It’s been far too long since we’ve seen a proper entry in the Castlevania series. After Igarashi was unceremoniously removed from working on the franchise, it basically went stagnant. MercurySteam worked on the three Lords of Shadows games, but even the last of that subseries was released twelve years ago. Enter Belmont’s Curse, the newest entry in the series, which now rests in the hands of Evil Empire, best known for their work on Dead Cells.

The work they’ve done on Dead Cells has certainly paid dividends here, as they seem well positioned to deliver a solid new addition to the Castlevania series. The recently released demo is absolutely gorgeous, leveraging a hand-drawn style with lots of background layers offering stunningly beautiful parallax scrolling. It’s hard not to be immediately taken by the game’s presentation. The moody music elevates the entire presentation, fitting well and bringing a bit of a fresh approach to the sound design, conjuring Dead Cells.

The gameplay is a return to form, offering a similar structure to Symphony of the Night, allowing players to explore a densely packed world that opens up incrementally as new abilities are earned via enemy encounters.

When the demo kicks off, which appears to be the start of the game, you’re tossed into the world as Rose Belmont, Trevor’s daughter. Rose is equipped with tarot cards that belonged to her mother, which allow her to perform magic. Her starting capability allows her to throw a projectile for some minor damage. You quickly learn that you can improve these magical moves by connecting twenty hits with enemies, which will make the fireball bigger and cause knock back.

But you won’t be able to spam your way to the upgrade - your magic meter depletes with every usage and you can only regain it via attacking enemies or background lanterns/items. Before long though, you’ll earn your upgrade and be a little better off for it.

This comes in handy for the first boss of the game, The Fallen. The large beast seeks to take your soul - considering the chaos wrought upon Paris, it’s not hard to believe he’s serious. Dispatching the boss isn’t an easy task - you’ll need to take use of your full repertoire of moves, specifically, your dodge. As with Castlevania bosses in the past, the key is to learn their moveset, avoid their attacks and lay down as much damage as possible.

It’s clear that Belmont’s Curse takes influence from the Souls-like gameplay that’s become so popular. Well-timed dodges, and attacking only when you can safely do so is a necessity. There’s also limited health potions (three) that will refill when you reach a save point. You can pick up some extras throughout the world, which makes the fight easier, but it’s clear this Castlevania is influenced by more than just its legacy.

That said, the controls do feel a little stiff and I found it took a minute to adjust to this latest entry. It’s definitely not as smooth and fluid as the Igarashi Castlevania games and the entire experience feels a little weightier as a result. After you defeat the first boss, you’ll earn his throwing cross and his ability to swing, which opens up more of the world around you. This swinging move felt similarly stiff in its execution, but not so much that it felt bad to use, just not as smooth as I was expecting.

It’s not long after you beat the boss that the demo reaches its conclusion. You get to do a little more exploring and eventually you get some more of the story before it concludes at the second save room.

From what I played, there’s an encouraging start to this new Castlevania entry. It’s been far too long at this point, so it’s nice to see the series make a proper return. While the jury is still out on whether or not the full game matches up to the many Igarashi masterpieces, it’s starting off on a good foot.

If you’re curious to try it out for yourself, the demo is available on every platform - PC, Switch 2, Xbox Series, and PlayStation 5. I have a feeling it will be a divisive experience given some of the changes made by Evil Empire, but if you enjoyed Dead Cells, there’s a good chance you’ll feel right at home here.