Early Castlevania Belmont's Curse reviews put the PS5 version at 86 on Metacritic, with critics praising Rose Belmont's movement and combat while warning that its metroidvania structure and classic Castlevania identity may divide players.
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A strong Metacritic debut, with one clear fault line
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse has opened to an 86 Metacritic score for its PlayStation 5 version, according to My Nintendo News and VICE, with Polygon also reporting an 86 Metacritic average alongside an 85 on OpenCritic. That is the cleanest headline from the first wave of Castlevania Belmont’s Curse reviews: critics broadly like Konami’s new vampire-hunting return, but they are not all praising the same game.
The tension is already visible in the review spread. VICE notes that several outlets listed on Metacritic awarded perfect scores, including Shacknews, PlayStation Universe, Hey Poor Player, and Saudi Gamer, while other major reviews sit closer to the 8/10 range. Nintendo Life’s roundup includes Game Informer at 9.25/10, Nintendo World Report at 7.5/10, and Siliconera at 7/10. Pure Xbox’s roundup highlights similarly enthusiastic verdicts from GameSpot, DayOne, CGMagazine, and Gamer Social Club, while also quoting IGN’s more measured 8/10.
The split is not about whether Belmont’s Curse has competent fundamentals. Across the available criticism, its action craft is the part reviewers keep circling back to: fast movement, responsive combat, handsome gothic presentation, and traversal built around Rose Belmont’s whip-hook. The argument is about what players expect from a new Castlevania game in 2026. Some critics see a confident modernization of the series. Others see a slick action metroidvania whose structure and identity do not always carry the same bite as the classics it follows.
Rose Belmont is carrying the comeback
The early Castlevania Belmont’s Curse impressions agree on one important point: Rose Belmont has landed. Rock Paper Shotgun describes her as the next generation of the vampire-hunting family, a young woman trying to step out from Trevor Belmont’s shadow rather than repeat his legend. eGamers identifies her as the daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, placing the story after Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse and framing Rose as a green vampire hunter separated from her father in Paris as Dracula’s forces rise again.
Nintendo Life also reports the game is set 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse and puts players in the shoes of Rose, Trevor Belmont’s daughter. Polygon adds that Game Informer read Belmont’s Curse as a sequel that connects strongly with the first two seasons of Netflix’s Castlevania anime, including anime-influenced art and character designs, and the return of several voice actors, including Trevor Belmont.
That characterization matters because one recurring praise point is not nostalgia alone. Critics are responding to Rose as a character with her own movement language. Rock Paper Shotgun praises her animation set, singling out a backdash it says rivals Alucard’s from Symphony of the Night. Game Informer, quoted by Nintendo Life, calls Rose a compelling character and points to her interactions with captured souls as a source of levity and charm in the story moments.
For a series return after a long mainline gap, that is a meaningful early signal. Reviewers are not describing Belmont’s Curse as a museum piece built around Trevor’s legacy. They are treating Rose as the anchor for the new Castlevania game, even when they disagree about how well the surrounding metroidvania design supports her.
The action praise starts with the whip-hook
If one mechanic is shaping the positive reaction, it is Rose’s whip-hook. Rock Paper Shotgun calls it the single best aspect of the game, describing a tool that works for traversal and enemy grappling, letting Rose fly across encounters, dodge projectiles, and stay aggressive. That description lines up with Pure Xbox’s quoted IGN verdict, which praises fast-paced action, movement tech that tests reflexes, convenient map tracking tools, and exciting combat.
This is where the Dead Cells connection becomes relevant, but it should be kept precise. Rock Paper Shotgun says Belmont’s Curse feels a little like Dead Cells in its movement while also stressing that, despite some online confusion, it is not a roguelike. Multiple sources attribute development to Evil Empire and Motion Twin, the studios connected with Dead Cells and its Castlevania-themed DLC. eGamers says Evil Empire used a Dead Cells foundation, added Castlevania nostalgia, and built in a new card-driven Arcana system.
That action-first DNA appears to be paying off. Polygon quotes GameSpot’s Steve Watts calling Belmont’s Curse one of the best Castlevania games and one of the best metroidvania games of all time, praising its traversal tools and combat. Pure Xbox’s roundup quotes GameSpot on flexible combat, acrobatic traversal, environmental puzzles, characters, visual style, and a tarot system that helps those ideas work together. VICE similarly says many critics highlight responsive controls, whip traversal, weapon variety, abilities, and Arcana cards.
Rock Paper Shotgun also points to weapon choice beyond Rose’s base sword and whip-hook, including a lance and metal gauntlets, while describing Arcana cards as spell-like tools earned through boss rewards. eGamers separately frames the Arcana system around tarot cards connected to Rose’s mother. The precise design emphasis varies by review, but the shared takeaway is clear enough for buyers: Belmont’s Curse is earning its best notices when Rose is moving, fighting, grappling, and improvising.
The metroidvania question is where reviews diverge
The caution in the Castlevania Belmont’s Curse review conversation is not that the game lacks exploration. In fact, several critics praise it. Game Informer, quoted by Nintendo Life, highlights a rich world, tense combat, and a map full of secrets. VICE says exploration is one of the major strengths identified in early reviews. Polygon quotes GameSpot on a sprawling map filled with mysteries, while Pure Xbox’s GameSpot excerpt praises environmental puzzles as part of the package.
The issue is whether the exploration has the texture players expect from Castlevania at its best. Rock Paper Shotgun’s headline-level judgment is blunt: a fantastic action game, a less than stellar metroidvania. The source text provided praises the beauty of the world, the whip-hook’s usefulness in both combat and exploration, and platforming sequences built around that tool, but its central framing warns that Belmont’s Curse is far from a perfect evolution.
Other outlets land in a similar middle space from different angles. Nintendo Life quotes Nintendo World Report calling Belmont’s Curse a strong step forward despite uneven design elements, adding that it may not reach the heights of some Castlevania predecessors or modern genre standouts such as Silksong and Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Siliconera, also quoted by Nintendo Life, says the game has reasonably high highs but often feels like it is checking boxes rather than fully becoming its own thing.
Polygon’s roundup sharpens the concern through IGN’s review. IGN liked Rose and the responsive combat, according to Polygon, but argued that some series-specific qualities had been smoothed over, leaving the game feeling like a strong metroidvania wearing a surface-level Castlevania skin. Pure Xbox’s IGN excerpt frames the same tension another way: Belmont’s Curse stands tall in a crowded genre, but is a better metroidvania generally than it is a Castlevania specifically, sacrificing some of the series’ signature charm and feel.
That is the buyer-facing divide. If your Castlevania priorities are speed, mobility, precision combat, and elaborate traversal tools, the early reviews suggest Belmont’s Curse is built directly for you. If your attachment is tied to the slower weirdness of classic itemization, RPG texture, sub-weapons, and a very particular Castlevania rhythm, the praise comes with an asterisk.
Presentation and difficulty are helping the score, but they come with edge
The visual response is among the most consistently positive parts of the launch reaction. Rock Paper Shotgun says still images cannot capture the ambient, ever-moving beauty of Belmont’s Curse, calling out areas that range from Dracula’s castle to a serene cemetery. My Nintendo News says IGN Spain praised it as a visually stunning experience, and VICE’s score roundup includes IGN Spain at 90/100. Pure Xbox’s quoted reviews from CGMagazine and GameSpot also point to lush visuals and visual panache.
The soundtrack is part of that return-to-form mood. eGamers opens its review text on Paris in flames and the first notes of “Bloody Tears,” then says the game is aimed squarely at players moved by that image. Pure Xbox quotes DayOne praising the music, gameplay, levels, bosses, and looks as incredible, while also noting that the game is classic old-school Castlevania in ways both good and bad.
That last phrase is important because Belmont’s Curse does not sound frictionless. Rock Paper Shotgun specifically mentions NES Mega Man-style spikes during platforming sequences, though it says they reset Rose’s progress through the sequence rather than killing her outright. VICE says some reviewers raised concerns about frustrating mechanics and whether the game fully captures classic Castlevania. Gamer Social Club, quoted by Pure Xbox, praises the return but says a few weapon categories become redundant once the iconic whip is available.
So the early picture is not of a soft revival built to avoid sharp edges. Belmont’s Curse appears to have demanding platforming, twitchy movement checks, and combat systems that reward dexterity. For platformer players, that can be a strength. For metroidvania players who prefer exploration friction over execution pressure, it may be the point to test in the demo before buying.
Platform notes, Switch performance, and the demo question
The launch discussion is also platform-specific. My Nintendo News reports that the current 86 Metacritic score is for the PlayStation 5 version, which has the majority of reviews. VICE makes the same platform distinction, noting that its listed review scores are taken from the PS5 critic listings rather than an average across every platform. That matters for anyone looking at Castlevania Belmont’s Curse Metacritic results and assuming the number reflects all versions equally.
For Nintendo players, the available sources point to a more complicated performance picture. Nintendo Life reports that Belmont’s Curse is releasing on Switch among Nintendo platforms and is playable on Switch 2. It also says reports indicate the frame rate is doubled on the newer hybrid system. My Nintendo News, in related coverage summarized in its Metacritic post, says Konami confirmed via its official website that the Nintendo Switch version runs at 30fps, compared with 60fps on other platforms. The same My Nintendo News post also says there is a demo available on multiple formats ahead of release.
That makes the demo unusually useful here. This is a game whose best-reviewed qualities are feel-based: whip-hook timing, backdash rhythm, platforming, boss pressure, and how Rose’s faster action cadence sits inside a Castlevania map. Those are hard to judge from score averages, especially when the Switch version has a reported 30fps target while other platforms are described as 60fps by My Nintendo News. Nintendo Life’s note about Switch 2 improving frame rate gives owners of Nintendo’s newer hardware another factor to consider, but the review aggregation cited so far is still weighted toward PS5.
Community reaction is already leaning celebratory. A post on r/castlevania highlighted high-80s Metacritic scores while noting Switch was still TBD, with the poster saying they could not wait to dive in on Thursday. That is not a scientific read on player sentiment, but it does capture the launch mood around a dormant series coming back with scores strong enough to make longtime fans pay attention.
Who should buy now, and who should wait
Based on the available Castlevania Belmont’s Curse reviews, the safest early recommendation is specific rather than universal. Players who loved Dead Cells’ sense of snap, enjoy demanding 2D action, and want a Belmont successor who moves with speed and style have plenty of evidence in their favor. Rock Paper Shotgun, GameSpot via Polygon and Pure Xbox, IGN via Pure Xbox, and VICE’s roundup all point toward combat and traversal as standout strengths. The whip-hook, Arcana system, weapon variety, and Rose’s animation work are the details that keep surfacing.
Players who are primarily shopping for a top-tier metroidvania should read more carefully. The early Metacritic number is strong, but the critiques are not minor nitpicks about taste. Rock Paper Shotgun’s core caveat is that the action is better than the metroidvania execution. Nintendo World Report, through Nintendo Life, calls out uneven design elements. Siliconera sees a game that sometimes checks genre boxes. IGN, through Polygon and Pure Xbox, questions whether Belmont’s Curse retains enough of the series’ specific feel.
That does not make Belmont’s Curse a weak recommendation. It makes it a particular one. The launch reaction suggests a polished, beautiful, fast, combat-forward Castlevania that may thrill players who want the series pushed toward modern action. It may also leave some old-guard fans missing stranger systems, heavier RPG identity, or the exact flavor of classic Castlevania. With a demo available on multiple formats according to My Nintendo News, and with performance differences reported between Switch and other platforms, trying before buying is the practical move if you are undecided.
For now, the review consensus is less conflicted than it first looks. Castlevania is back with serious critical momentum, Rose Belmont is being treated as a worthy lead, and the action fundamentals are doing the heavy lifting. The question for each player is whether that lift carries the castle far enough.