Belmont’s Curse delivers stellar action despite Metroidvania design struggles

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse serves as a modern reinterpretation of the classic series, marking the first entry in over a decade. Developed by Evil Empire and Motion Twin—the indie studios behind the roguelike Dead Cells—the game opts for a new protagonist, Rose Belmont, who seeks to step out of her father Trevor’s shadow. According to a review by Rock Paper Shotgun, the game is a fantastic action experience that unfortunately struggles to balance its Metroidvania exploration elements.

Fluid combat and visual spectacle

The combat and movement systems are major highlights. The reviewer notes that Rose’s movement is “quick and snappy,” specifically praising her backdash and the series-staple whip, which now functions as a versatile grappling hook. This whip-hook is described as the game’s “single best aspect,” allowing for fluid traversal and offensive combat maneuvers. The game’s presentation is also highly lauded; the animations are described as a “wonder to look at,” and the environments are noted for their ambient, moving beauty, ranging from the atmosphere of Dracula’s castle to serene cemeteries.

Boss encounters are another standout, drawing from diverse cultural figures like Medusa and Joan of Arc. These fights are lauded for their patterns and the unique inclusion of a “Greek chorus” of defeated bosses who offer commentary on Rose’s journey, which the source highlights as a high point for the game’s writing.

Design friction and Metroidvania limitations

Despite these strengths, the review points to significant friction within the game’s structure. While the combat rhythm is described as stellar, the “search-action” aspect suffers from poor balance. The author critiques “fuck you” design in specific rooms that lock and overwhelm players with enemies, coupled with sparse save points that force tedious backtracking. Furthermore, the game features rigid progression barriers that prevent sequence breaking and can lead to frustration, including a specific late-game boss encounter that forces an automatic, unskippable death if the player is not sufficiently leveled, despite allowing the player to engage the fight.

While the game includes custom difficulty modifiers—allowing players to adjust stats like damage taken and potion capacity—the reviewer suggests this acts as an admission that the base combat balance was not fully realized. Overall, the source concludes that the title is an excellent action platformer hindered by a desire to conform to the Metroidvania genre.

Why it matters

For players, Belmont’s Curse represents a high-fidelity modernization of a legacy franchise that prioritizes fast-paced, stylish combat over traditional exploration freedom. Those who enjoy the movement feel of titles like Dead Cells may find the traversal mechanics rewarding, while players expecting a traditional non-linear exploration experience may find the game’s restrictive design choices and progression-locked scenarios jarring.

The game’s focus on customizable difficulty settings provides a path for players to mitigate the frustration of the game’s challenging, and sometimes unforgiving, combat encounters. As this is intended to be the start of a series revival, it sets a specific tone for how future modern Castlevania titles may handle the delicate balance between classic series expectations and contemporary gameplay design.