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# Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is the best Castlevania since Symphony of the Night
- URL: https://regionfree.net/castlevania-belmonts-curse-review-playstation/
- Published: 2026-10-13T07:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-13T06:59:59.000Z
- Description: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is not just one of the best games this year; it's one of the best Castlevania games ever made. It is a challenging, consistently engaging, and superbly designed adventure epic that reminds us why this series defined an entire genre in the first place.
- Author: Joonatan Itkonen
- Tags: Gaming, Game Reviews, #gamereview, #developer-Evil-Empire, #score-5

### The Verdict

**What works** 

- • The best written Castlevania game to date.
- • Supremely beautiful.
- • Extremely rewarding gameplay loop.

**What doesn't work** 

- • Some platforming sections are too busy for their own good.
- • Some clues for hidden items are frustratingly obtuse.

Region Free Rating 

★★★★★ 

5/5

🕹️

****Platform:** PlayStation 5 Pro  
****Version:** Digital retail review code provided by the distributor  
  
****Independence & Ethics**  
Region Free is entirely reader-supported and maintains full editorial independence. For more on my scoring and standards, see the [****Review Guide**](https://regionfree.net/review-guide/).

I can pinpoint the exact moment I knew I loved Castlevania: Belmont's Curse. I searched Dracula's castle for the next clue to one of the multiple Arcanas our hero, Rose Belmont, carries on her belt when I glanced at the completion percentage. It said 51%. I felt a moment of surprised sadness: I was already halfway done. 

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is not just one of the best games this year; it's one of the best Castlevania games ever made. It is a challenging, consistently engaging, and superbly designed adventure epic that reminds us why this series defined an entire genre in the first place.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0c/47/0c4798b4-e19d-4d8f-8475-ae0910a66a04/content/images/2026/10/castlevania-belmonts-curse-save-point.webp)

Set 20 years after Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and loosely connected to the Netflix series, Belmont's Curse feels like a bookend to the original storyline, and a reboot of sorts for Castlevania as a whole. 

Rose and Trevor Belmont arrive in Paris sometime in 1499 to discover the City of Light in ruins. Demonic forces roam the streets and death reeks in the air. As the duo investigates the matter, Rose discovers a monster lurking in the sewers of Paris, a famed protector of France, and an ancient prophet trapped in a cycle of vengeance, all tied to Dracula, who once again threatens mankind. 

How the plot unfolds is best left a mystery, but it's worth noting that Belmont's Curse is easily among the best-written Castlevania games, if not the best to date. It spins together the entire history of the games, the Netflix series, and some choice deep cuts from expanded lore into a deeply moving and captivating adventure yarn about family, tradition, and our ability to change throughout our lives. At its best, it captures the majesty and grandiosity of the flow of time as Rose encounters souls trapped in cycles of failure and pain, and helps them find salvation. 

If you enjoyed the fantastic Netflix series from a few years back, the familiar animation style and narrative beats here continue that high quality of storytelling. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0c/47/0c4798b4-e19d-4d8f-8475-ae0910a66a04/content/images/2026/10/castlevania-belmonts-curse-paris-burns.webp)

Luckily, Belmont's Curse isn't just a good yarn. Developed by Evil Empire with the help of Motion Twin, the folks behind the superlative Dead Cells from almost a decade ago, the latest Castlevania adventure is a celebration of the series entire. Like their previous foray into the franchise, the Return to Castlevania DLC for Dead Cells, Belmont's Curse shows a deep understanding and love for both the vampire hunting saga and the genre itself.

Belmont's Curse splits its focus between exploration and combat, though platforming, especially around fiendishly difficult obstacle courses, finds renewed emphasis this time around. Dracula's Castle isn't the only location to explore, and each section of Paris provides its own surprises and sub-quests for Rose to tackle. In true Castlevania style, while progression is non-linear, some areas are out of reach until our hero learns the correct skills. 

Yet even before that, it's remarkable how open Belmont's Curse is in terms of progression. The first couple of bosses can be fought in any order, though certain approaches are easier than others, and there's rarely a sense the game railroads you into any one tactic. In fact, it openly recommends trying alternative paths, as Rose can level up both her skills and those of her Arcanas through combat and challenges. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0c/47/0c4798b4-e19d-4d8f-8475-ae0910a66a04/content/images/2026/10/castlevania-belmonts-curse-ice-demon.webp)

The Arcanas add delightful flavor to the game. Rose carries an enchanted Tarot card deck left behind by her mother, Sypha, which catches the souls of the major enemies she encounters on her journey. These souls, some forced by Dracula to do his bidding, others willing participants, each have stories of their own, and they offer differing viewpoints at key moments of the story. 

On top of her magical abilities, Rose has a small but decidedly fun arsenal of weaponry at her disposal. Everything from the usual swords and spears is accounted for, as are fan favorites like whips and the Belmont family Morning Star. Finding hidden upgrades and solving puzzles for legendary gear is part of the fun, but not mandatory, though boss battles are considerably easier with stronger weapons. It's nowhere near the flexibility of earlier Castlevania titles, but it's a good enough restart for the future

Combat itself is as good as the series has ever been, with punchy and responsive fighting mechanics, sharp platforming, and very, very difficult boss battles teetering on the Soulslike. Both veterans and newbies will find themselves tested, though Evil Empire luckily packs a handy assortment of assists in a separate difficulty menu. 

As an audiovisual experience, Belmont's Curse is a treat. The art style is masterful, level design is intricate but not fussy, and the soundtrack, full of remixes and new favorites, is a joy. You can tell a lot of love went into this, and at times the enthusiasm trips over itself to include everything, as if Evil Empire is worried they won't get a second chance. I hope they do, and soon. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0c/47/0c4798b4-e19d-4d8f-8475-ae0910a66a04/content/images/2026/10/castlevania-belmonts-curse-bridge-battle.webp)

My first run with Belmont's Curse took around 20 hours with a bit over 90% of the game fully complete. I hyperfixated on discovering all the secrets and learning every Arcana, and I never got bored with the game. In fact, at the time of writing, I'm just waiting for the achievements to unlock so that I can have an excuse to go back and revisit this world all over again. 

As a long-time fan of Castlevania, through good times and the bad, I'm enamored by Belmont's Curse. It's everything I want out of this series and then some. In years to come, I will look back on it as a second honeymoon, a return back to the glory days, and the start of something truly special.