The series has been dormant for 12 years. Then Evil Empire, the French studio best known for Dead Cells DLC, stepped up to revive Castlevania with Castlevania: Belmont's Curse. At the Triple-i showcase on April 10, the team dropped new gameplay alongside a developer commentary trailer, and the details that came out of it paint a picture of a studio that knows exactly what it wants to do with this franchise.
The key here is cultural confidence. Evil Empire marketing manager Matt Houghton put it plainly: "Being a French team, we were arrogant enough to set the game in France." That's not a throwaway line. It's a design philosophy.
Paris as a gothic playground
The setting is 15th century Paris, and Evil Empire is leaning into every corner of it. You'll be scaling Notre Dame, navigating the catacombs beneath the city, and at some point squaring off against a corrupted version of Joan of Arc. That last one alone signals that the team isn't treating France as mere window dressing. They're pulling from the country's actual history and mythology to build something that feels distinct from the Transylvanian castles the series has called home for decades.
Houghton also fired off a sly nod to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the other French game that's been dominating conversation lately: "Only berets and baguettes are missing, but I think you've had enough of that already." The self-awareness there is sharp. France is having a genuine moment in gaming right now, and Evil Empire is riding that wave with full awareness of it.
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Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, developed by French studio Sandfall Interactive, drew widespread praise for its distinctly French aesthetic and world-building, helping put French game development on the global radar in a serious way.
Not a roguelike, and Symphony of the Night is the reference point
For anyone worried that Dead Cells' DNA would turn this into a procedurally generated dungeon crawler, Konami producer Tsutomu Taniguchi addressed that directly in a separate interview after the showcase: "We drew significant inspiration from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night." That's about as clear a signal as you can send to the fanbase. This is a Metroidvania, not a roguelite.
Evil Empire had already confirmed the game is not a roguelike or roguelite, but hearing Symphony of the Night cited as the primary touchstone by the Konami side of the project gives that statement real weight. Symphony of the Night is the gold standard for the genre the original game helped define.
The mystery protagonist that fans think they've already figured out
Here's the thing: Evil Empire is being deliberately evasive about who you're actually playing as. The character is referred to only as "a Belmont" in all official communications. No name, no confirmation.
That silence has sent the community into speculation mode, and most of the theorizing points toward Sonia Belmont, a character with a complicated history in the franchise. Sonia originally appeared in Castlevania Legends and the canceled Castlevania Resurrection, but was removed from the official canon by series director Koji Igarashi because her timeline conflicted with Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. The fan theory circulating on Reddit suggests this new game could be featuring a reimagined version of Sonia as the child of Trevor Belmont.
The developers' refusal to name the protagonist only feeds that theory. Sony apparently didn't help keep the secret either, with an unofficial leak over a month ago pointing toward Sonia's return, though that remains unconfirmed by either Evil Empire or Konami.
For a franchise with this much lore and this many passionate fans, the mystery is doing its job. The latest gaming news around Belmont's Curse keeps building momentum, and every unanswered question is keeping the community engaged between reveals.
Konami has also signaled that Belmont's Curse is just the start, with the publisher stating there are "numerous new products" in development around the franchise. After 12 years of silence, that's a significant shift in how Konami is treating one of its most beloved series. Keep an eye on future showcases for the next round of reveals, and check out the latest reviews for more on what's coming from indie developers taking on classic franchises. Make sure to check out more:
