Fans comparing the demo to Evil Empire’s other work are missing what the studio is actually trying to do, and why a new Castlevania was always going to face impossible odds.

Konami released the Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse demo on October 1, two weeks ahead of the game’s October 15 launch, and the reaction split almost immediately. A lot of players went in expecting a traditional Castlevania and came out complaining it felt like Dead Cells wearing a Castlevania skin, a comparison that makes sense on paper: the demo is co-developed by Evil Empire, the studio behind Dead Cells’ Rogue Prince of Persia and its own Castlevania-themed DLC, Return to Castlevania. After spending a few hours with it, I think that criticism undersells what’s actually going on here.

Rose Belmont and the Slow Handoff

The demo follows Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, as she ventures into Dracula’s castle after it manifests in the heart of Paris in 1499. What stood out to me is how deliberately the game introduces her. Trevor shows up as a mentor figure, someone Rose clearly respects, and she openly admits she still has a lot to learn. Castlevania has had female protagonists before, so that framing isn’t new to the series. But in a climate where a new female lead can draw disproportionate pushback regardless of the game’s actual quality, I read this as a conscious choice: ease players into Rose’s role rather than hand her the spotlight outright.

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Why “It Doesn’t Feel Like Castlevania” Was Always Going to Happen

Here’s the thing about the Metroidvania label: Castlevania basically invented it, and the genre has been so thoroughly copied since that most players now associate the feel of a Metroidvania with games that aren’t Castlevania at all. That creates an unfair trap. Other franchises can borrow the structure freely and get praised for it, because nobody’s holding them to the standard of the game that started it. A new Castlevania doesn’t get that pass. It’s being measured against its own legacy, and against decades of imitators that have had nothing but Castlevania’s blueprint to perfect. It was never going to feel like a clean continuation to everyone, because the genre moved on without it for over a decade.

The Gameplay Actually Clicked for Me

Once I got past the initial comparisons, the moment-to-moment combat felt a lot closer to Symphony of the Night than people are giving it credit for. Rose starts with a sword, playing almost like early-game Alucard before he picks up his full arsenal, and gains the iconic Vampire Killer whip only after defeating the demo’s first boss, The Fallen. There’s also a grapple move tied to the whip, clearly a nod to the swinging mechanic from Super Castlevania IV on SNES, but implemented in a way that feels closer to the stiffer, more grounded combat of the Castlevania games on Genesis. Giving a character who starts without a whip a taste of that iconic mechanic later on is a smart way to earn the payoff instead of just handing it to you from minute one.

🎮 Want to try it yourself before launch? The demo is free on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Switch, and your progress carries over to the full game.

Sound and Visuals

The soundtrack felt appropriate for the setting, though it’s hard to judge fully from a demo with a limited number of tracks available. The visuals, on the other hand, genuinely grew on me. I wasn’t sold on the art direction from the early trailers, it looked a little off in motion clips, but playing it in real time is a different experience. The character and environment detail, animation quality, and sense of depth in the backgrounds won me over by the time I reached the first boss.

Worth Keeping an Eye On

I went into the demo skeptical and came out genuinely interested in the full release on October 15. Belmont’s Curse isn’t trying to be Symphony of the Night 2.0, and it isn’t Dead Cells in a cape either. It’s doing its own thing, carefully, maybe too carefully for players who wanted an instant callback. But there’s real potential here once the full game has room to breathe beyond an opening slice.

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