Castlevania: Belmont's Curse Demo Conceals Fighting Game Homages in Secret Weapon

The developers behind Castlevania: Belmont's Curse are clearly passionate about fighting games, as sharp-eyed fans have discovered blatant nods to classic fighting game characters within the demo.

A free demo for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse launched on October 1, 2026, offering a glimpse of the game's combat. Players step into the shoes of Rose Belmont, who wields a sword and her mother's magical tarot cards as she explores the ruined streets of 1500s Paris.

Based on the demo, this game promises to delight hardcore Metroidvania enthusiasts with its abundance of hidden areas. One such area, accessible in the demo, rewards players with a pair of brass knuckle-style MMA gloves called Cestus. This weapon accumulates damage on enemies the more you strike them, encouraging an aggressive playstyle.

After Rose completes an attack with the Cestus, she strikes a pose for a few seconds. These poses appear to cycle randomly, but they are clearly deliberate, each featuring a unique animation. It didn't take long for players to spot striking resemblances between these poses and the fighting stances of classic fighting game characters, of which there are quite a few.

Twitter/X user and Castlevania enthusiast StockeTepes compiled these poses in a video, showing Rose adopting the idle stances of Ryu, Chun-Li, Oro, and Sagat, as well as Mai Shiranui and Akuma/Oni. Even Spider-Man's iconic pose from Marvel vs. Capcom 2 made the cut. Other fans noted that Rose's air-to-air combo with the Cestus mimics Akuma's aerial fireball, the Zanku Hadouken (or, in my view, M. Bison's Hell Attack).

Castlevania has a long history of paying tribute to fighting games; if you've played Symphony of the Night, you'll recall that the inputs for Alucard's purchasable spells are exactly like special move motions in a fighting game, and the gauntlet weapon Fist of Tulkas essentially lets you throw a Hadouken. In Portrait of Ruin, players can unlock Martial Arts moves that grant special abilities, requiring fighting game-style inputs to execute. Konami even released a Castlevania fighting game in 2008 called Castlevania Judgment (though its reception is debatable).

I told you, Castlevania LOVES fighting games 🔥 And the tradition of calling back to them continues with Belmont's Curse! So I made a lil edit showcasing how the Demo's secret weapon, Cestus, homages idle poses for many of its iconic characters. MUCH more coming stay tuned 😈 https://t.co/7UVd7OFSTQ

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse officially launches on October 15. In the meantime, there's no shortage of Castlevania games to play while you wait for the latest entry. (My personal favorites are Symphony of the Night, Super Castlevania IV, and the original Castlevania—but there are over 30 to choose from!)

That's not all; the iconic soundtrack of the Castlevania franchise is getting its own live power rock-symphony in March 2026, with performances in London, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. It's a great time to be a Castlevania fan—but a terrible night to have a curse.