Review: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Is a Mixed Return, Who's Excited?
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You have a vast, interconnected map with sections that are blocked off until you find specific items or abilities that allow you to access them, as well as storage areas and boss battles.
You can find collectibles that boost your stats and some hidden meat hidden in walls here and there. Like many previous Castlevania protagonists, Rose eventually uses a variety of weapons toward the end of the game. She also has access to magic spells thanks to the Tarot cards she inherited from her mother, Sypha.
Although it bears similarities to previous Castlevania games, *Belmont’s Curse* feels very different. The game incorporates several popular elements seen in modern titles within the genre, such as refillable health vials at save points and mapping features like waypoints.
Some of these feel like superficial concessions. The bottles become less meaningful when enemies and candles have a chance to drop bottle refills or meat. It’s clearly stated that using a save point will restore defeated monsters, and that’s exactly what happens when
you leave the screen and return in older games. It’s as if this game is trying to do everything at once, which can make some aspects of the game feel at odds with one another.
Those playing on the Switch or Switch 2 in particular might want to wait and see if there are any fixes before buying it. Hopefully, now that the Evil Empire has successfully taken over this franchise, we can look forward to a better sequel.
