Castlevania: Belmont's Curse [Review]

The unending smoke at the center of Paris is but a preview of what's to come: something malign is brewing, and amidst the chaos, even a city full of monsters and vampires wasn't enough to prevent the Belmonts from acting. Arriving at dusk, Belmont's Curse is, honestly, a hell of a night, with unprecedented character movement, combat expression, and world exploration. The King of the Night is at the cusp of return, and the whole world will feel His presence.

Everything starts when Rose Belmont and her father, Trevor, arrive at the city, desperate to help. After a quick exposition to set the scene, I'm already alone with Rose, exploring and trying to save the city of Paris. Belmont's Curse celebrates much of what Castlevania has been in recent years, such as the 2017 Netflix series, as it serves as a narrative sequel to it. At the same time, it expands on many ideas that the games were toying with before they were put on the shelf. This equation results in a brilliant game that can carve out its own identity with ease, becoming an instant classic for the series.

Before parting ways, Trevor left Rose with a boon from her late mother: Sypha's tarot cards, which promise to cure the curse afflicting Rose's arm once they are cleared of their strange obfuscations. The first map is a mostly linear series of rooms that showcases how nimble and agile Rose can be. Jumps are precise and fast, with a controllable weight that is exceptionally well-crafted. Moving Rose is a joy from the very beginning of the game, even before any movement power-ups or special abilities. With paths full of secrets and shortcuts galore, exploring the different sections of Paris was enjoyable and taught me much about what was to come, including the strange ghosts that provide clues about the bosses in each section.

After defeating the first boss, the tarot cards reacted to its remains and, look at that, granted Rose new powers to use. Each of the game's many bosses often rewards Rose with a new ability — both for combat and exploration — and it is no different even from the very first one, which rewards a useful whip that can be used offensively to close the distance to enemies, and to navigate the many platforming challenges. Rose masters both aerial and ground combat in fantastic ways, and understanding how the whip works alongside the main weapons was key to finding a rhythm that made sense for me.

There are several different styles of weapons to use. From dual swords that require precise timing to a heavy great-sword that can be charged: while nothing is uniquely special, every base is covered and no playstyle is left behind. In my opinion, while not the most original arsenal ever, the way weapons interact with Rose's movement makes the combat special, and successfully landing whip attacks was always fun and rewarding. Enemies are particularly aggressive and can, at times, be more resilient than they appear; knowing how to use the back-step to then use the whip to re-approach was mandatory to win the encounters. This ebb and flow was fantastic, and fortunately not exclusive to the combat.

Exploring the city of Paris — and, eventually, Dracula's Castle — can be fast-paced and very acrobatic. Every section of the game is filled with platforming challenges that severely tested my sanity. Fortunately, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse doesn't shy away from accessibility options, and one can simply adjust whatever they don't like. While I left almost everything unchecked, I didn't want to lose health to platforming challenges that could have caused me to lose my progress, and I was happy to disable trap and environmental damage whenever a platforming challenge appeared. I loved it, and it encouraged me to try almost everything in the game.

As the map opens up, most of it is left to be discovered, unguided, without knowing where to go next, or where not to go at all. Mysteries are everywhere, and after exploring a bit of the castle, I got my first bad ending, falling for the schemes of Evil. Okay, okay, I'll be a better vampire hunter! Collecting documents, finding ghosts, and traveling between the many sections of the Castle — finding special upgrades like the deliciously fast air dash and the long-awaited double jump — it really felt like I was building Rose; that she was getting stronger and I was getting better at the game. With increasingly difficult challenges as the game progresses, both in movement and combat, nothing ever felt unfair, and with the possible exception of the very last boss, I honestly felt that every encounter was well-balanced.

The story in Belmont's Curse doesn't necessarily rewrite the rules of the series, and while not groundbreaking, it is enough to enhance the setting. Rose's motivations are credible, and there were some heartwarming moments that made everything feel surprisingly genuine. I didn't start the game loving Rose, but I ended up adoring her.

Following a more modern approach to the style and resembling the hit TV series, Belmont's Curse is surprisingly unique, featuring a 3D world and models with side-scrolling movement. The characters aren't overly complex and can sometimes be a bit too simplistic when viewed up close, but since the camera is often far away from Rose, it wasn't a significant issue for me. Technically speaking, the game can be a bit frustrating, with occasional low-resolution textures, abrupt (albeit fast) loading screens, and some frame hiccups during more chaotic scenes. And that's on the PlayStation 5; I know the situation is different for the Switch 1, where performance and presentation are significantly worse. The compressed "slideshow" cutscenes can also occasionally miss the mark and reveal some of the flaws in the presentation.

The rewards for most of the challenges throughout the game are often accessories that slightly change how Rose plays. While I was constantly obtaining new shiny stuff, I rarely felt the need to swap the ones I was using for the majority of the game; unfortunately, I didn't find these trinkets very useful, as most of them weren't particularly interesting to use. I never stopped completing the challenges because they remained fun regardless, but I wasn't doing it for the rewards at all. By the end of the game, I was merely collecting notifications for the new ones, not even checking them. I had a similar feeling with the weapon upgrades, as only the fourth and "final" form of each weapon category truly offers something new.

The enemy variety is impressive, as are the boss battles, which never failed to amaze me. It was great to see both old and new enemies — since this series was dormant for so long, it was cool finding the pillar of skeleton heads and the many haunted armors finally appear in a new game. Vengeful animals, crazed zombies, and the occult are everywhere, with combat sections that sometimes "trap" Rose and force her to fight. Nothing overstays its welcome, and the castle structure is clever enough to include shortcuts, fast travel, and save points throughout. While the UI is simple, I particularly missed a mini-map, as pausing the game to check the map constantly can become tiresome. The game does feature some backtracking, but it wasn't a problem for me at all since Rose can move very quickly and ignore most enemies in her path if I wanted.

While only one of the various unlockable spells can be used at a time, pausing the game mid-combat doesn't lock Rose's equipment, so experimenting is advised. Additionally, each ability can be enhanced if certain conditions are met, rewarding the player with pleasant conversations that were, unfortunately, not voiced. The portraits are consistently fantastic, and the entire game features a synth-goth musical flair that bleeds the dance floor, featuring remixes and new compositions that always energized me. While there aren't many songs, I actually liked most of them. It is clear that everyone behind this game truly loves Castlevania.

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a fantastic new game that will challenge and delight anyone who plays it. As the night finally ends and the fires are put to rest, the scattered morning rays bathe a bright new day — not only for Paris, but for the series as well.

9.5/10