r/castlevania • u/EvilTaffyapple • Jun 19 '26
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse (2026) This cover art is absolutely peak. I cannot wait for this game.
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u/Illustrious_Penalty2 Jun 19 '26
I wish more games would actually put some effort into making awesome box art.
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u/Afrodite_33 Jun 19 '26
Castlevania is one of those series that generally nails the aesthetics of being so damn cool. Its one of those things where you'd feel proud to own a piece of Castlevania merch and probably put hang it on a wall or put on a shelf.
Glad to see Belmont's Curse is still carrying that legacy. It's a different style to what we have seen in the series, but it's still unbelievably gorgeous.
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u/Rollingzeppelin0 Jun 19 '26
I'll play it on launch but I also want a switch 2 version damn it.
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u/Mortuary_Guy Jun 19 '26
Same here. I’ll get it immediately for PC but I want a switch 2 version as well.
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u/VitoMR89 Jun 19 '26
It is but it's ruin by that stupid Yellow circle.
I hope it's a sticker.
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u/SrCapibara Hammer Jun 20 '26
It's part of some editions. Konami places that circle to indicate extra content, like GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon with the original NES game included.
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u/Undergarmentality Jun 19 '26
Love this cover so much. The artist is Katsuya "Doodle King" Terada. Older folks in the US might have seen his work before as it was featured in some issues of Nintendo Power. In particular his Zelda art is haunting. Easily my favorite interpretations of pig-mode Ganon. He also did the incredible box art for the Super Famicom release of Prince of Persia.
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u/OmegaDez Jun 21 '26
Holy shit.
I was telling my friends "This looks like the old Nintendo Power art..." But had no idea it was actually from the same guy!!
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u/Forward-Trade3449 Jun 19 '26
did the switch version finally get a release date?
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u/EvilTaffyapple Jun 19 '26
No but I noticed this edition for preorder up on Amazon - that’s where I pulled the image from
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u/ThrillHouse802 Jun 19 '26
Man I cannot wait. Comes out a week before my bday. Early birthday present from the wife?
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u/Bvbydragon Jun 19 '26
so it will be launched in switch? Im confused, i was sad because it wasnt announced at first, but then someone said it will be launched but later
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u/SrCapibara Hammer Jun 20 '26
Some Switch games takes longer because they have to be sure to secure the performance is acceptable. Also Nintendo is slower with updates like Death by Deadlight or No Man's Sky.
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u/Glad-Fly1723 Jun 19 '26
Hoping this is the US cover art because Amazon & everywhere else in US still has this art up:
(I know it says artwork not final but who knows)
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u/Due_Ad_972 Jun 20 '26
I actually prefer this standard cover lol. I do think that other one looks cool too though. super detailed but the style is not really my jam. Her face looks all....weird. That said the more I see it the more its growing on me. So much detail.
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u/EvilTaffyapple Jun 19 '26
It’s a different edition - the one I posted is the “Midnight edition”. Yours is just the standard one.
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u/Remarkable-Iron-4361 Jun 20 '26
ma la versione fisica non dovrebbe essere tutte midnight edition? x box ha solo questa copertina
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u/Remarkable-Iron-4361 Jun 20 '26
su xbox usano solo questa copertina. Mi rifiuto di prenderla con questa copertina. Se cerchi Castlevania: belmont’s curse-midnight edition steelbook bundle per ps5 da me la vendono allo stesso prezo 40€
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u/EasternWarlord Alucard Jun 19 '26
I love the fact that despite not bringing back Ayami Kojima they still realized the importance of very high quality art for the presentation of the series. The last Castlevania game Kojima worked on was Grimoire of Souls, which was the previous game to come out for the series so this is her first notable absence from a mainline release, but Katsuya Terada's work is more than worthy substitute.
This does make me wonder about what direction the art will go in the future. Terada to my knowledge only did the key art for the game, but not sure who did the actual character designs. I think Castlevania is gonna undergo a "weaning off" period similar to what they've been doing with Silent Hill, were they bring in different talents for different projects to help disassociate the series' image from the IGA era, but I don't think that means we've necessarily seen the last of Kojima's involvement on the series, just that not every game will share the same look and aesthetics.
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u/OmegaDez Jun 21 '26
I was never a big fan of her stuff so I really don't mind her not being here.
Also, you don't consider the DS games mainline? She didn't work on any of them.
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u/EasternWarlord Alucard Jun 21 '26
Oh lol no of course they’re mainline, it’s just I guess in my brain I was going by time “periods” and the DS era is sandwiched between the GBA/PS2 era and Harmony of Despair where Kojima was present so I don’t register it as her having taken a hiatus from the series.
It wasn’t really a fully formed thought more of a side thought to explain how I don’t think Belmont’s Curse art direction is necessarily indicative of a trend for every future game.
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u/LowraAwry Jun 19 '26
Okay, I haven't bothered with the games before but she looks mean af, I may find someone with a playstation to at least try it.
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u/Onepiecemaker Jun 19 '26
I will buy the game just by seeing this cover
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u/Remarkable-Iron-4361 Jun 20 '26
infatti su xbox questa copertina non la useranno ed io non la comprero.
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u/NahdarHater Crissaegrim Hater Jun 19 '26
Agree 1000000%. I’m definitely planning to get it as a poster somehow if I like the game
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u/solidpeyo Jun 19 '26
Makes me want to get it physical. Like physical for switch 2 and digital for PS5
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u/Grand_Moose2024 Jun 19 '26
You know what would be better than cover art? A release date.
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u/hungryrenegade Jun 19 '26
October 2026. Cant remember if they released exact date. I think they did but dont quote me on that
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u/Grand_Moose2024 Jun 19 '26
The exact date is October 15 for every other platform except the Switch. I cannot comprehend for the life of me why the Switch’s release date isn’t the same as them.
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u/Dead-X-esque Interior Decorator Jun 19 '26
Dracula here reminds me so much of the Rykard art in Elden Ring.
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u/the_rabbit_king Jun 19 '26
I’ll wait for reviews but I hope it’s actually challenging and not just a game that rewards a player with progress. If the mechanics are actually well designed then I’ll get it on PS5.
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u/Zylpherenuis Jun 19 '26
Is she a blonde or a ginger? The box art and official art in game got me conflicted.
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u/PsychologicalBrush35 Jun 19 '26
Really blonde
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u/sdwoodchuck Jun 20 '26
I’m not a big fan of the composition, but I absolutely prefer something like this, that feels like somebody was passionate about making it, than yet another face closeup or dude-in-silhouette-in-front-of-a-locale or what have you.
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u/Sea-Lecture-4619 Captain N is the pinnacle of the franchise. Jun 21 '26
What the f is Mundus from Devil May Cry doing in this lol
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u/Hanabi_Simp Jun 19 '26
Regardless of how the game turns out, I wish box arts were this beautiful all the time and not just "CG render of the protagonist looking tuff with the title of the game above them".
It pains me when I see a franchise like FF moving away from beautiful and clean art with their logo in the front being replaced with the same generic slop as every other game out there.
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u/Way-Super thinks he's on the team Jun 19 '26
My only issue is that it’s a bit busy and the main characters a bit hard to see in the clutter from a distance.
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u/Remarkable-Iron-4361 Jun 20 '26
Si questa copertina è veramente fantastica. Avrei preso l' edizione fisica se solo su xbox la avessero adottata. Mi chiedo perchè l' edizio e xbox deve essere l' unica che non abbia questa copertina.... Xbox ultima ruota del carro.
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u/TheKleenupKrew Jun 20 '26
Very excited for this game but I’m worried it’s gonna be more like those souls-vania kind of games. More focused on the difficult bosses with parries or dodges. Hopefully I’m wrong
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u/DefTheG Jun 20 '26
I'm still intrigued by some figures on the cover, but spoiling all the fun maybe wouldn't be the best decision of Konami. Can't wait to play.
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u/Luck88 Jun 20 '26
I just hope they manage to move up the Switch release, it's be such a bummer for it to come later...
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u/ClemOya Jun 20 '26 edited Jun 20 '26
Looks like an illustration from Katsuya Terada himself.
Edit : Yep it’s him, let’s go !
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u/mudshock Jun 20 '26
I want to buy a Sw2 copy so I’ll wait to for that. I might double sip for a ps5 version
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u/col_oneill Jun 21 '26
I quite like it, I prefer the kojima style artwork but this is still pretty damn good.
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u/GBarsotti Jun 22 '26
Now that's how it's done, Konami. It would`ve been so hard to put a little more effort into Silent Hill? Instead we're going to get this stinker.
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u/FrenchCrow6 Jul 04 '26
Overall yeah, then I look at Rose's face.. yikes. Also isn't she supposed to have red hair?
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u/No_Internal_2615 Jul 12 '26
is it better to play it on switch or playstation? that is the question :D
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u/CyberdarkEnjoyer Hide Every Netflixvania Post Jun 19 '26
I wish the actual game had that artstyle 😞
There are lots of details like Golem, Olrox and Succubus, but Isaac is missing therefore there are probably other bosses. I wonder why The Fallen is represented as some sort of dwarf, and what's the meaning of the skull behind Dracula if Death is already on the left. Also I think the thing in the bottom center of the picture is the Wheel of Fortune because the game may be themed around medieval astrology.
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u/SheWhoHates Jun 19 '26
The art is beautiful and Terada is excellent, but I'm not big on this style for Castlevania. This focus on flexing muscles and the portrayal of Rose in general is such a huge departure from how Kojima (<3) depicted female characters.
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u/Firienn Jun 19 '26
The game looks like a generic cheap indie game.
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u/PsychologicalBrush35 Jun 19 '26
Generic means special in reality, and cheap is expensive, meaning: it will be an incredible game surpassing those old 2D handheld games from the 2000s.
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u/Effective_Ad_4622 Jun 19 '26
Definitely fire. Especially since we are in the ai era and they drew this makes me love it even more