Castlevania comeback: Belmont's Curse wins over critics

The Castlevania comeback is officially underway. Konami's Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, developed by Dead Cells studio Evil Empire, launched on October 15, and the verdict from critics is clear: this is the best the series has looked in decades. The game holds 86 on Metacritic, and GameSpot awarded it a perfect score, with reviewer Steve Watts calling it one of the best Castlevania games and one of the best metroidvanias ever made. According to OpenCritic, 96 percent of critics recommend the game, and Metacritic has logged zero negative reviews.

That reception carries weight because the franchise had been quiet for so long. Belmont's Curse is the first mainline Castlevania in twelve years, and this Castlevania comeback has critics reaching for superlatives. Polygon's review roundup shows the praise spread wide: Shacknews and PlayStation Universe also handed out perfect scores, with Shacknews arguing there is a case for it as the best Castlevania ever made. Game Informer went nearly as high, praising the tarot card system that unlocks upgradeable spells and drives some of the game's biggest treasure hunts. RPGFan scored it ninety seven out of a hundred and called it an essential masterpiece.

Not every critic was swept away. IGN gave the game an eight out of ten, praising the sharp and responsive combat while arguing that the classic Castlevania feel had been smoothed into something more generic, a solid metroidvania wearing a superficial Castlevania skin. VGC went lower with a six, saying the genre has evolved during the series' long absence. Push Square landed at seven, calling it a good metroidvania with little new for genre veterans. Nintendo Life's roundup put the spread in perspective: the middling scores barely dented a consensus that reads as genuinely warm, with Eurogamer, GamesRadar, and The Guardian all landing on the positive side. What unites the reviews is surprise at how completely the Castlevania comeback has won over skeptics of the modern metroidvania boom.

A new heroine and a new tarot trick

The Castlevania comeback stars a new face. Players control Rose Belmont, and the whip is back as more than a weapon: it doubles as a traversal tool, joined by a grappling hook and an air dash that reward backtracking across a sprawling map. Seven weapon types, four weapons each, keep combat flexible, and the parry works independently of attacks, part of a combat system one reviewer called the finest of any Castlevania. The tarot system turns collected cards into upgradeable spells, and the story picks up threads from the first two seasons of Netflix's Castlevania anime, with several voice actors reprising their roles, including Trevor Belmont. Nintendo World Report singled out the captured souls chattering inside Rose's head as a source of levity in the gothic gloom.

PC players met a black screen

The Castlevania comeback has not been flawless everywhere. On PC, some players ran into a black screen on day one, and Steam reviews currently sit at Mixed, a sharp contrast to the critical acclaim. The Switch version also scored lower than its PlayStation and Xbox counterparts, a pattern several outlets tied to a less polished port. GameDaily's review roundup notes the gap comes from those launch problems and from the debate over whether the game truly feels like Castlevania. A demo released October 1 let players carry progress into the full release, and the game is priced at $29.99 across PS5, PC, Xbox Series X and S, Nintendo Switch, and Switch 2.

For a series many fans had quietly written off, this Castlevania comeback has landed with unusual force. One review roundup called it the highest-rated Castlevania since 2005's Dawn of Sorrow, and Evil Empire's mix of gothic atmosphere and modern traversal has given Konami a genuine hit. For now the comeback rests on a single game that most critics agree was worth the long wait. The game is out now on every major platform. The question hanging over Dracula's castle is whether the studio gets to make another one.