Konami and French studio Evil Empire have set out how Castlevania: Belmont's Curse was built, in first-party posts published on Xbox Wire and the PlayStation Blog following press hands-on sessions. The game is scheduled for October 15, and is the first entirely new entry in the series in more than a decade.
Evil Empire is best known for Dead Cells and for that game's Return to Castlevania expansion. Producer Tsutomu Taniguchi told Xbox Wire that Konami's decision to hand the series to the studio came down to two factors.
The first is Evil Empire's passion for Castlevania. The second is their expertise in action games. Castlevania has always been an action series, so it was essential that the controls, gameplay, and overall feel lived up to players' expectations.
Evil Empire had originally proposed only a further piece of downloadable content as a tribute to the series, according to Xbox Wire, and the scope grew through conversations with Konami. Creative director Emmanuel Nouaille said the studio's earlier work was its strongest argument for the job.
A new Belmont in a ruined Paris
The game follows Trevor Belmont and his daughter Rose, and is set in 1499 Paris as the city faces Dracula's resurrection. Rose is the playable protagonist, and the PlayStation Blog's hands-on report describes her as carrying guilt over her mother's death, signalled by a tarot deck and a red curse spreading along her arm. Konami and Evil Empire have placed the story after Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse and Curse of Darkness in the series canon.
Both teams agreed on a set of fixed principles before development: the game had to be a 2D action-exploration title, sit within official Castlevania canon, and keep the Vampire Killer whip central. Notably, the studio has left behind the roguelite structure of its previous work, with no permadeath and no procedurally generated levels.
Sony's hands-on account describes a large map with destructible walls and areas gated behind abilities gained later. Combat runs on dodges, slides and an Arcana Whip grapple that can be chained into attacks or used to swing across gaps, with mana recovered from defeated enemies spent on spells or healing. Seven weapon types each carry their own special moves, and equippable Relics grant up to three passive bonuses at a time.
Defeated bosses are folded into Rose's tarot deck as Arcana, unlocking spells and traversal abilities, with optional tasks attached to each that grant further upgrades. Castlevania: Belmont's Curse launches October 15 on PS5 and Xbox.
Join the conversation — sign in to comment.
Sign in