Two perfect tens, one 3/5
GameSpot and Shacknews each scored Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse 10 out of 10. Eurogamer gave it 3 out of 5. That spread, sitting under an 83 Top Critic Average on OpenCritic, is the whole story of a Castlevania that plenty of critics love and a few think arrives without much that’s new.
The 83 is OpenCritic’s Top Critic Average, and 94% of critics recommend it. OpenCritic lists 127 critic reviews in total, a separate count from the average, and ranks the game in the 91st percentile of games it has scored. It launched on 14 October 2026 on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on OpenCritic.
Where the praise piles up
The loudest praise is for how it moves and fights. GameSpot’s Steve Watts (10/10) calls out “flexible combat, beautifully acrobatic traversal, fine-tuned environmental puzzles” and a “smart tarot system that lets these ideas complement each other”. Nintendo Life’s Tom Massey (8/10) says its “combat and whip-integration” are thrilling and calls it “one of the best Castlevania games in a long time”. Hardcore Gamer’s Cory Wells (4/5) goes further on the whip: the platforming with the whip mechanics is “insanely good”.
Polygon’s Elijah Gonzalez doesn’t give a score on OpenCritic, but his summary lands on the same ingredients: “striking 2.5D visuals, Dead Cells-inspired movement, and Arcana Cards”. At ZTGD, Ken McKown (9/10) says he loved the tarot card system and the optional bosses, and calls it “easily on my list for best games of the year”. Shacknews’ TJ Denzer (10/10), meanwhile, singles out “a great set of options for altering the intensity”.
It’s one of the best Castlevania games in a long time thanks to its combat variety and smart whip integrations.
Tom Massey, Nintendo Life (8 / 10)
The “we’ve seen this” complaint
The dissent is consistent, and it’s mostly about freshness rather than polish. Push Square’s Stephen Tailby (7/10) calls it “ultimately a good Metroidvania and a valiant effort to resuscitate Castlevania”, but says there’s “little new to see for anyone who’s been keeping up with the genre over the last decade”. He also writes that the game “can feel a little unresponsive, leading to some frustrating deaths”.
VGC’s Chris Scullion, who has no score on OpenCritic, makes the sharpest version of the case: the genre “has evolved and thrived in the series’ absence”, and the core gameplay “hasn’t evolved alongside it, making it feel rather outdated”. He adds that it’s “still fun enough”. On the other side of the argument, The Guardian’s Harper Jay MacIntyre, also unscored there, says the series’ new emphasis on twitch-based action “may annoy purists but you can’t call it dull”.
Eurogamer’s Dom Peppiatt is the one who docks real marks. His 3/5 verdict calls the game “ambitious, aggressive, and accomplished” and says it “whips out some of the best Castlevania highs you can experience”, but warns that “technical issues and some awkward controls” can mean it “can all end in bloody tears if you’re not careful”. Eurogamer didn’t say which platform it played on.
The scores, outlet by outlet
Of the scored reviews on OpenCritic’s reviews page, only Eurogamer’s 3/5 and Push Square’s 7/10 fall below the equivalent of 8/10. Here are ten outlets, with scores exactly as OpenCritic shows them. GamesRadar+, Polygon, The Guardian, VGC and the Daily Mirror appear there without a number.
| Outlet | Score | Takeaway |
|---|---|---|
| Eurogamer | 3 / 5 | Great highs, but technical issues and some awkward controls |
| IGN | 8 / 10 | Brings the series into the modern era with a fast-paced focus on action first |
| GameSpot | 10 / 10 | Combat, traversal, puzzles and the tarot system all work together |
| Hardcore Gamer | 4 / 5 | Insanely good whip platforming, but doesn’t completely play the part for the series |
| Nintendo Life | 8 / 10 | Not wildly original, but superb planning and execution |
| TheSixthAxis | 8 / 10 | A return to form, though not an echo of the writer’s favourite entries |
| Shacknews | 10 / 10 | One of the highest-quality action-platformers the writer has played |
| Push Square | 7 / 10 | Good Metroidvania, but little new for genre regulars |
| COGconnected | 90 / 100 | Captures the series’ spirit, with tight combat and wonderful world design |
| ZTGD | 9 / 10 | Loved the exploration, tarot card system and optional bosses |
GamesRadar+’s Serena Cherry has no score on OpenCritic but describes “a rich, gothic world of puzzles to solve and enemies to whip”. Most of the top-critic reviews on the page are dated 13 October, the day before launch; Eurogamer’s is dated 15 October and Nintendo Life’s 20 October.
A crowded month, a solid number
An 83 holds up in a busy few weeks. OpenCritic’s own release list shows Phantom Blade Zero at 89, Final Fantasy Resonance at 85 and Modern Warfare 4 (now 84 there, down from the 86 in our roundup), so Belmont’s Curse lands just under that group rather than far behind it.
Our take
We think the 83 undersells it for series fans and oversells it for anyone who’s already worn out the genre. The 10s come from critics praising combat, traversal and the tarot system; the 7 and the 3 come from critics asking what’s new or pointing at execution. That looks like different expectations being scored, and the two sides aren’t arguing about the same thing.
If you want a Castlevania built around combat and whip play, the praise from GameSpot, Nintendo Life and Hardcore Gamer is specific enough to take seriously. If you’re a Metroidvania veteran who’s already done the rounds, read Push Square and VGC first, and consider waiting for a sale. And before buying on PC, we’d want to know more about the technical issues Eurogamer mentions.
- Buy if you love whip-driven combat and tight traversal, as GameSpot, Nintendo Life and Hardcore Gamer do, or you’re a long-time series fan.
- Skip, or wait, if you’ve played a decade of Metroidvanias and want something that breaks new ground, as Push Square and VGC wanted.
Sources checked 1 November 2026: OpenCritic’s game page and review listing for Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, with each outlet’s summary as shown there.
