Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Free Demo Drops October 1

Fancy a bite of Castlevania before Halloween season? Konami has just confirmed that a free demo for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse lands on October 1 — and the best part is, your progress carries over to the full game when it launches on October 15.

So what exactly do you get in this early taste? According to Konami, the demo covers the opening chapter. That likely means you'll see Rose and Trevor Belmont arrive in a burning Paris before getting split up — leaving Rose to wield her sword and magical tarot cards against classic franchise foes like zombies and probably some skeletons too. You'll also get a feel for the game's boss-turning mechanic, which lets you convert tough enemies into powerful allies.

Before you hit download, check your storage. The demo takes up between 3GB and 6GB depending on your platform — Switch owners get the smaller file, while PS5 players need the most space. There's a performance gap too: the game runs at 30fps on Nintendo's hybrid console, but hits 60fps on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Here's hoping a Switch 2 version is quietly in the works, though nothing official has been said on that front.

As for who's making this thing — Evil Empire Studio and Motion Twin are behind the newest Castlevania entry. Evil Empire previously worked on the franchise with Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, and their latest project was The Rogue Prince of Persia. But despite that roguelite pedigree, Castlevania: Belmont's Curse isn't a roguelite. Good news if you prefer your metroidvanias handcrafted rather than procedurally generated.

One more nugget for fans of the animated series: last month Konami announced the voice cast, and Dracula will sound very familiar. Graham McTavish is reprising his role as the elder vampire from the Netflix Castlevania show.

With a free demo on October 1 and the full launch just two weeks later on October 15, there's not long to wait before you can sink your teeth into this one. Will you be trying the demo first, or are you jumping straight into the full game?