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Fans are excited for the new Castlevania, returning after decades of success. However, PC Gamer Senior Editor Wes Fenlon’s initial impressions are mixed. He says that Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse has all the necessary components for a great comeback, but lacks the necessary nuances.
(Image credit: Konami)
The beginning was a bit messy
According to Fenlon, he encountered a black screen the first time he ran the game. A little investigation revealed that the game wouldn’t display if the monitor’s refresh rate exceeded 120 Hz. This issue was easily fixed. However, even after selecting the 120 fps cap in-game, the framerate suddenly dropped during every cutscene. These technical glitches may be fixed by launch, but this was the reviewer’s experience for now.
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It’s fun, but the lack of “juice” is bothering me.
What’s most interesting is that Fenlon still thoroughly enjoyed the game after playing for about eight hours. He estimates he’s about halfway through, and the game gets better as it progresses. Still, it wasn’t quite the “slam dunk” we expected from the first new Castlevania in decades, and from such a capable studio.
His main complaint concerns “juice.” In game design parlance, this refers to the polish that makes the game feel alive with every button press. This includes screen shake, hitstops (momentary pauses after being hit), enemy reaction times, and character movement. Evil Empire, the studio behind Belmont’s Curse, spent a decade working on Dead Cells, which is considered one of the fastest and juiciest action games around. This is why the author expected more from the game. He found it sometimes very powerful and sometimes strangely dull.
Where is the problem in the controls?
Fenlon lists some concrete examples:
- Slackness of the whip:There’s a long wind-up before the main character, Rose Belmont, can actually launch her whip. This becomes annoying in platforming sections filled with thorns, where precise timing is required. Sometimes, even with perfect timing, the grapple point is missed because the analog stick is pointing in the direction you want to go, not where the hook is supposed to land.
- Weak Dodge:The first dodge the game teaches is a forward slide. According to the author, invincibility frames are very few, perhaps nonexistent. As a result, he’s killed more boss fights than saved.
- Phasing’s Weird Button:Some platforming challenges require using the skill to jump across walls and floors. This is by default on the left trigger on the controller. This becomes inconvenient when you have to repeatedly press and release it within very small margins.
- Shock of the Healing Flask:Healing requires holding the button down for a specific period of time. Sometimes, in the heat of battle, it may appear that the heal has occurred, but in reality, it hasn’t, resulting in the player being killed.
- Pulling blows with a whip:Rose can use the whip to launch herself towards an enemy and deliver a powerful blow, but the timing of this attack seemed premature to the author.
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Budget constraints in cutscenes
Belmont’s Curse clearly draws influence from Netflix’s Castlevania series. The game even features some of the voice actors from that series. This makes the opening cutscenes, in which the camera pans over static artwork, a bit disappointing. According to Fenlon, these should have had better animation, but perhaps the budget didn’t allow for it.
But there are good things too
The review isn’t entirely negative. The author says the game doesn’t leave a particularly impressive opening section in Paris, but picks up speed once it reaches Dracula’s castle. It features platforming gimmicks they haven’t seen before, and clues point to each boss. It offers a more puzzle-driven and thought-provoking experience than previous Castlevania games. He thinks it could become his favorite “castle.”
Some things he particularly liked:
- Powerful hitstop when hit
- Great animation work
- Presentation of Tarot cards, which also serve as guides to each boss along with special weapons
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What comes out in the end?
Fenlon questions whether Evil Empire went too far with the controls in an attempt to differentiate it from Dead Cells? In his words, there’s a bit of “looseness” in the lash, which prevents it from being the return he wholeheartedly wanted.
The message to fans is clear: if you’re a fan of classic Castlevania or Metroidvania games, this game is worth checking out. Just be prepared for some control issues. It’ll be interesting to see if these are improved with a post-launch patch.
Note: This information is based on approximately eight hours of experience by a PC Gamer reviewer. The full review may change after completing the game.
Sources: PC Gamer
