It’s been a good minute since the last mainline Castlevania game, almost twenty years if you believe it, so fans are justifiably clamoring for another, and Konami’s finally delivering. Set in Paris, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse puts you in the shoes of Trevor Belmont’s daughter, Rose, as you try to save the city from being engulfed in monsters.
Evil Empire, developers of Dead Cells, are stepping in to develop this, and you can really feel their fingerprints all over it. The combat feels tight and polished, and moving through the environment is fluid and effortless. If you played that Castlevania DLC for Dead Cells a while back, and really wished they could have made a proper game in the series, then you got your wish.
My demo only gave me twenty minutes to explore the beginnings of the game, but it left a strong first impression. Rose plays great; I thoroughly explored the area, slowly filling out the map, finding shortcuts, uncovering secrets, and taking down enemies along the way. I fought a bestial boss called The Fallen that really kept me on my toes as it flung a holy cross boomerang around the arena while swinging to cover more ground. Defeating it allowed me to gain a holy cross of my own to use, which revealed the game’s Works of Mercy system where spells have specific tasks for you to do to upgrade them. One task for the holy cross, for example, requires you to kill five enemies with a single toss; upgrades include things like being able to toss a second cross or regaining the mana spent by catching a thrown cross.
It wouldn’t be a Castlevania game without the series’ iconic whip, and it returns with aplomb here. Rose can use the whip not only to pull herself to enemies, delivering a devastating blow when she connects, but it’s also one of her core movement abilities, as you’ll find grapple points scattered around that you can swing to. You’ll quickly get in the motion of swinging around the environment, all while attacking enemies, as you move from screen to screen.
The worst part of Belmont’s Curse is how little time I got to enjoy it. Thankfully the wait isn’t too long, as it’s set to launch this October.
