Castlevania: Belmont's Curse review: An awkward family inheritance, now with grappling

The big picture

Some families pass down jewellery. The Belmonts pass down an extremely demanding relationship with monsters and a whip that apparently counts as both professional equipment and transport. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse follows Rose, Trevor Belmont's daughter, into a burning Paris in 1499. Twenty-three years after Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, the family business still appears to offer poor working conditions and very limited opportunities to say “someone else can handle it.”

Konami dates the global release to October 15, 2026, while Steam displays October 14 for PC. Konami and Evil Empire, with Motion Twin in an advisory role, build this single-player action-exploration game around Rose's movement and expanding repertoire. Familiar names provide context, but the useful attraction is what you can do between recognising them: move through a fixed world, experiment with equipment and turn dangerous encounters into new possibilities.

Getting there is part of the fight

Xbox's gameplay overview describes swinging through the environment and grappling towards enemies as well as environmental rings. That makes positioning active: a gap or a target can become an opportunity to move, rather than a static obstruction you politely approach on foot.

The same feature details a parry and seven weapon categories. A whip, spear or sword-and-shield setup suggests different decisions about reach, commitment and defence. Variety matters when it changes what you pay attention to, rather than simply providing a new shape for the same attack. A shield is a useful change of emphasis for anyone whose previous defensive policy was sincere hope.

This should appeal to players who treat encounters as small experiments. It may be less inviting if you want one uncomplicated move set that remains familiar throughout. Having several options is worthwhile when choosing among them is enjoyable; otherwise the equipment menu risks becoming the place where momentum goes to reconsider its life choices.

Defeated bosses contribute to professional development

The Arcana system turns defeated bosses into tarot-linked powers, letting Rose use their abilities for spells and special actions. Relics add equipment effects. Familiar figures such as Death and Medusa appear alongside encounters including Joan of Arc. These are core systems, rather than a reason to assume a more expensive edition is required to access the interesting supernatural equipment.

Making victory expand your options gives a boss significance beyond blocking the next area. The encounter leaves you with something useful afterward. Your new ability has a history, and that history was recently doing its best to prevent you from having a future. It's a pleasingly practical approach to learning from difficult people.

Tarot gives those powers an identity, while the fixed world offers somewhere to apply what you've acquired. Equipment changes are available while paused, and map pins help record unfinished business. Remembering a curious obstacle can be satisfying. Trying to remember which corridor contained it is a less glamorous test, especially when several corridors share the general aesthetic of “something unfortunate happened here.”

Exploration needs room for your preferred approach

The attraction is letting movement, equipment and powers change your relationship with a threatening place. An unfamiliar route becomes navigable, an awkward fight invites another setup, and an earlier question may acquire an answer. That creates a reason to explore beyond recognising the series' monsters and admiring the scenery around them.

It also asks for an appetite for experimentation. Players who want constant forward movement may find revisiting questions less appealing than players who enjoy keeping possibilities in mind. The useful fit is someone who likes developing a toolkit and learning where to apply it. You don't have to enjoy every weapon equally; finding an approach that makes sense to you is part of the invitation.

The launch issues deserve attention before the dramatic entrance

Konami's known-issues notice lists a PC startup problem involving disabled V-Sync and unlimited frame rate, Steam Deck interface elements extending off-screen, and a title-screen issue with certain system languages on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series. Workarounds are supplied and a patch is being prepared. The notice doesn't say those problems are already fixed, so don't assume the first boss can't be the title screen.

A free opening demo offers a useful way to test the movement and combat. Progress transfers to the updated full game on the same platform and account; keep the demo save. That is a better basis for deciding than simply feeling the historical weight of the Belmont name pressing against your purchase button.

Native releases cover Windows, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch. Switch 2 runs the compatible Switch edition, not a separately established native version. Steam Deck is Playable with small text and the additional known interface issue. Xbox and eligible PlayStation cloud routes have separate purchase, subscription and regional conditions.

Belmont's Curse makes a clear offer to players who enjoy exploration and adaptable combat, with launch roughness giving the demo particular value. The family inheritance remains hazardous, but at least Rose can use it to get somewhere. A whip that only dealt with monsters would frankly be underperforming at this stage.