The two developers behind Dead Cells are making the next Castlevania, so of course it's going to be a roguelike, right? Actually, no. Despite Motion Twin and Evil Empire's pedigree, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is going to be a bit more traditional in that it's a 2D action-exploration romp without roguelike mechanics.
This was confirmed by Konami itself, speaking to The Verge earlier this week.
"Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is a 2D Action-Exploration game where players can freely explore vast, elaborately crafted maps," Tommy Williams, Konami’s head of communications for the Americas, said. "It is not a roguelike or roguelite game."
Though a surprise, you could argue that Evil Empire—the primary developer, while Motion Twin is credited with an advisory role—has already made its roguelike Castlevania. In 2023, it released Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, featuring a level inspired by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, along with characters, weapons and enemies from the venerable series.
This isn't to say that Evil Empire and Motion Twin aren't shaking things up a bit. There's the lavish, 2.5D art style, for one, and Belmont seems a bit more acrobatic than their predecessors and descendants. Their whip, the Vampire Killer, no longer just exists to murder vamps and break candles—now it's used to leap around the levels, latching onto parts of the environment and even enemies to hurl the vampire slayer all over the place.
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