Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Review: A Lopsided Heir

Is Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse the heir this family has waited for, or does the curse win?

I think Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is the most confident Belmont game in years, and also the most lopsided. That is my Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse review in short. Few game franchises carry this much inheritance. The Belmont line has cracked its whip since the NES original. Every new entry gets measured against that family tree.

This time the bloodline is literal. Rose Belmont is the daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades. Her story is set in Paris in 1499, 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. Konami calls the result a “2D Action-Exploration” game. You and I would call it a Metroidvania, and a demanding one.

The game launched October 15, 2026, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam and Xbox, and Nintendo Switch. Evil Empire developed it with Konami, and Motion Twin advised. Konami publishes. The current build is Ver 1.1.4, per Konami’s update notes from November 6, 2026.

Whip It Good

The Vampire Killer whip is the heart of this game, and it pulls double duty. Nintendo World Report describes a whip swing that works like a grappling hook. That one change turns the series’ oldest weapon into a way to move. In Rondo of Blood, the whip was for killing things. Here it also carries Rose across the map.

Nintendo Life credits that whip integration, along with combat variety, for making this the best Castlevania in a long time. I buy that argument. Modern Metroidvanias treat movement as half the fun, and the whip finally belongs to that toolkit.

The rest of the kit looks back to Symphony of the Night. Rose earns XP and levels up, and GameSpot highlights a tarot system layered on top. GameSpot’s Steve Watts says every element works. He thinks the game feels destined to sit beside Symphony. That is a huge claim, and I can’t fully sign on.

Nintendo World Report calls the boss fights a standout. It still ranks the game below Silksong and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Eurogamer’s Dom Peppiatt gave it 3/5, citing technical issues and awkward controls against its ambitious highs.

The Curse Runs Backward

The bigger problem is the shape of the difficulty. RPG Site’s Junior Miyai says the pieces were assembled “wrong.” By his account, the early game is too aggressive and the mid-to-late game is too easy. He praises the gorgeous art and great music, then calls the balance undertuned.

Nintendo Life lands nearby from the other direction. It calls Belmont’s Curse a “pro-grade Metroidvania with a stiff learning curve.” It also warns that the difficulty may frustrate newcomers.

Put those reviews together and the curse runs backward. A Metroidvania usually starts gentle and tightens as you grow stronger. Here, Rose inherits the heaviest burden on day one, then outgrows it. You could read that as the theme of inheritance played out in the mechanics. I don’t think it reads as deliberate, though. It reads like a tuning problem that Ver 1.1.4 has not yet been shown to solve.

That split explains the reviews. Critics who weigh the whip and the bosses land near GameSpot. Critics who weigh the balance land near Eurogamer.

OVERALL: 3.5 / 5

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is a worthy heir with a lopsided difficulty curve. The whip swing is the smartest idea the series has had in years. Rose Belmont is a strong excuse to return to the family story. Yet the balance works against you, punishing you early and coasting late. Critics also flag awkward controls and technical issues. If you grew up on Symphony and love a stiff challenge, play it now. If you are new to the genre, wait and see whether future patches fix the curve. Either way, the Belmont name finally feels alive again.