Brainwashed Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Review

Those hoping for an atmosphere in the vein of Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow or Rondo of Blood might find themselves disappointed by Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. While the gameplay is fluid and solid; featuring challenging platforming sections and punchy combat, it lacks a full-fledged RPG system with equipment such as weapons, armor, or accessories. The items found in chests are a nice touch and gives you a certain bonus, but there is no hunting or grinding for an "ultimate" weapon. The music is decent, though it often fades into a monotonous background hum with Organ-Trap beats. One might expect memorable tracks; perhaps in the style of neoclassical metal or jazz-infused pieces with groovy basslines, but the soundtrack fails to deliver any truly catchy, lingering melodies. The visual style is typical of Evil Empire: perfectly solid, yet leaning heavily into an "indie" aesthetic. It lacks the elegant, androgynous beauty found in the work of Ayami Kojima, or the distinctive flair of Katsuya Terada, who illustrated the cover art of the Game. Nevertheless, those looking for fast-paced, polished gameplay, stripped of from deeper RPG elements; will likely still have a good time, even if the Castlevania atmosphere feels a bit lackluster. The Switch version (played on Switch 2) exhibits a few graphical shortcomings; for instance, Rose Belmont or Backgrounds appear heavily pixelated during close-ups. That said, the frame rate is stable, and technical limitations never detract from the actual experience. While there hasn’t been an official announcement regarding a Switch 2 version or upgrade yet, such a service would certainly be an nice move! Is this game, after all this time, a worthy successor to the 2D Castlevania titles? Only to a certain extent! Personally, I would have liked to see more Castlevania DNA and less of the signature style of the development studio, Evil Empire... A good game, but a weak Castlevania!