early twist forces Rose to grapple with the Belmont family legacy and her own anger. Once you’re out of the Parisian streets and into Dracula’s castle, there’s far more to love.

The result is an earnest, likable game. There are undeniable shortcomings and moments of curse-worthy frustration, but every now and again, there is real cleverness on display, even if Belmont’s Curse can’t quite match contemporary peers such as Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown or Hollow Knight: Silksong – the trendsetter now feels like something of a trend-chaser. For most Castlevania players, this will be more than enough. You have a whip, a castle, and a dark lord. Do you really need anything else?