Game review: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse (PS5)

It's been 12 years since Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, but a new game in the series is finally here. Developer Evil Empire has teamed up with Konami to release Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, now available on all modern gaming platforms.

Unlike Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2, which was in 3D, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse goes back to the series' 2.D roots. The return to 2D is sure to make older fans happy because, arguably, the 2D Castlevania games are the more popular ones.

Instead of playing as a returning familiar face, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse introduces an all-new main character for you to play as. Here in this game, we are introduced to Rose Belmont, who is the daughter of Trevor Belmont and the late Sypha Belnades.

The game is set in Paris around 20 years after the events that took place in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. The story starts when a horde of demons invade Paris, and Rose Belmont goes to investigate why.

To cut a long story short, the demons' reappearance isn't random because it is a plan to resurrect Dracula. Not only does Sophie have to kill lots of monsters to save Paris, but she also has to try to thwart a plot for Dracula's return.

The cool thing about Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is the fact that Sophie Belmont isn't just a normal person with weapons. To make the gameplay exciting, she can inherit certain abilities to aid her in her journey to stop Dracula.

When Sophie Belmont defeats some bosses, she seals them inside tarot cards, and then she can use their abilities during combat. For example, when she defeats Medusa, she uses a petrifying gaze that allows her to turn some enemies into stone. Unfortunately, this ability does not work during bosses, though.

At the start of the game, Sophie is only armed with a sword that she can use to kill enemies up close. It's really effective at the beginning, but its power loses any impact when you go up against harder enemies and bosses as you progress.

Thankfully, Sophie is able to acquire more powerful weapons in her journey to try and kill Dracula. My favourite weapon in the game is the whip, which is an iconic piece of the Castlevania franchise.

Not only does the whip have great range, but she can use it to pull herself towards enemies. The whip isn't just a weapon because it's an important part of traversal, too. The whip can be used as a grappling hook to attach itself to many anchor points. You can swing like Spider-Man, and the mechanic feels smooth and satisfying.

In terms of other weapons, you can wield all sorts of two-handed swords, swords and shields, twin blades, spears, gauntlets, and longswords. Each weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it pays to see which one suits your personal playing style.

Some of the other abilities that Sophie can use include a Holy Light that breaks apart Chaos Shards that might be in the way. There is also a smash ability that allows her to break apart cracked floors to traverse down below.

There are tons of other abilities to gain during the game that aren't just for traversal. You can get abilities that have offensive magic spells, or healing spells that can recover Sophie's health. The latter can be helpful if you run out of potions for whatever reason during heavy combat.

If you are struggling to play Castlevania: Belmont's Curse on its default setting, the game does include game sliders instead of difficulty settings to make things easier or harder. You can increase the amount of damage Sophie dishes out, and decrease the damage she receives from enemies. On the flip side of this, you can do the opposite to make things harder.

You can also increase the number of health potions you can collect, and all game sliders work on boss fights, too. There is even an optional mode to toggle invincibility if a certain boss is giving you trouble.

One of the more helpful options is allowing you to retry a boss fight immediately without having to go back to a previous save point. This option also allows you to have full health with a full slate of potions as well.

It goes without saying Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a fun game, but there are some annoying sections. I remember struggling to get past some of the tricky grappling hook sections because you need to have great speed and accurate precision.

The game also has tons of locked doors and pathways, causing you to backtrack or discover alternate routes to explore. Not to mention, I feel the game does not have enough save points. There were times I felt I was progressing a lot, but I didn't want to shut the game off because it had been a long time since I last saved the game!

All in all, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is an excellent addition to the Castlevania franchise aside from some minor flaws. The game retains the series' excellent combat, plus it has game sliders to cater to both beginners and hardcore gamers. If you love 2D-style action games, consider picking up Castlevania: Belmont's Curse now.