Castlevania: Belmont's Curse consensus: expertly made, and critics split on whether 'safe' is a flaw

GameSpot gave Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse a 10/10 and said it “feels destined to be regarded alongside Symphony of the Night as one of the best Castlevania games.” VGC gave it 3/5 and called it “solid but safe.” Both are describing the same well-built game. What they disagree on is whether a new Castlevania that sticks close to the formula should count that against it.

Belmont’s Curse is developed by KONAMI and Evil Empire (Dead Cells). It launches today, Thursday, October 15, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam and Xbox) and Nintendo Switch, per Konami, at US$29.99 on Steam. Steam Argentina lists it at US$25.49 before taxes (as of October 15). Several critics, including Jeuxvideo.com, call it the first new mainline Castlevania in twelve years.

How we scored this

This is a Consensus review. Play Observatory did not play Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. We read named published reviews from the United States, Europe, Japan and Latin America, used Metacritic and OpenCritic as context only, and then applied our own criteria: consensus shape, outliers, platform variance, day-0 caveats and audience fit.

When we re-read the aggregators on Thursday, October 15, between 09:05 and 09:10 ART, Metacritic showed 85 on PS5 (55 reviews), 82 on PC (29), 88 on Xbox Series X (6) and 78 on Switch (5, four positive and one mixed). OpenCritic showed a Top Critic Average of 86, with 96% of critics recommending it (84 reviews). Reviews went live early Tuesday, October 13, and those counts are still moving.

The 8.5 is our judgment. It sits right at the aggregators: the craft is not in dispute, and the knocks (a safe design, a divisive soundtrack, a thin RPG layer, the Switch version) are real but narrow.

Where critics agree

The core lands almost everywhere. The whip-grapple traversal, the combat and the level design get the most credit, along with the art direction, Rose as the lead and the tarot-based Arcana system. Game Informer (9.25) says “Castlevania is back… it’s in great hands.” Shacknews and PlayStation Universe gave it 10/10. Polygon (unscored) says it “overcomes any reservations.” In France, Jeuxvideo.com (17/20) calls it far from innovative but expertly crafted, which is close to our read of the whole sample.

Where they split

The shape is a tight, high cluster, with most scores between 80 and 90, and a real low tail. The low scores are not about broken design. They’re about ambition.

• Safe, or classic? VGC says the core gameplay “hasn’t evolved” and can “feel rather outdated.” Push Square (7/10) says it “doesn’t do quite enough to really stand apart.” Game8 (84) says it “plays things mostly safe,” and Brazil’s PSX Brasil (85) says much the same. IGN (8/10) calls it “a better metroidvania generally than it is a Castlevania.” On the other side, GameSpot and Combo Infinito (Brazil, 90) put it next to Symphony of the Night.
• The music. VGC calls the soundtrack “fantastic,” and Gameliner (90) calls it great. Famitsu.com’s long unscored review says the subdued dark-fantasy score doesn’t feel like the series’ melodic rock, Noisy Pixel (80) calls it underwhelming, and Gamekult (7/10) suggests turning it off in places.
• Difficulty. Famitsu, TechRaptor and VGC call it hard, sometimes inconsistently so. GAMINGbible (9/10) wanted more challenge. Almost everyone agrees the assist options are generous.
• RPG depth. RPGamer (3.5/5) and Famitsu.com find the leveling layer thin. Fans of the RPG-heavy Symphony and Aria loop may feel it most.
• Navigation. Famitsu.com wants more warp points, Gameliner wants more guidance, and IGN says a mirror fast-travel feature is never clearly explained. It’s a small complaint, but it keeps coming up.

Day-0 caveat: Switch performance

The Switch version is where the warnings are. Nintendo World Report (7.5/10) says Switch 2 runs the Switch 1 version at “a mostly stable 60fps” but that the resolution “does leave something to be desired,” and that on Switch 1 “the sacrifice in resolution and frame rate can definitely put a damper on the experience.” Siliconera (7/10, played on Switch 2) says Switch and Switch 2 players “will probably want to wait and see if some fixes arrive.” Metacritic’s Switch Metascore is 78, but with only five reviews we don’t lean on it.

We found no performance complaints in the PS5 and Xbox reviews we read. On PC, Spain’s HardZone (96) reports excellent performance.

Japan and Latin America

Japan. Famitsu’s weekly Cross Review gave it 32/40, four 8s, as reported by Nintendo Everything and Nintendo Life on October 7. Per Nintendo Everything’s translation, the reviewers found it tougher than earlier entries and praised the whip-swing traversal and the backgrounds and music. Famitsu.com’s unscored review recommends it to fans of hard 2D action, with reservations from a long-time series fan’s point of view.

Latin America runs warmer than the US and European middle. In Mexico, Atomix gave it 95 and called it a dream come true, and Indigo GEEK (Reporte Índigo) gave it 80 on Switch, saying it doesn’t reinvent the formula. In the Dominican Republic, GamersRD gave it 89. In Brazil, scores run from 85 to 93: Combo Infinito 90, GameBlast 85, PSX Brasil 85, Pizza Fria 9.3, Manual dos Games 9/10 and República DG 9/10. We found no review yet from IGN Latinoamérica or LevelUp.

Verdict

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is for anyone who wants a tightly built 2D Castlevania with great movement and combat, including newcomers, and for players who like a hard game they can tune down. It’s a weaker pick if you wanted the series reinvented, if you came for the deep RPG loop of Symphony of the Night, or if you play on Switch and can’t wait for performance reports.

8.5: a clear recommend on craft, with the Switch caveat attached. Whether “safe” is a flaw is up to you. We did not play it. This piece stays free.