The recent State of Play event by Sony was a treasure trove for all Konami fans, with the announcement of new titles such as Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, and a brand new JRPG series. Many of us were left wondering why Konami had revived almost all of its classic franchises except for the most famous one – Castlevania, apart from Metal Gear. However, our prayers have finally been answered with the announcement of Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, although it may not be the highly-anticipated 3D game we were hoping for.
One may question Konami's cautious approach towards Castlevania, considering the massive success of the Netflix show and its similarity to the popular Soulslike genre. The new game, developed by the creators of the Dead Cells series, will take place in France and will feature the iconic protagonist Trevor Belmont, who first made an appearance in the NES game Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse. While the game is set to release this year, no specific date has been announced yet.
The art style showcased so far for the game has received mixed reactions, with some feeling that it may be too bright and angular for the dark and gothic world of Castlevania. However, given the success of Dead Cells, we can hope that the gameplay will make up for any shortcomings in the art style.
In addition to the new Castlevania title, the State of Play event also featured a significant portion dedicated solely to Konami games, with a surprise announcement of a new Silent Hill transmission immediately after. Among the new announcements was the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection 2, which will include remasters of Metal Gear Solid 4, Peace Walker, and the lesser-known Game Boy Color spin-off, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. The first Master Collection will also receive an update this week, improving the resolution in Metal Gear Solid 1 and 3, while the remake Metal Gear Solid Delta is now available at a 50% discount.
Fans were also treated to a Metal Gear homage in the upcoming indie game Darwin's Paradox, featuring an adorable octopus. The game, developed by ZDT Studio, is set to release on April 2nd. Another highly-anticipated announcement was Silent Hill: Townfall, developed by Scottish studio Screen Burn, known for their work on Stories Untold and Observation. While the game looked promising, with a new protagonist and a first-person view, no release date has been announced yet.
Lastly, Konami revealed a brand new Japanese role-playing franchise, Rev.NOiR, which seemed to have a very anime-like style. While Konami has dabbled in the genre before, it will be interesting to see their approach to it in the current market.
Fans of the Metal Gear Solid series were also excited to see the return of Old Snake in Metal Gear Solid 4, as shown in the event. To stay updated on all the latest gaming news and reviews, sign up for the GameCentral newsletter, delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. You can also follow us on Twitter and leave a comment below or email us directly. To submit letters or features, you can use our Submit Stuff page.
