GamesRadar+ reviewer Serena Cherry praised the Gothic art style and whip-slinging action in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness, but noted that cryptic boss clues and limited fast travel slowed down exploration. She played for 23 hours using a PS5 code provided by the publisher, unlocking two of the three possible endings.
The game combines intricate maps, clues that require memorization, and precise movement controls. Locations include Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Catacombs, and Dracula's Castle. The reviewer particularly praised the depiction of the burning city and Gothic architecture, as well as the cinematic sequence when the castle appears.
Combat features seven weapon categories, each with four variants, and abilities can be swapped via the Arcana system. The whip not only helps the character swing between hanging points but also grab enemies and avoid spikes. The reviewer found that these mechanics kept high-difficulty traversal and combat fluid; the Talos boss fight seamlessly combined countdowns, trap navigation, and combat.
Pathfinding was the reviewer's main reservation. Tracking down Tarot bosses requires deciphering cryptic clues, and sometimes finding the boss is harder than defeating it; map markers aren't sufficient to record all exploration information, so she had to jot down hints on paper. She felt that fast travel was limited relative to the map's scale, and most of the soundtrack didn't fully complement the visuals and story. The game offers assist options such as increasing potion capacity, allowing direct retries against bosses, and boosting attack damage; she appreciated the Belmont family storyline and the return of series characters.