Castlevania: Belmont's Curse – Everything You Need to Know

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a 2D action-exploration game out on 15 October 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC and Switch, priced from $29.99. Critics like it a lot, with an 85 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic, and reviewers spent 16 to 23 hours without seeing everything. You play Rose Belmont, Trevor's daughter, in Paris in 1499.

This guide is built on the Steam store listing, Konami's official pages, OpenCritic and Metacritic (both read on 14 October 2026) and the published reviews from GameSpot, GamesRadar+, TechRadar, Push Square and others. We have not played the game; every detail about how it plays is attributed to the outlet that reported it.

When does Belmont's Curse come out, and on what?

Everywhere on 15 October, with one wrinkle: the US Steam page lists 14 October, which fits a single global Steam unlock on the evening of 14 October Pacific time. The Switch version was originally pencilled in for later in 2026, but Konami moved it to the same day, as Gematsu reported in July. There is no native Switch 2 version.

The Midnight Edition adds a separate art-and-music app, two costumes and a relic called Family's Grace; pre-ordering or buying early adds an Alucard style costume to any edition. Our editions, price and release time guide breaks down every extra and the store-by-store prices, so we will not repeat it here.

What kind of game is it?

A classic exploration Castlevania in the mould of Symphony of the Night, not a roguelike. That point needed clarifying because the studios behind it made Dead Cells and its Return to Castlevania expansion; in March Konami confirmed, as The Verge reported, that it has none of that run-based structure.

According to GameSpot's review, the world is a single open map that covers Paris, the city's undercity and Dracula's castle, with light guidance towards key objectives. Push Square's review describes the opening Paris section as almost a mini-Metroidvania before the castle, where you spend most of the game. Rose levels up from experience, and new traversal abilities come from bosses, so the familiar loop of finding a blocked path and coming back later is intact.

Who is Rose Belmont, and do you need to know the older games?

Rose is the daughter of Trevor Belmont, the hunter who defeated Dracula in Castlevania III, and the Steam description has the two of them entering a burning Paris in 1499 to hunt the creatures pouring out of a castle that has appeared over the city. Konami's official character page adds that her mother is Sypha Belnades. The English cast, announced in August, includes Abby Trott as Rose and JB Blanc as Trevor, with Alejandra Reynoso and Graham McTavish returning as Sypha and Dracula from Netflix's animated series.

No review we read says the story requires the older games. If you want context, our ranking of every Castlevania by critics and players shows which classics hold up, and the 40th anniversary sale report lists the collections that bundle them cheaply.

How does combat work: weapons, Arcana and relics?

The build system has three layers, and the bosses feed the most important one. Defeat one of Dracula's followers and their power is sealed into one of Rose's tarot cards as an Arcana, a spell or special action you equip. The first boss, The Fallen, gives you a boomerang axe and a grappling whip, according to GameSpot.

Works of Mercy are the detail most reviews single out. Each Arcana has three objectives, such as using the spell a certain way, and completing one lets you choose one of three power-ups; finishing all three also unlocks extra dialogue with that character. ComicBook's review adds that each weapon has a special follow-up timed off the Arcane Whip.

How hard is Belmont's Curse, and what does Custom Mode change?

Hard by default, with an unusually generous set of switches to soften it. GameSpot calls regular encounters demanding and says it is easy to die; Push Square found a few bosses to be painful difficulty spikes and the grapple's long wind-up awkward when dodging. TechRadar singles out one-hit-kill traps as the main frustration.

Custom Mode is the answer, and it can be turned on or off at any time at no cost, according to GameSpot. The options reported across reviews:

• A checkpoint in front of boss doors, so a failed fight does not mean a long runback (GameSpot, GamesRadar+).
• Higher damage output for Rose (GameSpot, GamesRadar+).
• Reduced trap damage (GameSpot).
• More health potion capacity (GamesRadar+).
• Visual aids such as thicker outlines and a colourblind mode (TechRadar).

How long is Castlevania: Belmont's Curse?

Expect 20 hours or more for one ending. No completion-time aggregate exists yet, so the best evidence is what reviewers logged, and none of them reported seeing everything.

The three endings come from GamesRadar+, which also lists hard-to-find bosses and limited fast travel among its few complaints. That combination matters for planning: if you want every ending, budget well beyond the 20-hour mark and expect to keep notes: ComicBook describes reading clues from ghosts, statues and notes to find secret rooms, and GamesRadar+ found the map's markers alone were not enough to keep track.

What did critics think?

Very good to outstanding, with Push Square's 7 as the low point; the Japanese magazine Famitsu gave four 8s. On 14 October, OpenCritic showed a Top Critic Average of 85 from 38 top critics (75 reviews in total) with 97% recommending it, and Metacritic showed 86 from 53 reviews; Pure Xbox reported 88 for the Xbox version.

The praise is consistent: whip traversal, combat and the look of the game. The criticisms cluster too: wayfinding and limited fast travel (GamesRadar+), occasional audio cut-outs and visual glitches on PS5 (TechRadar), tedious backtracking through tricky rooms (ComicBook), and Rose feeling less compelling than the supporting cast (GameSpot).

How does it run on Switch, Switch 2, PC and Steam Deck?

Konami's own spec sheet halves the frame rate on Switch, to 30fps against 60fps on the other platforms. On Switch 2, the Switch version runs through backwards compatibility, and Nintendo Life reported that the demo appears to hit 60fps there; nobody has published a measured analysis of the full game yet.

Two Steam details are worth knowing before you buy. Valve had not rated the game for Steam Deck when we checked its compatibility data on the morning of 14 October, and the store page does not list Steam Cloud or Steam achievements among its features, something players were already asking about on r/castlevania. That may change at launch, but if cloud saves matter to you, check the store page before buying.

Is there a demo, and does progress carry over?

Yes. The free demo covers the opening of the game and has been available since 30 September on Steam. Konami says progress transfers to the full game as long as you stay on the same platform and account; our demo report has the details. It is also the best way to check whether the default difficulty suits you before paying.

What we don't know yet

Konami has not announced any DLC, a post-launch roadmap or a New Game Plus mode, and none of the reviews we read mention one. There is no word yet on a native Switch 2 version or a Steam Deck rating. For how critics and Steam players compare since launch, see our Belmont's Curse review roundup. We will update this guide when any of those change.

What to read next

Everything we publish on the game lives on our Castlevania: Belmont's Curse hub. For which edition to buy and when it unlocks in your time zone, the editions guide linked above has the store-by-store details; for the rest of a busy month, see our October 2026 release calendar.