Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse breathes new life into the series - Inquirer Technology

TOKYO, Japan – It has been a long time since Castlevania received a brand-new game, but Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse feels surprisingly comfortable picking up the mantle.

Playable at Tokyo Game Show 2026, the upcoming title puts players in control of Rose Belmont as she battles through a monster-infested Paris alongside her father, Trevor Belmont.

Set in 1499, 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse, Belmont’s Curse follows Rose as she takes up the family trade while dealing with a mysterious curse slowly consuming her arm.

Developer Evil Empire previously worked on Dead Cells and its Return to Castlevania expansion, and that experience shows almost immediately in the demo.

Rose is quick on her feet, able to slide past enemies, backdash from attacks and use her whip to swing across parts of the environment or quickly close the distance on enemies. Movement flows naturally into combat, making encounters feel fast without simply becoming a matter of button-mashing.

Different weapons also change how Rose approaches enemies. The Cestus, for example, trades the more familiar swordplay for punches and uppercuts, offering a noticeably different way to fight.

Bosses feed into the Arcana system. Defeating The Fallen allows Rose to absorb its essence and gain the Holy Cross as a magical attack, suggesting that taking down major enemies will gradually expand her arsenal.

The Fallen itself provides an early test of Rose’s mobility, leaping around the arena and attacking from different angles. Slides, backdashes and careful positioning become important, giving the combat a fast but deliberate rhythm.

Exploration remains equally important. The map features branching paths and areas that cannot immediately be reached, giving players reasons to return as Rose gains new abilities.

Visually, Belmont’s Curse mixes 3D characters with richly layered, hand-painted environments. It is more colorful than older Castlevania games, but the dark corridors, stained-glass windows and familiar monsters keep the series’ gothic identity intact.

The short TGS 2026 demo only scratches the surface, but Rose’s mobility, different weapons and Arcana system already give the familiar Castlevania formula some new tricks without straying too far from its roots.

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse releases October 15, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC.