First it was Bomberman, then Contra, and then Gradius. Every single Metal Gear game eventually got remastered and rereleased for modern platforms. Finally, Silent Hill is back on track, with multiple high caliber entries, both brand new games and remakes. When it comes to Konami’s franchises, Castlevania was the only one left without a proper revival, barring a handful of compilations. Considering the success of these collections, not to mention the popularity of the Netflix show, I wondered how much longer it would take for an actual new Castlevania game to see the light of day. The wait is finally over. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, the first brand new entry in the series since 2014, is out now. Was it worth the absurdly long wait?

Spin this spear as much as you want, you just ain’t tough.

But how do you make a new entry in the series, especially a 2D metroidvania, when the franchise’s most famous designer, Koji Igarashi, is busy making his own Bloodstained games instead? The solution is actually much simpler than it sounds. If there’s one genre packed with talented designers and developers who would probably jump at the opportunity to work on a brand new Castlevania, it’s the one literally named after the franchise itself: metroidvania. Konami contacted Evil Empire and Motion Twin, the creators of the Dead Cells game and add-ons, for such a task. Given how they had already created Castlevania-themed DLC for Dead Cells, that felt like the most obvious, and correct, choice.

Canonically-speaking, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is set twenty years after Castlevania III in the franchise’s storyline, and also after the conclusion of the Netflix animated series. Regarding the latter, it is clear that the developers and Konami wanted to take advantage of the show’s success; some voice actors reprise their roles, albeit in a much smaller scale, and the art style is actually somewhat similar to it. The difference is that you are not playing as Trevor Belmont or his love interest, Sypha Belnades; instead, you play as their daughter, Rose Belmont.

Bonjour, monsieur. Where’s the nearest Starbucks?

Rose is afflicted by a curse that has infected her arm, one that threatens to kill her if she fails to keep her emotions in check. To make matters worse, she also carries the guilt of knowing her mother died giving birth to her, blaming herself for the tragedy. Not exactly an ideal situation for someone who already struggles to control her emotions. Despite all this, she decides to join her father in assisting the Bishop of Paris after the city becomes overrun by zombies, skeletons, demons, and all manner of other supernatural nasties. This is where the game begins.

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is a traditional metroidvania in terms of level design and progression, but it takes a while before you are actually able to explore the titular castle owned by good ol’ Drac. The first half of the game is actually set in and around a ruined Paris. You will explore the town’s surface, a graveyard, catacombs, and so on, defeating enemies and acquiring new powers from fallen bosses. This first handful of bosses, once defeated, are trapped inside magical tarot cards created by Sypha prior to her death; this allows Rose to not only use their powers as side weapons, but also lets her communicate with them throughout the game. They act as mentors or bullies, depending on the personality of the monster.

I wonder if Drac rents the place out on Airbnb during less hectic times.

I’d say that this first half of the game is divided in two parts. The first one, set in Paris and its surroundings, is… just good. Nothing wrong with it in terms of gameplay and combat (more on that later), but these areas are too horizontal and similar to other indie metroidvanias; it’s not the kind of level design you expect from an actual Castlevania game. The second part of this initial section of the game is a bit better, with more traps and maze-like environments, even though the game goes a bit overboard in the sheer amount of precision platforming challenges it throws at you. They aren’t bad, but they get tiresome after a while.

When you reach the castle, it’s like you are playing a completely different game. The music picks up, with a good chunk of this section’s tunes being rearranged versions of famous Castlevania songs from the past. The level design becomes the ultra-confusing maze you expect from Castlevania, complete with a ton of optional rooms, secrets, and entire side areas left for you to unveil with each new upgrade you acquire. You are then encouraged to revisit the streets of Paris with your new abilities, uncovering brand new areas, enemies, boss battles, upgrades, and so on. That’s when Belmont’s Curse starts feeling like a proper Castlevania, and it’s oh so glorious.

You are eventually given a grappling hook which is NOT the same as a whip.

That being said, the gameplay isn’t entirely reminiscent of old school Castlevania. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. It’s just different. I’d say Belmont’s Curse is a bit more streamlined, placing less emphasis on the excessive RPG elements found in some of its predecessors, such as stats and countless accessories to equip. You have three slots for emblems that grant special perks, while your health and mana can be increased by finding treasures scattered throughout the world. Leveling up only provides minor boosts to your attack and defense. There’s also a wide assortment of weapons to collect, although they’re divided into half a dozen categories. For the most part, I found myself sticking to either a sword or a whip, depending on the situation.

This means the game doesn’t particularly encourage you to grind your way to victory whenever you encounter a tough boss. Instead, it wants you to learn their attack patterns, experiment with different loadouts, and figure out how to exploit their weaknesses. Some bosses, for instance, are more vulnerable to close combat techniques, meaning a whip might not be your best option. A sword or a pair of knuckles could prove considerably more effective. Whether you consider this approach better or worse than a more traditional Castlevania combat system ultimately comes down to personal preference.

The game goes overboard with the amount of precise platforming gauntlets.

I never felt annoyed during combat. The enemy variety isn’t particularly extensive, but the combination of weapons, secondary abilities, satisfying game feel, and responsive controls was more than enough to keep me entertained. I had a blast exploring every nook and cranny of the castle, slaughtering mobs while searching for hidden passages or trying to decipher some absolutely cryptic puzzles.

Belmont’s Curse doesn’t hold your hand when it comes to figuring out puzzle solutions or the best strategies for defeating bosses. That said, you do have access to a handful of gameplay modifiers if you find yourself struggling with the latter. The game won’t punish you for enabling them, either. I’d argue that overcoming these challenges is precisely what makes the experience so entertaining in the first place, but I appreciate the inclusion for newcomers, as there is just one difficulty setting to begin with.

The whip isn’t your starting weapon, but once you grab one, I doubt you’ll want to use anything else.

Players just might be intimidated, or even demotivated, with some of its more cryptic puzzles or conditions for achieving the game’s best ending. It’s not a game that does a good job at telling you where to go and what to do, but I feel like this was done on purpose, in true Castlevania style. We don’t need to remember how cryptic Castlevania 2 was, or how some games in the franchise had entire CASTLES that weren’t mentioned in the critical path. In Belmont’s Curse, some areas require some very specific conditions before getting unlocked. This is a game which might require a good twenty hours from players if you want to go for full 100% completion. No NG+ options are available: if you beat your first run with a good ending, you’re pretty much done with it.

So, all in all, is Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse a fantastic game? One of the greats? A worthy contender to stand shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Aria of Sorrow, Order of Ecclesia, or Symphony of the Night? Well, it’s certainly a pretty good game, and upon further reflection, I actually think that moving away from some of the series’ more RPG focused elements, while initially disappointing, was the right decision. That said, I do think Belmont’s Curse suffers from a handful of issues with its overall design and execution. I’ve already touched upon some of my gameplay complaints, particularly how the game places a bit too much emphasis on annoying platforming challenges and grappling hook sections. The lack of a New Game+ mode is also noteworthy.

My Uber driver. Or rower, in this case.

But if I had to point out something a bit more egregious, or better yet, confusing, I’d say it is the fact that there is no native Switch 2 build. I played a Switch version on a Switch 2 for the purposes of this review. It wasn’t an ugly game, but you can understand that its polygonal models weren’t as detailed as they could have been because the developers wanted to ensure that the game would run well on the platform. The resolution, as of the time of writing, before the game’s actual launch, was noticeable inferior to what I was expecting: I could notice pixelation in a few areas.

The framerate was capped at 30fps, at least as of launch. This is precisely why I don’t understand the decision not to release a Switch 2 version alongside it. I seriously doubt this game would push Nintendo’s newer hardware so hard that it couldn’t render a 2.5D platformer at a higher framerate. This doesn’t make Belmont’s Curse unplayable. Not once did I notice any significant framerate drops or issues with input delay. I just can’t wrap my head around the decision to limit the game to a version designed around the capabilities of a tablet powered device from 2017.

Not the most detailed metroidvania, but some sights are pretty.

I think Konami and its development team hit the right notes with Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, especially when it comes to reintroducing a long dormant franchise to a wider audience. It’s a game of three distinct acts: a somewhat generic opening third, a middle portion that gradually picks up the pace, and a truly mesmerizing final stretch that finally feels like good old Castlevania at its finest. While I was a bit disappointed by the lack of deeper RPG elements and the absence of a proper Switch 2 version capable of taking advantage of the system’s hardware, I can’t deny that I had a great time with it. I explored every nook and cranny of Drac’s castle, soaked in its sights and sounds, and had a blast solving its puzzles and taking down its bosses. The franchise is finally back, and I couldn’t be happier.

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is available now on PS5, Xbox Series S/X, PC and Switch.

Reviewed on Switch.

A copy of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse was provided by the publisher.