Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse will arrive October 15 on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC, with Rose Belmont’s Vampire Killer doing more than dealing damage. She can grapple through the city and launch herself at enemies, making movement part of the fight rather than a pause between battles.
Set in a gothic Paris in 1499, the game follows Rose, daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, as she faces the threat consuming the city. KONAMI developed the game with Evil Empire, while Motion Twin advised on the project. Instead of carrying over Dead Cells‘ randomized, run-based structure, Belmont’s Curse builds a fixed map around secrets and abilities earned along the way. Map pins help track discoveries, and new movement powers open routes that were previously out of reach.
Rose’s Whip Connects Movement and Combat
Rose can choose from seven weapon types: longsword, whip, gauntlets, spear, greatsword, sword and shield, and twin swords. Enemies telegraph their attacks, and a parry gives Rose another way to answer them. Xbox Wire’s hands-on account describes those cues as clear and notes how the parry adds another layer to fights.
The whip also works as a grappling tool. Rose can swing between points in the environment or latch onto an enemy and pull herself into striking range. That gives the same ability a role in both platforming and close-quarters combat.
Bosses Become Powers and Sources of Clues
Defeating bosses adds them to Rose’s tarot deck as Arcana, granting spells and special actions. Some puzzles and other challenges also provide Arcana. Each card has 2 or 3 Works of Mercy, tasks tied to using its ability or completing other goals. Finishing them unlocks spell upgrades, giving players reasons to keep using abilities after they first earn them.
The defeated bosses remain part of the story, too. Their spirits speak to Rose, while clues around the castle point toward their whereabouts and histories. Arcana therefore do double duty, adding combat tools while giving exploration a trail to follow.
Rose can change her weapon, spell, and Relics while paused, so players can adjust their setup for a fight or a tricky stretch of platforming without being locked into one approach. Xbox Play Anywhere will also let players play on console and PC at no additional cost, as detailed on the Xbox Store page.
Which part of Rose’s toolkit would you most want to try first? Keep up with the game’s October 15 Xbox launch and Play Anywhere support through X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
