The announcement of Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is no doubt exciting for fans of the series, but this title isn’t the only successor to the franchise to watch for. Evil Empire’s collaboration with Castlevania is crafting an incredible adventure, yet past developers and designers from the franchise have seen success from creating games inspired by the struggles of the Belmont family against Dracula. In fact, one title getting a prequel in 2026 represents a love for Castlevania‘s past that could inspire fans to have another great experience this year.
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Back in 2019, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night released as a unofficial successor to Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, crafted by Koji Igarashi, a former Konami veteran who worked on the Castlevania title originally. Given how Symphony of the Night is often toted as the best Castlevania game of all time, Bloodstained has excellent direction that helped it earn great reviews after it evolved from a Kickstarter campaign. Not only did this game inspire a sequel, it also is gaining a prequel this year that is likely to continue the vision of Castlevania‘s most celebrated creators.
Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement Releases As Another Castlevania Successor In 2026
2026 is the planned release year for Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, an official prequel to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night from the same development team. Set in 16th century England, this game is set to tell the story of two heroes named Leonard Brandon and Alexander Kyteler, a Black Wolves fighter of the Church and a knight of the Kingdom’s White Stags respectfully. United, these two warriors might fight and explore through a mysterious castle in strategic battles that will put their skills to the test.
The obvious homage to Castlevania through this title is offset somewhat by the unique inclusion of two main characters acting at the same time. Throughout this game’s 2.5D gothic environment, you and a friend can join up as Leonard and Alexander to go through this Metroidvania at the same time. Through Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, the Bloodstained series now has a wealth of history for long-time fans to see originate through this prequel, giving them as much lore to sink their teeth in as Castlevania‘s newest game will do for its fans.
Part of the appeal of the Bloodstained series comes from its gorgeous 3D character models meshing well within a 2D game environment. Calling back to Symphony of the Night and classic Castlevania, The Scarlet Engagement evolves from this distinct art approach, while introducing locations, enemies, characters, and more in Koji Igarashi’s signature style. Considering Igarashi’s status as a “godfather” of modern day Metroidvanias, the gothic world created in this prequel represents another possible peak of what that design vision can be.
Developer ArtPlay’s History With Castlevania Will Make Bloodstained A Must-Play For Fans
In a lot of ways, Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement feels like a natural evolution of older Castlevania titles. Much like how Hollow Knight and its sequel Silksong helped mold the modern day Metroidvania, Bloodstained kept the RPG roots that helped define Castlevania games from others adopting its genre. More systems of personalized progression exist in Bloodstained, from unique crafting systems to cooking missions that help increase your character’s prowess for their remaining adventure.
The collaborative nature of the Bloodstained prequel also serves to expand the series’ gameplay, giving you a wider range of special attacks and abilities to use in conjunction with another player. Almost adopting some features of a good beat-em-up game, The Scarlet Engagement promises a steady blend of classic Castlevania exploration and personalization, but perhaps with more action-packed combat options.
Developer ArtPlay has injected their latest Bloodstained game with many of the same qualities that are sure to make Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse successful as well. However, unlike Belmont’s Curse, Bloodstained‘s focus on magic and strategy in its fights might give players more ways to approach a non-linear area to explore. To contrast, Belmont’s Curse may be more linear and polishing, but feature fewer combat options in favor of a longer experience than Bloodstained could be.
Regardless, both games’ pros and cons have great potential to make fans of Castlevania prepare for an excellent 2026. Between Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement and Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse, players of the original gothic series have multiple opportunities to go through new experiences that feel both nostalgic and new this year.
What do you think about the new Castlevania game and the Bloodstained prequel? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
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Image Courtesy of Toei Animation
