I want to love the new Castlevania, but it just feels a little off

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse started off on a rocky note when the game wouldn't display properly on monitors with refresh rates higher than 120 Hz. Despite this initial hiccup, the game quickly became enjoyable with only eight hours of playtime under my belt. However, despite being developed by a talented studio, the game feels a bit off, and the developers may have tried too hard to avoid the fast-paced, polished feel of recent Castlevania games.

Several issues plagued my gameplay experience, from the lengthy wind-up on Rose Belmont's whip to the dodge move's lack of invincibility frames, causing me to die in boss fights. Binding a skill requiring precision to the controller's least responsive button (left trigger) was another annoyance. Additionally, the timing required for phase-through walls and the timing for popping a healing flask were not intuitive.

While the game shows promise in the later stages, with clever platforming gimmicks and delightful presentation, the overall control scheme and cutscenes feel lacking, giving the impression that Evil Empire may have overcompensated to avoid a Dead Cells feel. Despite these issues, I remain hopeful that Belmont's Curse may ultimately prove to be my favorite version of the castle to explore.