Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Reviews Are In Ahead of Oct. 15 Launch

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is a 2D action-exploration game developed by Evil Empire and published by Konami, and reviews landed today, two days before it launches October 15 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch (backward compatible with Switch 2) and PC. Metroidvania is the genre Belmont’s Curse sits in, and early verdicts from Game Informer, IGN, VGC and Push Square are largely positive, even as several reviewers note that Evil Empire’s take plays more like a modern Metroidvania than a traditional Castlevania.

Game Informer’s Charles Harte called Belmont’s Curse “Worthy of the Whip,” writing that the game is “a strong reminder of why the Castlevania series is so influential, with a rich world, tense combat, and a map chock-full of secrets.” Harte finished the 16-hour campaign at 92 percent completion. He singled out the Tarot card system as “my favorite mechanic in Belmont’s Curse.”

IGN’s review was also positive but more measured. The reviewer called the action “magnificent” and praised Rose Belmont as a strong new lead. The same review wrote that the game “felt less like what I associate with the Castlevania series specifically” the deeper the reviewer got into it. IGN highlighted the absence of series staples like subweapons and the holy water bottle.

VGC gave the game three out of five stars. Push Square’s Stephen Tailby called Belmont’s Curse a “perfectly fine Metroidvania” in his PS5 review. The split reflects a familiar pattern for Konami-outsourced Castlevania projects. Evil Empire is best known for Dead Cells and its 2023 Return to Castlevania DLC. Reviewers are weighing the studio’s Metroidvania instincts against 40 years of Castlevania conventions. Across the four outlets we sampled, the praise clusters around combat, the Tarot cards, and Rose as a new lead. The complaints cluster around enemy variety and the loss of subweapons.

Belmont’s Curse is set 23 years after Castlevania III. Rose Belmont fights through burning 1499 Paris under supernatural siege. It is the first mainline 2D Castlevania since Order of Ecclesia on the Nintendo DS in 2008, a gap of 18 years. It is also the first developed outside Konami. Konami is publishing.

Our read: With three out of five at VGC, a 92 percent completion playthrough at Game Informer, and IGN’s measured praise, this is the kind of mixed-positive reception Evil Empire’s faithful-but-different take was always going to get. Longtime Castlevania fans should read closely before launch. They need to decide whether Rose’s new spin matches the series they remember. Metroidvania fans who never played a 2D Castlevania have a strong first entry point. We’ve already covered the release time and editions for launch day.

Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report