Although the Castlevania series has seen no new entries since 2014, entering a hiatus lasting over a decade, we Metroidvania enthusiasts have had plenty of excellent games to play in recent years. The release of Castlevania: Curse of Belmont finally marks the strong return of the official "Castlevania" IP within this genre, perfectly positioned to welcome new players who got hooked through the Netflix animation.
However, Castlevania: Curse of Belmont is not simply applying the mature Metroidvania template to allow younger players to pay homage to the genre's originator. This title adds numerous new mechanics on top of the series' traditions, combining a retro feel that honors the past with the ability to keep pace with current genre developments, giving it considerable market competitiveness.
You can also see the profound influence of the two Netflix animated seasons in the development details. The protagonist is Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades. These two characters first appeared in the 1989 release Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and were also two of the three core protagonists in the first season of the animation. Trevor himself makes a brief appearance in the game, serving as a bridge between the animation and the game before handing over the baton... or rather, the Vampire Killer whip, to his daughter Rose. Evil Empire, the developer behind Dead Cells, even brought back some voice actors from the Netflix animation: Alejandra Reynoso returns to voice Sypha, Rose's mother, and Graham McTavish reprises his role as Dracula.
Although the characters in Castlevania: Curse of Belmont originate from the early Castlevania series, it also seems to incorporate elements from the second animated season, Castlevania: Nocturne. The game's story is set in Paris amidst the turmoil of 1499. Although the timeline is centuries later, Nocturne's story also focuses on Paris during a period of upheaval. None of the current game previews mention Alucard—the half-vampire son of Dracula and the third core protagonist of the animation. But this is Castlevania; since members of the Belmont family are appearing, he will most likely show up as well.
Considering the series had been dormant for years, with only a few compilations of older titles released in between, the developers at Evil Empire were clearly not satisfied with merely making a traditional Castlevania game. Castlevania: Curse of Belmont incorporates design elements from Soulslike games, featuring extremely challenging combat while also offering difficulty adjustment options to accommodate players who struggle with tough encounters. The game includes enemies that can resurrect, a variety of weapons suited to different playstyles beyond the iconic Vampire Killer whip, and magical sub-weapons known as "Arcana."
The very fact that Castlevania: Curse of Belmont got the green light stems from a bold initiative. During a hands-on event in July, Konami series producer Masahiro Taniguchi revealed to Kotaku: "Initially, Evil Empire approached us, saying, 'Hey, how about creating a Castlevania crossover DLC for Dead Cells?'" In reality, Taniguchi was already conceptualizing a new Castlevania title, and he described this crossover proposal as a "perfect opportunity." After receiving approval from Konami, the development team took it a step further, proposing to create a full-fledged Castlevania game.
Although the animation has long concluded—with Nocturne Season 2 also wrapping up last year—now is undoubtedly the best time to be a Castlevania fan. The Metroidvania genre has seen a surge of excellent titles, with works like Hollow Knight and Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon sustaining genre popularity for years, and finally, we have the return of an official new Castlevania entry. Castlevania: Curse of Belmont will launch on PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC platforms on October 15.