Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is the retro revival for you if you loved these 8 games
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is out now and marks the bombastic return of the series over 10 years since its last entry.
Long-time fans are flocking to play the new entry after its decade-long hiatus, but we’d imagine there’s a large number of fans who are unsure if this new iteration is for them or not. There’ll also be plenty of gamers out there who’ve never played a Castlevania game before who may be on the fence.
If that sounds like you, worry not, as if you’ve played - and enjoyed - any of the eight games below, you’ll undoubtedly have a grand old time with Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse.
Hollow Knight/Hollow Knight: Silksong
In our review of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, we drew a few comparisons to the latest Hollow Knight game, and for good reason.
Advert
As a metroidvania itself, Hollow Knight: Silksong is an excellent modern entry in the genre with an emphasis on mobility in addition to combat. Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is similar as its protagonist Rose is an agile monster hunter, who can use the whip to grapple across the map and towards enemies.
Dead Cells and Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania
This one should be pretty obvious... Evil Empire developed both Return to Castlevania and Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse!
Dead Cells was also greatly inspired by the Castlevania series and combines both metroidvania and roguelike mechanics in an absolute blast of an adventure. If you liked Evil Empire’s work before, you’re going to love it now.
Death’s Door
The delightful game about a soul-reaping crow might be very different to a Belmont hunting down Dracula, but if you liked one, you’ll almost certainly like the other.
After playing both titles, we can see they're mechanically quite similar. Some fun traversal options, combat variety and spectacular bosses. If you’ve played Death’s Door, we’d wholeheartedly recommend Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse next.
Mina The Hollower
Two retro throwbacks in one year is quite a treat. Mina The Hollower is a must-play for anyone with a fondness for old-school adventure games like The Legend of Zelda, but be wary of the learning curve.
In many ways, it carries the spirit of the classic Castlevania games, as while they were good fun, they packed a mean punch.
For better or worse, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is nowhere near as challenging as its predecessors, so you’re getting a solid throwback like Mina The Hollower without the brutality associated with retro games.
Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown
Depending on who you ask, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is the definitive metroidvania, even beating the games the genre derives its name from.
While we can’t promise that Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is better, we can confidently say that it’s just as good.
Blasphemous/Blasphemous 2
The Blasphemous games might not be traditional metroidvanias, but you can draw a few comparisons.
Both games excel with their combat, and Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is just as engaging, if not more so, thanks to its wide-range of weapons and Tarot Card abilities.
Castlevania Anniversary Collection
It should go without saying that if you liked the old Castlevania games, which are almost all playable via Castlevania Anniversary Collection, you’ll probably like the new one.
The core gameplay remains the same, but the art style has obviously changed quite a bit. It’s one of the few things that didn’t quite sit right with us in our review of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, but we’d be lying if it didn’t start to grow on us after a while.
At its core though, it’s the same Castlevania you know and love with some modern flourishes.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is out now and it’s an excellent return to form for the series. Hopefully we won’t be waiting as long for the next game, and if Evil Empire is keen to stick around for the next couple of instalments, fans are in good hands.
READ NEXT: 15 of the most exciting AAA games scheduled for release in 2027
Topics:Â Nintendo, PC, PlayStation, Retro Gaming, Xbox, List