By Online Games VIP Editorial
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Game Informer’s review finds Belmont’s Curse a confident Castlevania revival, praising its combat, tarot system, exploration, and forgiving checkpoints.
Game Informer’s review of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse presents the game as a confident return for Konami’s long-dormant vampire-hunting series. Reviewer Charles Harte argues that developer Evil Empire brings a fresh perspective to the franchise while respecting the legacy that has inspired countless independent games.
According to Game Informer, the result is built around a new protagonist, flexible combat, investigative quests, and a large map filled with secrets. The review’s verdict is strongly positive, but this article is an analysis of Game Informer’s review, not an OnlineGamesVIP hands-on verdict. The source describes a 16-hour playthrough that reached 92 percent completion, while the full extent of the game’s content remains tied to what the review reports.
Game Informer reports that the story sends Rose Belmont and her father Trevor to Paris, where the city is under supernatural siege. Rose wants to prove herself to Trevor, who defeated Dracula 23 years earlier, and she is also seeking revenge for the curse placed on her arm by Dracula and passed down from her late mother.
The review describes that setup as solid rather than especially complex. Its stronger praise goes to Rose’s character arc, which Charles Harte says contains moments that remain memorable. That distinction matters. Game Informer is not presenting the narrative as an intricate political drama or an especially complicated mystery. Instead, the review sees the story’s value in Rose’s position within the Belmont legacy and in the emotional significance of her relationship with her father and mother.
Game Informer also says that newcomers can play Belmont’s Curse as a standalone story. The game is technically a sequel to Castlevania III, while its art direction and character designs draw on anime influences. The review further notes that many voice actors, including Trevor Belmont’s performer, reprise their roles. Those returning performances help connect the new game to the wider Castlevania identity without making prior knowledge sound essential.
OnlineGamesVIP analysis: Rose’s introduction appears designed to make the franchise’s history useful without allowing it to overshadow the new lead. The torch-passing theme described by Game Informer gives the sequel a built-in subject: Rose is not simply repeating Trevor’s journey, but working out what it means to inherit the family’s role.
Game Informer identifies Rose’s tarot cards as its favorite mechanic in the game. The cards are gifts from her late mother, Sypha, and each one becomes a vessel for the power of an important figure in Paris. Those figures can be friends or enemies, and Rose gathers clues from her surroundings as she approaches each target.
The review says the investigation begins with linear sections that are only adequate, then develops into more cryptic missions spanning the map. Game Informer’s strongest praise is reserved for the later quests, particularly the tasks needed to collect the final tarot cards. These missions are described as some of the reviewer’s favorite moments because they demand more attention to the world and the route through it.
Finding a target does not end the card’s usefulness. According to Game Informer, Rose absorbs the target’s soul into the tarot card and can then speak with that character. The review frames this as a change in the journey’s atmosphere: Rose begins alone, but gradually travels with a collection of antagonists and allies who can contribute to the adventure.
Every card also unlocks a spell. Game Informer lists examples including fireballs, a magical cross, and an attack that turns enemies to stone. Each spell has associated Works of Mercy, which function as achievement-style objectives that improve the spell. The tasks described in the review include repeated spell use, killing a set number of skeletons, and finding every room in the Clock Tower.
OnlineGamesVIP analysis: This system seems to address a common problem in ability-heavy action games: players can acquire more tools than they naturally remember to use. Game Informer says the Works of Mercy encouraged the reviewer to experiment with spells that might otherwise have been ignored. That makes the upgrade structure more than a simple reward track. Based on the review, it is also a prompt to revisit the player’s habits and test different answers to familiar encounters.
Game Informer describes the combat as a major success. Rose is portrayed as agile from the start and becomes faster as she gains new abilities. By the end of the reported playthrough, the reviewer characterizes her as a highly mobile force capable of moving through fights at great speed.
The source says players can combine six weapon categories, relics that grant perks, and the spells held in their tarot deck. Game Informer reports frequently changing loadouts, sometimes during fights, to respond to the enemies on screen. That detail is important to the review’s overall reasoning: the combat is not praised merely for feeling quick, but for giving the player enough meaningful options to make adaptation worthwhile.
At the same time, Game Informer says the battles remain difficult without becoming insurmountable. A forgiving checkpoint system reportedly reduces the frustration caused by repeated deaths. The review also singles out boss encounters against Dracula’s group of minions, calling those fights inventive and intense.
OnlineGamesVIP analysis: The reported balance should appeal most to players who like action games that ask for adjustment rather than one fixed build. The review’s account suggests that experimentation is supported by both the size of the arsenal and the checkpoint design. Players who prefer a completely frictionless experience may still find the combat demanding, but Game Informer’s description indicates that failure is meant to teach or redirect rather than impose a severe penalty.
The source does not provide frame-rate testing, platform comparisons, difficulty statistics, or technical performance measurements. Those areas should not be treated as confirmed strengths or weaknesses from this review alone.
Game Informer reports that the review playthrough lasted 16 hours and ended at 92 percent completion. Charles Harte says the reviewer repeatedly returned to earlier zones after gaining new traversal abilities and was rewarded with access to areas that had previously been unavailable.
The source lists two dozen weapons to find, health and mana upgrades, and large optional areas. It also says the reviewer was motivated to return and pursue the remaining content rather than treating the credits as the end of the experience. The map is described as being packed with secrets, which supports the review’s broader view that exploration is one of the game’s defining pillars.
That structure gives Belmont’s Curse a particular player profile. OnlineGamesVIP analysis: The reported design should fit players who enjoy completing maps, revisiting familiar spaces with new movement options, and hunting for optional rewards. It may be less persuasive to someone looking for a short, strictly linear campaign, although Game Informer’s review does not assess how much content can be ignored without affecting the main path.
The tarot investigations appear to complement the physical exploration. Returning to an earlier zone is not only about locating a missed room or weapon. Based on Game Informer’s description, later objectives can also ask players to understand the relationships between clues, targets, spells, and the broader map. That combination gives the world reasons to remain relevant after its first visit.
For players interested in the series’ roots alongside Game Informer’s analysis of the new entry, the supplied catalog includes Castlevania. It offers a direct way to explore the franchise context behind the legacy that Belmont’s Curse is reported to revisit, though the source does not compare the two games’ mechanics or structure in detail.
Game Informer’s review gives a clear account of its reported playthrough, but it does not establish every detail a prospective buyer might want. The source does not specify the platforms covered, the game’s release date, its price, its technical performance, or whether features vary by platform. It also does not provide a separate breakdown of the main story’s length compared with optional exploration.
The review mentions many voice actors returning to their roles, but it does not identify the full cast or explain how much dialogue each character has. It praises the anime-inspired art direction and character designs, yet does not offer a technical discussion of resolution, animation performance, accessibility options, or display features. Those topics remain worth checking through official information or platform-specific coverage.
There are also unanswered questions about the tarot system outside the examples provided. Game Informer explains that cards hold powers, unlock spells, and contain upgrade objectives, but it does not state the total number of cards, how freely they can be swapped, or whether every spell is equally useful across the campaign. The review’s positive experience with experimentation is encouraging, but it should not be converted into a claim that every ability or build is perfectly balanced.
Finally, the source reports that the reviewer finished with 92 percent completion after 16 hours and wanted to return for 100 percent. That is useful evidence of the game’s replay value for this particular style of player, not a promise that every audience will spend the same amount of time. Completion speed will depend on how thoroughly players investigate areas, pursue tarot cards, and search for optional upgrades.
Game Informer’s overall assessment is that Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse honors the series’ history while giving it room to move forward. The review’s reasoning rests on several connected strengths: Rose Belmont provides a new emotional center, the tarot cards give exploration and combat a shared purpose, the weapon and spell choices encourage adaptation, and the map rewards returning with new abilities.
As analysis of the publisher’s review, the strongest player-fit conclusion is straightforward. Fans of exploration-focused action games may find the combination of secrets, loadout decisions, boss fights, and optional objectives especially appealing. Newcomers are not expected to need extensive Castlevania knowledge, according to Game Informer, while returning fans receive familiar names, voices, and themes in a new setting.
OnlineGamesVIP has not played or tested the game, so the review’s reported verdict should remain attributed to Game Informer. On the evidence provided, Charles Harte’s review sees Evil Empire’s project as more than an imitation of older Castlevania games. It presents Belmont’s Curse as a sequel willing to use the franchise’s legacy as a foundation for Rose’s own adventure.