Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, launching in October 2025, marks the return of the iconic side-scrolling series after an 11-year hiatus. Set 23 years after Castlevania 3 (1989), the game places players in the boots of Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont, as she battles demons through the sewers and rooftops of 1499 Paris. The game features a surprising boss: Joan of Arc, reimagined as a shonen anime warrior.
Reviving a Dormant Classic
Since the last mainline Castlevania game in 2014, the series inspired a genre—metroidvanias—that flourished in its absence. Konami partnered with Evil Empire, the team behind Dead Cells, to develop Belmont's Curse. Producer Tsutomu Taniguchi noted the pressure of reviving a beloved franchise: "When I started making this game, I felt a lot of pressure, because this is a series that I played a lot when I was a child." The collaboration began when Evil Empire reached out about a Castlevania DLC for Dead Cells.
Gameplay and Whip Mechanics
Rose's whip is retooled for versatility: it can hoist her to ceilings, propel her toward enemies, and ricochet off their chests for deadly blows. Marketing director Bérenger Dupré explained: "It was a long journey to find the right balance between familiarity and innovation, and perfecting the whip was a key part of this." The team blended old fans with a new generation raised on Castlevania-inspired titles to balance modern standards with series roots.
Progression and Bosses
Killing regular enemies earns XP, increasing attack and defense stats, making each boss attempt more manageable. Defeated bosses are sealed into tarot cards as arcana spells, which can be powered up by completing challenges—for example, killing 20 enemies with the "cursed flame" transforms a fireball into a raging inferno. The demo includes bosses like Medusa and Death, alongside Joan of Arc.
Creative director Emmanuel Nouaille said: "When we decided to set the game in Paris, it was very important to add something linked with Paris … we made almost a shonen anime version of [Joan of Arc]." He added that Konami embraced the idea enthusiastically, turning a French saint into a badass warrior—something the French team wouldn't dare attempt. "In Japan … she's just a character, so [they] went nuts!"
Cultural Fusion and Puzzle Elements
Castlevania has always been a Japanese homage to European horror, blending Mary Shelley with anime melodrama. Taniguchi said: "Working with the French team has been really fun … as Castlevania was created out of our love of European culture, it just felt right to work with a French team." Dupré added: "The French are really Japanese nerds … despite our differences, the French feel super close to [Japanese] culture."
The game incorporates puzzle-solving, including text-based riddles and map drawings, to locate bosses and hidden paths. The Paris prologue is just the beginning; Nouaille teased: "After this intro, the scope is wider and more complex. The enemy, the territory—everything changes. The danger is more urgent. It's not Paris, and the master of the keys to this place is very dangerous."
Castlevania: Belmont's Curse releases 15 October 2025.
