Castlevania’s comeback is reviewing like the classics. With the review embargo up for Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, the new 2D entry from Konami, Evil Empire and Motion Twin sits at 86 on Metacritic across 51 critic reviews and 85 on OpenCritic, where 97% of critics recommend it. That’s the series’ highest Metacritic score for a new game since 2005’s Dawn of Sorrow.
The game launches October 15 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC. It’s the first new mainline Castlevania in 12 years.
How 86 stacks up
TheGamer, in an analysis published through OpenCritic, ranks Belmont’s Curse as the fifth highest-rated traditional Castlevania ever. Only four games score higher: the Game Boy Advance pair Circle of the Moon and Aria of Sorrow at 91 each, plus Symphony of the Night and Dawn of Sorrow at 89 each. When TheGamer wrote its piece, the game stood at 86 on both aggregators. When RCG checked Tuesday afternoon, OpenCritic’s average had slipped a point to 85, while Metacritic held at 86.
The bar since 2005 is real but not huge. Portrait of Ruin in 2006 and Lords of Shadow in 2010 both sit at 85 on Metacritic, so Belmont’s Curse edges past them by a single point there.
What critics are saying
The top of the range is glowing. Region Free gave it a 100 and called it “one of the best Castlevania games ever made.” PlayStation Universe went 10 out of 10, calling it “a bonified [sic] masterpiece in one of the game’s most historic franchises.” TheSixthAxis gave it an 8 and called it “a wonderful return to form.”
The lower end is more measured. Push Square scored it 7 out of 10, praising the level design, art and animation but saying it “doesn’t do quite enough to really stand apart” in a crowded Metroidvania field, and that the game “can feel a little unresponsive.” GameSpew, at 80, flagged balance issues that “might bring the experience down for some.” Even so, Metacritic counts 49 of the 51 scored reviews as positive and none as negative.
Belmont’s Curse follows Rose Belmont, Trevor Belmont’s successor, through a burning Paris in 1499, 23 years after Castlevania III. Players who tried the demo that went live October 1 can carry their progress into the full game on the same platform and account.
