Castlevania: Belmont's Curse resurrects the classic vampire hunting game in bold, bloody fashion
The new video game 'Castlevania: Belmont's Curse' revives the long-dormant franchise with a focus on 2D exploration and high difficulty. The game follows Rose Belmont as she battles monsters in a 1499 Paris setting.
Why it matters
The return of a legacy gaming franchise demonstrates the ongoing industry trend of leveraging nostalgia and established intellectual property.
In the nearly 40 years since, the series has spawned dozens of sequels, spinoffs and crossover media. But the publisher, Japan's Konami, has let it slumber like a vampire in a coffin; its last new instalment came out in 2014.
Now, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse aims to bring in new and old fans alike by taking inspiration from the wildly different chapters of the series' history as well as independent games it's inspired over the years.
The result is mostly a roaring resurrection for the series blending old-school 2D exploration with breathtaking artistic direction — but its punishing difficulty could make it hard to recommend to newcomers to the genre.
Belmont's Curse puts players in control of Rose Belmont, monster hunter and daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, two of the main characters from 1989's Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse .
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