A Worthy Heir To The Belmont Bloodline

As Joan of Arc’s sword kills me in-game, a stained glass depiction of her face stares down at me in real life with holy disapproval. I’m sitting in Chapelle Reille, also known as Chapelle Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc, a deconsecrated chapel in Paris that’s since been converted into an event space, and I’m participating in the first-ever hands-on preview event for Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse. I’m also sweating profusely, partially because France is in the middle of a historic heat wave, but also because Joan of Arc has killed me five times in a row. As I run back, I’m determined not to let her have the sixth.

The Castlevania series has had a huge influence on indie games over the past decade, but developer Konami hasn’t released a new entry since 2014, and it’s been even longer since a 2D entry. It’s more than fitting, then, that its legacy is being picked up by Evil Empire, one of the indie studios that carried Castlevania’s proverbial torch onto modern platforms, with a brand new entry. Between Dead Cells and its Return to Castlevania DLC, you can sense the influence of Konami’s gothic action series at Evil Empire’s very foundation, and there’s perhaps no studio I’m more excited to see tackle the historic franchise. After playing it myself, I’m pleased to report Belmont’s Curse is everything I hoped it would be.