•Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, the Metroidvania action platformer from Evil Empire and Konami, has left one player stuck for hours behind what they describe as an unfairly difficult section that blocks access to the game’s true ending.
The writer compared their experience with the game to playing the first level of The Lion King on SNES—a colorful but poorly calibrated opening that fails to prepare players for the difficulty ahead. After making progress through the early stages, they became trapped behind a boss chase sequence they could not complete.
The action platformer opens with Rose Belmont, child of Sypha and Trevor Belmont, summoned to Paris by a priest seeking her family’s help against supernatural horrors plaguing the city. Starting as Rose rather than her famous father means beginning at zero—with no holy water, cross, or the family’s signature chain whip, only a sword.
this was a title that made gamers of a certain age cry bloody tears
The opening hours, which find you exploring the streets and sewers of a Paris in flames, were challenging but surmountable with time and practice. For a while, the game was “really, really good,” according to the writer.
opening hours, which find you exploring the streets and sewers of a Paris in flames,
The game presents itself as a mystery to solve. Throughout each area, Rose encounters ghosts or statuesque watchers who provide clues about bosses needed to progress. The writer’s first sign that trouble was coming came when they followed a clue pointing to a boss called the Builder at a clocktower—only to stumble upon Dracula himself and trigger an automatic bad ending because they were not powerful enough to face him.
“It actually is pretty neat that you can head to the endgame whenever you want,” the writer noted. The existence of a bad ending implies there is also a true ending, which suggests developers who “studied their history” may revisit difficult sections in future updates.
After asking a colleague playing the game for review for help, the writer found the actual Builder. His fight proved surprisingly easy after three earlier bosses that were each difficult in unique ways.
The problem lies at an HP threshold where the boss flees, requiring players to chase him through narrow corridors of pistons falling from the ceiling or shooting from the screen’s sides—positioned over spike pits with collapsing platforms. At another HP threshold, players must chase him again, this time backwards through the same platforming section within 90 seconds.
“This is what happens, every time. It’s demoralizing,” the writer said. They noted that difficulty settings can turn off death or reduce enemy damage for combat, but none make a platforming section easier. During a second attempt, they turned off death to practice the backwards run before starting—but still could not manage it.
“It felt bad, demoralizingly so,” the writer said, contrasting the experience with soulslike games where players can back out and grow stronger. They suggested either developers may patch in an easier option once the full game releases, or a skilled player might demonstrate how to complete it—something they cannot yet see.
or at least not like we did back then
The writer recalled that The Lion King was made difficult for financial reasons—the developers admitted making it take longer than a typical video rental period to beat. “We don’t rent games anymore,” they observed, adding that this level of difficulty now feels “almost cruel.”
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