Castlevania: Belmont's Curse bears a close resemblance to another Evil Empire

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After trying the demo at PAX West, I saw a lot of the Prince of Persia in Rose Belmont.

Ozzie Mejia September 8, 2026 12:30 PM Konami 1

Konami and the Dead Cells DLC development duo of Evil Empire and Motion Twin collaborating on a new Castlevania game has been one of the most exciting announcements of 2026. The series has lain dormant in its casket for too long, but the new Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is now just weeks away from haunting the night. Konami had the game available on the PAX West show floor and I stopped by to give it a look.

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse takes place decades after the events of Castlevania 3, now following Rose Belmont (daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades) as she picks up the vampire-killing family business. Paris is on the verge of eternal darkness and Rose's journey will take her across the Parisian landscape all the way through Dracula's castle, slaying any monsters in her path.

At first glance, Belmont's Curse looks like a spiritual successor to the acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The newer game's presentation does show some similarities. There's 2D combat in a Metroidvania platforming setting. However, this game started to strike me as similar to a more modern piece of work.

PAX West's 20-minute demo familiarized me with Belmont's Curse's combat and traversal mechanics. Rose can pick up a variety of weapons as she goes, using them to fight off monsters and using backstep and slide maneuvers to avoid incoming hits. For lower-tier enemies, it's easy enough to play defensively, but things pick up when reaching some of the game's bigger Guardians. While the first of these Guardians disposed of me quickly, I was soon able to learn its patterns, which involved a three-hit melee combo, swinging atop a chandelier, and launching fire blasts across the chamber. Rose gets three potions to heal herself with, but they take some time to consume, so finding an opening to heal is as much of a challenge as anything else.

One thing Rose doesn't fight with is the famed Belmont whip. Instead, the whip is used for traversal. She can launch herself from designated swinging points, using them to get across large gaps or access elevated platforms. She can also launch herself off of enemies, using them as a makeshift hook point to get across gaps and also briefly stun them, allowing for follow-up combos.

There are some instances where the game's art style just pops out. Rose will stand still and look out at the background, watching as Paris rapidly ignited in flames. It's a beautifully stylized depiction of the dawn of 15th-century France, showing off more painted landscapes and colorfully detailed characters. That's why I hesitate to compare this to Symphony of the Night and instead compare it much more to Evil Empire's most recent work: The Rogue Prince of Persia. The art styles, the combat mechanics, and the traversal tools all feel similar to Evil Empire's other retro throwback. Even the level design, which is littered with spike traps and buzzsaws feel like something out of the Prince's playbook. However, there's a key difference between the two games: this is no roguelike. Belmont's Curse is pure Metroidvania, right down to magic mirrors providing save and fast travel points. One new motif that Belmont's Curse utilizes is tarot cards, which help guide Rose along and also allow her to keep her defeated bosses captive.

The demo only lasted a timed 20 minutes, but it certainly did its job of getting me more excited for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse. Whether this marriage of Konami's timeless property with the modern classic Dead Cells continues to blend beautifully together remains to be seen, but players will soon have a chance to find out for themselves. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is set to release on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch on October 15 with a Switch 2 version's release date yet to be announced.

This preview is based on a PC demo played on the PAX 2026 show floor. The final product is subject to change.

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Ozzie Mejia Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

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