The preview embargo on Castlevania: Belmont's Curse lifted this week, and the early word from press who played it borders on giddy. Kotaku's verdict, as quoted in Nintendo Life's round-up: "the game f***ing rules."

What the Press Played

Developed by Dead Cells studio Evil Empire under Konami, Belmont's Curse stars Rose Belmont, daughter of Trevor, fighting through a burning 1499 Paris on the brink of Dracula's resurrection. PlayStation Blog's hands-on report details combat built on dodge invincibility frames, an Arcana Whip that chains attacks or doubles as a traversal grapple, and seven weapon types, from a balanced longsword that rewards backdashing to fast cestus gauntlets that stack damage as combos build.

The cleverest system is the tarot deck. Defeated bosses merge into Rose's deck as Arcana that unlock spells, skills and special actions, with up to three equippable Relics on top. Each Arcana carries up to three tasks called Works of Mercy, and completing them unlocks Blessings with bonus Gifts. It sounds like Symphony of the Night's progression got shuffled into a card deck, and we mean that as a compliment.

We really wanted to capture the essence of the series.

That's Konami producer Tsutomu Taniguchi, while Evil Empire creative director Emmanuel Nouaille adds: "We are very focused on combat, which was a great opportunity to add something new."

What the Outlets Are Saying

Across the preview round-up, IGN singled out the whip for enabling "a very unique style" of acrobatic combat, GamesRadar reckons "the core of Castlevania is preserved here" with its Symphony-style structure intact, and Eurogamer says Konami and Evil Empire have "created something superb here", with the caveat that a strong opening few hours still has a full game to back it up.

Our Take

Handing Castlevania to the studio that kept Dead Cells alive for half a decade looked smart on paper, and it reads even smarter now. The one worry is the calendar: Belmont's Curse launches 15 October simultaneously across PS5, Switch and PC, straight into an October already stacked with horror releases. Great company to keep, brutal week to launch in.

Watch the Trailer