Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Review Round-up: A Well-Received Return to Exploration
Critics broadly recommend Castlevania’s return to exploration-led action, with a 79/100 Metacritic aggregate and a 96% recommendation rate on OpenCritic.
- Developer
- Evil Empire, Motion Twin
- Publisher
- Konami Digital Entertainment
- Release Date
- October 15, 2026
egg.network has not played Castlevania: Belmont's Curse. This review round-up is built from published critic reviews and official details, linked at the end. The score is the critics' aggregate, not our own.
The critical verdict
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse arrives with a broadly positive critical reception. Its Metacritic aggregate stands at 79/100, placing it within the aggregator’s generally favourable category, while OpenCritic reports that 96% of critics recommend it. Those figures describe different aspects of reception: an aggregate score and the proportion of critics recommending the game.
The overall conclusion from critics is favourable. Developed by Evil Empire, with Motion Twin advising, and published by Konami, this entry returns to the exploration-based structure associated with Symphony of the Night. Rather than a sequence of isolated stages, its action unfolds across an interconnected map covering Dracula’s castle and the surrounding city of Paris.
A Belmont story set in Paris
The story takes place in 1499 and follows Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades. Dracula’s castle has manifested in the heart of Paris, where demonic creatures have overrun the city. A request from the local bishop brings Trevor and Rose into the investigation.
Rose carries Dracula’s curse in her right arm, an affliction inherited from Sypha, and has been trained by Trevor to succeed him as a vampire hunter. Their investigation separates them: Rose ventures deeper into the city while Trevor meets the bishop. Her journey includes the underground reservoir, sewers and Parisian catacombs, alongside encounters with figures connected to the series’ original timeline.
Exploration, keys and progression
Belmont's Curse uses a side-scrolling, non-linear structure. Rose moves through a large, automatically filling map divided into areas and sub-areas, collecting equipment and obtaining abilities that open access to additional locations.
Progression also involves boss-held keys. A large doorway restricts access to surrounding areas until Rose collects the required keys by defeating a set of bosses. Exploration therefore incorporates both ability-based access and explicit boss objectives.
Role-playing systems run alongside that structure. Defeating enemies and bosses awards experience, allowing Rose to level up and increase her attack and defence attributes. Those attributes determine the damage she deals and receives, while upgrades and items form part of the search through the map.
Weapons, tarot cards and stolen powers
Rose can equip the Belmont family’s Vampire Killer whip, alongside weapons organised into classes in the Armoury menu. The equipment includes short-range swords, longer-range spears and fast gauntlets for melee combat.
Traditional subweapons collected by breaking objects are replaced by abilities represented through tarot cards. Their use does not require hearts. Instead, mana powers the abilities known as arcana.
Defeating bosses allows Rose to siphon an attribute or power and store it as an arcanum that she can equip. These powers have their own upgrade process through Works of Mercy: objectives involving particular actions, including using an ability or spell under specified conditions. Completing an objective grants a point to spend on the associated arcanum’s skills.
Healing and moving around
Health recovery comes through items such as meat, potion flasks and mirrors. Potion flasks refill at save points, while mirrors serve as both save locations and fast-travel points throughout the map.
These systems sit within the same exploration loop as equipment collection, levelling and boss encounters. Rose’s route through Paris and the castle involves finding access items, acquiring powers and using the map’s travel infrastructure as additional areas become accessible.
Who the format is for
For players choosing by structure, the relevant distinction is its return to exploration-led Castlevania. Its feature set centres on interconnected areas, equipment choices, experience-based character growth and boss-derived abilities rather than traditional subweapon collection.
Critics’ high recommendation rate accompanies that particular format. The critical consensus is positive overall; the game itself combines the Belmont family’s vampire-hunting story with the non-linear design established by earlier exploration-focused entries.
What matters for Malaysian and SEA players
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse was released on 15 October 2026 for Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Malaysian and SEA players considering the release can therefore match those platform options against their existing setup, with critics broadly recommending the game overall.
Sources
Pros
- Generally favourable reception from critics
- Metacritic aggregate of 79/100
- Recommended by 96% of critics tracked by OpenCritic
Cons
Final Verdict
Critics broadly recommend Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, with a 79/100 Metacritic aggregate and a 96% recommendation rate on OpenCritic. Its generally favourable reception accompanies a return to non-linear exploration, with Rose Belmont navigating Paris and Dracula’s castle through weapon collection, boss encounters and unlockable abilities.