Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Review

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is the first new Castlevania in years, made for Konami by Evil Empire, the studio that carried Dead Cells forward, with Motion Twin advising, and directed by Emmanuel Nouaille and Yukiko Hokao. It is set in 1499 in a Paris overrun by monsters, with a castle risen at the city's heart, and its hunter is Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont and the late Sypha Belnades, trained by her father as his successor, 23 years after Dracula's Curse. It came out on October 15, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

Critics welcomed it back: 84 on Metacritic on PS5, 82 on PC and 88 on Xbox, with 96 percent recommending it on OpenCritic, which puts it among the best reviewed games in the series. GameSpot called it the series at its best and Game Informer worthy of the whip, and the praise centered on its exploration and its combat. The reservations were specific. VGC admired the look but found the challenge lacking for a series known for punishing players, Rock Paper Shotgun thought its Metroidvania side the weaker half, and the soundtrack, in a series famous for its music, drew more criticism than praise.

The combat and the city earn gameplay and visuals an A, and the Belmont family story is a solid B. It is a smaller production than the other big October releases, and its difficulty is softer than a Castlevania should be, but it is an A.