One critic calls Konami’s new 2D Castlevania possibly the best in the series. Another admires its art but finds it slow and familiar.
About this review roundup: GAME MODE has not playtested this game. This is original analysis of the credited reviews and official information below, researched November 2, 2026. The displayed 8.5/10 is the equally weighted average of these two critics’ scores, converted to ten and rounded to one decimal. It is not a GAME MODE playtest score or a comprehensive review aggregate.
Released: October 15, 2026 (Steam’s US listing shows October 14). Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch.
A new 2D Castlevania
Konami released Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse on October 15 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and PC, made with Evil Empire and Motion Twin. Steam’s US listing shows October 14. Konami’s announcement and Xbox Wire cover the launch. Konami lists the original Switch rather than Switch 2, and credits the soundtrack to Daniel ASADI. Both reviews below were played on PS5, and both praise the art and the pull to explore. They disagree on how it feels to play.
A 10 and a 7
Shacknews, 10/10: a love letter to the series
TJ Denzer’s Shacknews review calls it one of the best Castlevania games he has played and a knowledgeable love letter that nods to obscure entries. He goes further in his verdict: “Belmont’s Curse might be the best Castlevania game of all time.” He praises:
- gorgeous level design and art, and smooth performance;
- a tarot deck that works as clues, progress markers and new powers;
- an open, secret-filled map in the vein of Simon’s Quest and Symphony of the Night, with eight weapon categories, spells earned from bosses, relics and a strong marker system.
His only listed con is that some remixes of classic music are a bit weird.
Push Square, 7/10: well made, but familiar
Stephen Tailby at Push Square admires the art style, animation, detailed backdrops and neat level design. He likes the weapon types, the varied, familiar enemies and the arcana sub-weapon upgrades, and the whip-type weapon became his favourite. He notes that the Vampire Killer whip itself is mostly a traversal and grapple tool. His verdict is that the structure is by-the-numbers in a crowded genre, “merely keeping up with the pack rather than overtaking it.”
How hard is Belmont’s Curse?
Both critics talk about challenge, and here their experiences diverge most clearly.
Denzer warns that normal difficulty is properly hard. He finds that the Arcane Whip grapple and the Holy Light parry create platforming challenges that are sometimes frustrating but satisfying, and he points to Custom Mode, which lets you soften the game or make it tougher.
Tailby found movement and combat slow at first. The grapple has a long wind-up, and Rose is sometimes unresponsive, which made platforming harder than it should be for him. He wasn’t blown away by the bosses either, and calls some of them painful difficulty spikes.
Our reading
Both reviews describe a beautiful, carefully built Castlevania. The question is whether its controls click for you. If you grew up mapping Symphony of the Night and want a dense, secret-heavy castle, Denzer’s enthusiasm is a strong signal, and Custom Mode gives you a way to manage the difficulty. If you play a lot of modern Metroidvanias and need tight, instant movement, Tailby’s review deserves the closer read.
Cited scores and sources
- Shacknews: 10/10 (PS5).
- Push Square: 7/10 (PS5).
Calculation: (10.0 + 7.0) ÷ 2 = 8.5/10, rounded. These are selected reviews, not every published score.
For a wider view, OpenCritic listed a Top Critic Average of 83 for the game when we checked on November 2, 2026.
Official game information and artwork source. Image: Konami.
The Verdict: Strong reception
Average of the cited critic scores, normalized to 10. See the methodology and individual scores above.
