Castlevania: Belmont's Curse vs Bounty Star: The Morose Tale of Graveyard Clem

• Multiplayer: Single-Player (Online Boss Rush Leaderboards)
• Platforms: PC (Steam), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
• Franchise: Castlevania
• Monetization Model: Premium Buy-to-Play (Standard & Midnight Editions, No MTX)
• Operative Classes: Vampire Hunter, Arcana Sorceress, Crimson Blade
• Release Date: October 14, 2026
• Steam Launch Price: $29.99 USD

• Perspective: Third-Person
• Multiplayer: Single-Player Only
• Setting: Post-Post-Apocalyptic American Southwest
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass
• Unique Feature: A unique fusion of deep mech customization and fast-paced third-person combat with light farming and homestead management simulation, all tied to a core 'Thermal Management' mechanic.

• Spectral Raven: Scout and Harass: Circles above Rose to automatically attack airborne pests and reveal invisible floor switches.
  Avian Familiar
• Holy Fairy Sprite: Blessing of Life: Flutters beside Rose to cure poison status effects and sprinkle healing dust when health drops below 25%.
  Fae Familiar
• Clockwork Flame Golem: Holy Flame Burst: Marches along the ground, releasing periodic bursts of consecrated fire that incinerate ground crawling ghouls.
  Alchemical Automaton

• Jeremy the Dino: A non-interactive, humorous stuffed animal that Clem 'consults' with regarding mech repairs and customization, serving as a constant source of character introspection and comic relief.
  Stuffed Dinosaur

• Major Arcana Tarot Cards: Awarded upon defeating major labyrinth bosses; slotted into Rose's tarot deck to bestow powerful passive and active spells.
• Ancient French Bestiary Pages: Hidden inside secret breakable walls across Parisian ruins; unlocks comprehensive monster lore, stat weaknesses, and concept art.
• Belnades Elemental Crystals: Discovered within alchemical puzzle chambers; permanently expands Rose's maximum mana and heart capacity.

• Magpie Martinez Cards: A type of rare collectible found throughout the world.
• Action Figures & Hats: Collectible items found through exploration, including an original 'Rosewater Bluff Legends cap'.

• Gothic Horror
• Dark Fantasy
• Metroidvania
• Vampire Hunting
• Occult Lore
• Family Legacy

• Mech Combat
• Wild West
• Post-Apocalyptic
• Redemption
• Base Building
• Farming Sim
• Action-Adventure

• Belmont Morningstar Whip: Sacred Chain Whip
  The quintessential vampire hunting weapon, featuring multi-directional strikes, diagonal aerial swings, and grappling capabilities to swing across chandelier anchor points.
• Holy Silver Dagger: Thrown Sub-Weapon
  High-velocity consecrated silver daggers thrown in rapid succession to pierce armored foes and inflict radiant holy damage.
• Grand Cross: Sacred Relic Sub-Weapon
  A revered Belmont artifact that summons spinning columns of brilliant holy crucifixes, obliterating swarms of surrounding aerial and ground monsters.
• Crimson Blood Rapier: Occult Piercing Blade
  A swift thrusting sword empowered by Rose's arm curse, executing flurry thrusts and siphon strikes that convert enemy blood into magical energy.
• Holy Water Flask: Incendiary Sub-Weapon
  A glass vial filled with consecrated water that shatters on impact, producing a lingering wave of sacred blue fire that continuously damages ground enemies.

• Melee Weapons: Varies (Hammers, Chain-swords, Bomb Bats)
  Heavy, high-powered melee weapons used for close-quarters mech combat. Essential for combo chains and Trick Systems.
• Firearms: Varies (Repeaters, Shotguns, Grenade Launchers)
  Mech-scale explosive firearms used in conjunction with melee attacks via the 'Gun Cancel' mechanic. Ammo is a strategic resource that must be managed.
• Desert Raptor MKII: Relic / Vehicle
  Clem's heavily customized battle mech. It is a key weapon in itself, with over 3 1/2 inches of plate armor and a strafing speed of 22 miles per hour.

• Belmont Leather Cuirass: +15% Physical Defense, +10% Whip Attack Speed, and reduces knockback distance when struck.
• Belnades Mystic Robes: +25% Elemental and Magic Resistance, +20% Mana Regeneration, and amplifies Tarot Arcana spell damage.
• Crimson Cursed Bracer: +30% Dark Damage Output, +15% Critical Strike Chance, but slightly increases health loss when entering cursed mode.

• Mech Armor Plating: The Raptor possesses over 3 1/2 inches of plate armor on its joints and instruments. Damage resistance is determined by matching the correct damage type (Boom, Bludgeon, or Blade) to the enemy's hit point type (Skin, Plate, or Scale).

• Belmont Hunter Traveling Cloak: Weathered crimson hooded cloak trimmed with gold embroidery, leather cross-belts, and family crest buckle.
• Parisian Aristocrat Fencing Attire: Tailored midnight-black velvet doublet with ruffled silk collar, fitted breeches, and silver-buckled riding boots.
• Sypha's Legacy Sorcery Gown: Flowing celestial blue tunic and mantle adorned with Belnades elemental runes and protective charms.

Gameplay combines responsive whip platforming with deep Action RPG progression. Rose upgrades her abilities via the Arcana Tarot System, collecting major and minor arcana cards from fallen bosses to unlock active spells (such as flame pillars, ice shards, and dark teleportation dashes). In addition, Rose can awaken the Crimson Curse in her arm, transforming her whip into demonic blood tendrils that drain enemy health at the cost of curse buildup. Players invest Soul Shards at alchemical altars to permanently upgrade health, mana, stamina, and sub-weapon potency.

Progression is split between mech and base management. Mech upgrades (engine, armor, augmentations) are purchased with bounty payouts. Homestead upgrades allow for the construction of utilities (water/power), fuel and ammo production (electrolyzers, ammo benches), and farming/cooking, all of which reduce deployment costs and increase profit.

The game features an expansive, interconnected 2D gothic open world set across medieval Paris and demonic alternate dimensions. Key explorable zones include: 1. The Burning Seine Docks (flaming wooden wharves, capsized barges, and undead harbor patrols); 2. The Labyrinthine Paris Catacombs (bone-lined subterranean corridors teeming with skeleton warriors and poisonous ghouls); 3. The Grand Cathedral of Notre-Dame (majestic vaulted arches, crumbling stained glass, and soaring bell towers); 4. The Alchemical Under-City (clandestine occult laboratories filled with bubbling reagents and clockwork contraptions); and 5. The Eclipse Fortress (a surreal nightmare castle manifesting across the Parisian skyline as Dracula's revival nears).

The Red Expanse is a semi-open world setting with a Wild West atmosphere. Missions are primarily confined to small, repeated bounty maps with boundary walls, though the general environment is vast and features contrastive day/night lighting (reddish-brown during the day, phosphorescent purple flora at night).

• Belmont River Skiff: Wooden Transport Boat
  A sturdy oar-powered wooden riverboat used by Trevor and Rose Belmont to navigate down the Seine and enter the burning city of Paris.
• Gothic Funeral Carriage: Horse-Drawn Armored Hearse
  An eerie black carriage used by Parisian occult cultists to transport cursed alchemical artifacts across the city.

• Parisian Plague Bats: Chiroptera vampiris
  Aerial Nuisance (Demonic red-eyed bats that roost in cathedral rafters and dive-bomb players attempting difficult platforming jumps)
• Spectral Hunting Hound: Canis infernalis
  Ground Assault Mob (Ghostly canine beasts that patrol the courtyards of Paris, leaping through barriers to ambush unsuspecting hunters)

• Rose Belmont: Playable Protagonist
  The 22-year-old daughter of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades who wields her ancestral whip and dark curse to prevent Dracula's resurrection in 1499 Paris.
• Trevor Belmont: Legendary Vampire Hunter & Mentor
  The grizzled hero who defeated Dracula 23 years earlier, guiding his daughter through Paris while investigating the corruption within the French clergy.
• Count Dracula: Lord of Darkness
  The eternal vampire king whose immortal spirit seeks to rise once again in 1499, testing the Belmont bloodline across generations.

• Clementine McKinney: Playable Protagonist
  An ex-soldier, expert mech pilot, and bounty hunter seeking redemption in the Red Expanse. She pilots the Desert Raptor MKII.
• Samuel Standage: Antagonist
  Clem's former tactical enemy and current antagonist, who leads the mercenary group Copper Fist and seeks to seize control of the Red Expanse.
• Teddy Cotton: Ally / Scientist
  A 'gentle and intelligent nightmare man' (scientist/Xurner) who gives Clem a psychoactive device to relive combat memories for self-exploration and passive progress improvement.

• Arrival on the River Seine: Prologue Chapter
  Disembark at the flaming Paris harbor, clear out the ghoul infestation, and reunite with Trevor at the city gatehouse.
• Cleansing the Catacombs: Exploration & Boss Hunt
  Navigate the labyrinthine ossuaries beneath Paris, locate the ancient seal of Dracula, and defeat the Bone Amalgam boss.
• The Spires of Notre-Dame: Climactic Finale
  Ascend the bell towers of the burning cathedral during the solar eclipse to interrupt the dark resurrection ritual.

• Bounty Contracts
  The main gameplay loop. Missions are short, arena-style contracts where Clem must eliminate enemies or capture specific targets (Dead or Alive), with optional sub-goals for bonus payouts.
• Homestead Upgrades
  The main progression objective is to manage the base, building infrastructure, and crafting fuel and ammo production to maximize bounty profits.
• Relive Combat Memories
  An optional activity where Clem uses a psychoactive device from Teddy Cotton to re-engage previous missions for self-exploration and potential passive progress improvement.

Standard Edition ($29.99 USD on PC Steam / $39.99 USD on Consoles): Includes the complete base game with all explorable zones and bosses. Midnight Edition ($39.99 USD on PC / $49.99 USD on Consoles): Includes the base game, Digital Sound & Art Collection (featuring classic and rearranged franchise tracks), Retro Belmont Skin Pack, and the 'Bloody Tears' Early Access Weapon Charm.

Konami and Evil Empire have outlined a post-launch roadmap including a free Boss Rush Mode, the classic 'Trevor Belmont Playable Mode' (allowing players to experience the entire campaign with Trevor's traditional moveset and sub-weapons), and a planned expansion chapter exploring the origins of Sypha's Belnades clan.

• Q: What is Castlevania: Belmont's Curse?
  A: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse is a new 2D action-exploration Metroidvania developed by Evil Empire and published by KONAMI, starring Rose Belmont in 1499 Paris.
• Q: When does Castlevania: Belmont's Curse release and on what platforms?
  A: The game releases on October 14, 2026 for PC (Steam) and October 15, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.
• Q: How does Belmont's Curse fit into the Castlevania timeline?
  A: The game takes place in 1499, exactly 23 years after Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, following Trevor Belmont's daughter Rose as she investigates Dracula's resurrection in Paris.
• Q: What are the core combat mechanics in Belmont's Curse?
  A: The game features fluid whip action, aerial grappling, classic sub-weapons (Holy Water, Cross, Daggers), tarot-based Arcana magic spells, and the high-risk Crimson Curse arm mode.
• Q: Who developed Castlevania: Belmont's Curse?
  A: The game is co-developed by Evil Empire (celebrated developers of Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania and The Rogue Prince of Persia) and KONAMI.

• Q: What kind of game is Bounty Star?
  A: It is a single-player action-adventure game that mixes fast-paced, third-person mech combat with light base-building and farming simulation, set in a post-apocalyptic Wild West.
• Q: Does it have farming?
  A: Yes. Players can build gardens and a hydroponics system at their base to grow ingredients. Cooking meals with these ingredients provides temporary buffs for the next bounty mission.
• Q: What is the 'Thermal Management' system?
  A: It is a core mechanic where using mech abilities generates heat. Pushing the temperature too high causes a shutdown. Players must manage this heat, as the environment affects the base temperature, and strategic heat management grants powerful combat buffs.
• Q: Is the game open world?
  A: The setting is the Red Expanse, a semi-open world, but the core missions are linear, arena-style bounties. The open world primarily serves as a vast, atmospheric backdrop to travel through between objectives and the base.

A visual showcase developed by Evil Empire combining lush, fluid 2D hand-drawn character and monster animations with atmospheric 3D backgrounds, volumetric candle smoke, dynamic stained-glass lighting reflections, and gothic architectural grandeur.

A sweeping orchestral and dark rock soundtrack composed in the grand tradition of Castlevania, featuring dynamic rearrangements of franchise classics like 'Bloody Tears' and 'Vampire Killer' alongside haunting new choral, violin, and organ themes. Voice acting features Abby Trott as Rose Belmont, JB Blanc as Trevor Belmont, Alejandra Reynoso as Sypha, and Graham McTavish reprising his role as Count Dracula.

Elegant gothic UI inspired by Symphony of the Night and Aria of Sorrow. Displays active health and hearts / mana gauges, selected sub-weapon icons, active Tarot Arcana card slots, a mini-map overlay with percentage tracker, and quick-swap equipment wheels.

Extensive suite of accessibility options including customizable button mapping, auto-attack toggles, platforming ledge assist, scalable UI elements, high-contrast character outlines, screen-shake toggles, and adjustable damage scaling sliders for customized combat difficulty.

• Requires a 64-bit operating system and processor. Operates via DirectX 11 / DirectX 12 graphics pipelines. Fully integrated with Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud synchronization, complete gamepad controller support, and optimized for seamless handheld play on Steam Deck.
• Laptop Performance Note: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse features hand-crafted 2D sprite animations combined with 3D dynamic lighting, high-resolution particle spells, and multi-layered parallax backgrounds. While hardware demands are modest compared to 3D AAA titles, maintaining a locked 60 FPS or 120 FPS on laptops during intense screen-filling boss encounters requires stable sustained GPU clock frequencies.
• Laptop Consideration: G P U T G P: Requires a sustained 35W-50W TGP mobile GPU for 1080p60 and 60W-75W+ TGP for high-refresh 1440p displays.
• Laptop Consideration: Cooling Thermals: Standard laptop cooling profiles are sufficient; keeping CPU temperatures below 75C ensures zero micro-stuttering during rapid room transitions.
• Laptop Consideration: C P U Power Limits: A sustained PL1 power limit of 25W+ is recommended to ensure seamless background asset streaming between map sectors.
• Laptop Consideration: M U X Switch Optimus: Standard hybrid Optimus or discrete MUX switch modes both achieve locked 60 FPS; discrete GPU mode is recommended for 144Hz panels.
• Optimization Detail: Upscaling Tech: Native resolution scaling options with anti-aliasing toggles, full vsync options, and customizable frame rate limiters (60 FPS, 120 FPS, Unlimited).
• Optimization Detail: Key Settings Impact: Particle Density, Dynamic Lighting Quality, and Background Parallax Depth exert the greatest influence on sustained performance.
• Game Name: Castlevania: Belmont's Curse

• OFFICIAL PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS. The game is well-optimized but the complexity of the mech combat and environment requires modern hardware.
• Laptop Performance Note: Laptop performance will vary based on the model's cooling and TGP. For a high-octane action game, maintaining a stable framerate during intense mech combat is crucial.
• Laptop Consideration: G P U T G P: Maximum TGP for the laptop's GPU is essential to handle the massive mech models and complex thermal simulation.
• Laptop Consideration: Cooling Thermals: The game's visually rich world and demanding combat will require a laptop with a cutting-edge cooling solution to prevent thermal throttling.
• Laptop Consideration: C P U Power Limits: A powerful multi-core mobile CPU is critical for handling the physics, enemy AI, and base simulation elements.
• Laptop Consideration: M U X Switch Optimus: A MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus is a critical feature for reducing latency and ensuring the best possible performance in the timing-based action combat.
• Game Name: Bounty Star: The Morose Tale of Graveyard Clem

• Upscaling Tech: Native resolution scaling options with anti-aliasing toggles, full vsync options, and customizable frame rate limiters (60 FPS, 120 FPS, Unlimited).
• Key Settings Impact: Particle Density, Dynamic Lighting Quality, and Background Parallax Depth exert the greatest influence on sustained performance.

• G P U T G P: Requires a sustained 35W-50W TGP mobile GPU for 1080p60 and 60W-75W+ TGP for high-refresh 1440p displays.
• Cooling Thermals: Standard laptop cooling profiles are sufficient; keeping CPU temperatures below 75C ensures zero micro-stuttering during rapid room transitions.
• C P U Power Limits: A sustained PL1 power limit of 25W+ is recommended to ensure seamless background asset streaming between map sectors.
• M U X Switch Optimus: Standard hybrid Optimus or discrete MUX switch modes both achieve locked 60 FPS; discrete GPU mode is recommended for 144Hz panels.

• G P U T G P: Maximum TGP for the laptop's GPU is essential to handle the massive mech models and complex thermal simulation.
• Cooling Thermals: The game's visually rich world and demanding combat will require a laptop with a cutting-edge cooling solution to prevent thermal throttling.
• C P U Power Limits: A powerful multi-core mobile CPU is critical for handling the physics, enemy AI, and base simulation elements.
• M U X Switch Optimus: A MUX switch or NVIDIA Advanced Optimus is a critical feature for reducing latency and ensuring the best possible performance in the timing-based action combat.