After playing Castlevania: Curse of the Belmont for about 8 hours, the PC Gamer author believes the game becomes more interesting as it progresses, especially after entering Dracula's Castle from Paris. However, details such as whip-swinging and dodging continuously hinder the experience, making it difficult for him to wholeheartedly recommend it for now.
The author believes that the castle levels begin to offer fresh platforming mechanics and clues pointing to different enemies, but precise jumping also exposes control issues. Rose Belmont's whip-swing startup is slow, making it easy to make mistakes in areas filled with spikes; even when timing is mastered, the discrepancy between joystick direction and aiming at grab points can cause her to miss targets. The author also feels that the initial forward-slide dodge is unreliable in boss fights, wall-phasing combined with trigger controls is cumbersome, and holding down the healing button often leads to misjudgments.
During the preview period, the author initially encountered a black screen and discovered after troubleshooting that the game fails to display properly when the monitor refresh rate exceeds 120Hz. After setting the in-game frame rate cap to 120 FPS, there were still noticeable frame rate drops during cutscenes; he also noted that these issues might be fixed before the official release.
The author also appreciates the hit-stop feedback and animations when attacks land, and likes the design of Tarot Cards serving as both special weapons and enemy clues. For him, castle exploration is already appealing, but the current control feel and localized performance remain obstacles to recommending this game.