Castlevania: Belmonts Curse: the return of vampire hunters

The gameplay is probably Belmont's greatest success at Curse.

Rose is extremely mobile. The Vampire Killer whip is of course used to fight, but also to move, suspend and reach previously inaccessible areas.

As adventure progresses, the possibilities become more and more numerous. Several categories of weapons, relics and especially tarot cards make it possible to adapt his style of play.

These cards represent one of the best ideas of the title. Some enemies and characters can be locked in the Arcana, giving access to new spells and abilities.

The clashes are fast, sometimes demanding, and bosses regularly ask to learn their movements rather than go head down.

A few particularly brutal platform sequences may frustrate, but handle in hand, Belmonts Curse is difficult to take in default.

Paris in flames is an absolutely perfect setting for Castlevania.

Our Lady, the catacombs, the Gothic streets and obviously the castle of Dracula give the game a very strong visual identity.

The artistic direction mixes highly stylized characters, very detailed decorations and modern effects without losing the DNA of the series.

Some environments are really beautiful and bosses usually benefit from special care.

Belmonts Curse does not seek to impress with pure technology. He prefers to build immediately recognizable Gothic paintings, and this works perfectly.

The soundtrack effectively mixes Castlevania's musical heritage with more modern sounds.

Organs, choirs, electronic compositions and new interpretations of historical themes go very well with exploration and fighting.

The result may, however, be more divided than artistic direction.

Some new versions of cult songs take directions quite different from what fans know, and not everything reaches the level of the most memorable compositions of the series.

The sound design, especially around whipping and confrontations, remains excellent.

Rose Belmont is an excellent new protagonist.

Daughter of Trevor and Sypha, she seeks as much to accomplish her duty as to find her own place in the inheritance of the Belmont family.

The story works without requiring an encyclopedic knowledge of the saga, but fans will obviously find many references and familiar characters.

The tarot cards also add an interesting dimension to the narrative: the characters they contain can intervene during the adventure and gradually turn Rose's lonely journey into a strange company.

The scenario remains relatively simple in its outline, but some family developments work particularly well.

Belmonts Curse is a great reward for exploration.

The maps are full of secret passages, improvements, new weapons and even optional areas that are important enough to warrant a return to his steps.

Count a good fifteen hours for a serious exploration, with much more to aim for the 100 %.

However, the rapid movement system would have deserved to be more generous from the beginning. Some returns to the old areas become unnecessarily long.

Technically, the set is solid, even though some small audio problems or irregularities may still occur.