10 Best Castlevania Games of 2026

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night is No. 1 because it shaped everything the series did afterward. Konami's own history page says it was the game that first introduced RPG exploration into Castlevania, and its blend of non-linear exploration, leveling and platforming became the template for Aria of Sorrow, Dawn of Sorrow and the rest of the handheld games below. You play as Alucard, son of Dracula, in a castle Konami describes as the largest Castlevania of its time, with over 140 enemies and bosses and transformations into a bat, a wolf and mist. It is also the cheapest way into the series: $2.99 on the App Store for iPhone and iPad, with controller support, achievements and a new continue feature. On PS4, Castlevania Requiem bundles it with Rondo of Blood for $19.99 and averages 4.69 of 5 from 13,465 player ratings. The drawbacks are platform gaps: there is no Steam or Switch version, and the iOS port scores lower with users than the PS4 release.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow ranks second because it took the Symphony of the Night formula and added the series' best known progression system. Konami's history page describes it as the first Castlevania adventure set in the future: in 2035, Soma Cruz wakes inside Dracula's castle during a solar eclipse. Its Tactical Souls system lets him capture the souls of defeated enemies and use their abilities, with more than 100 in total, and the Steam page notes plenty of New Game+ content. It is sold today in the Castlevania Advance Collection, which costs $19.99 on Steam and also includes Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania: Dracula X. The collection adds rewind, save and load at any point, replay recording, an encyclopedia, a music player and a choice of Japanese, American or European ROMs. English Steam reviews for the collection are 91% positive out of 1,425. The trade-offs: no standalone purchase, and Steam lists only English and Japanese.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood is the strongest of the stage-based Castlevania games on this list, and the one Symphony of the Night continues directly. Konami's Requiem page says it was released on the PC Engine in 1993 as the first CD-ROM game in the series and was praised for its visuals and music. It has 9 stages with hidden levels and alternative routes, imprisoned villagers to rescue, and two playable characters: Richter Belmont and Maria Renard. Today the way to buy it is Castlevania Requiem on PS4, which pairs it with Symphony of the Night for $19.99. Requiem averages 4.69 of 5 from 13,465 ratings on the PlayStation Store, and the listing says it is playable on PS5. It scores lower on ease of setup than the games above because it needs a PlayStation. PC and Switch players can try Castlevania: Dracula X, the SNES reimagining of Rondo of Blood included in the Castlevania Advance Collection, which Steam calls one of the most challenging entries.

Super Castlevania IV is the best of the classic linear Castlevania games you can buy on PC and Switch today. Konami's history page describes an 11-level castle, including the Terrace of Terror, the Rotating Dungeon and the Sunken Ruins of Lost Spirits, and notes that Simon Belmont can use his whip like a grappling hook to swing past traps. A password system lets you take a break. It is sold in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection for $19.99, which also includes Castlevania, Simon's Quest, Castlevania III, both Game Boy games, Bloodlines and Kid Dracula, plus the eBook History of Castlevania: Book of the Crescent Moon. That is eight games for the price, the best value per game on this list. The collection reaches the most platforms here: Steam, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. The trade-off is its English Steam score of 81% positive from 1,884 reviews, below the Advance and Dominus collections, and a bare-bones feature set next to the later collections.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow continues Aria of Sorrow's story a year later and keeps its soul system, which is why it sits just below the Sorrow, Rondo and Super IV entries. Konami's history page says the DS original added a Magic Seal system where you draw symbols on the touch screen, and the Steam page highlights combining souls to create weapons. It is sold today in the Castlevania Dominus Collection for $24.99, with Portrait of Ruin, Order of Ecclesia and Haunted Castle, the first Castlevania arcade game, in both its original and a redesigned Revisited form. The collection adds rewind and quick saves, and its English Steam reviews are 94% positive from 1,501, the best score of any product here. Steam lists six languages. The costs: it is $5 more than the Advance and Anniversary collections, its minimum PC spec asks for 8 GB of RAM, and the story makes most sense if you have already played Aria of Sorrow.

Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia is the most distinct of the three DS games. Instead of one castle, Konami's history page lists a world map with over 20 areas, and the Glyph system gives Shanoa over 100 attack combinations taken from the enemies she defeats. The Steam page frames the story around three stolen glyphs said to be powerful enough to defeat Dracula. It comes in the same $24.99 Castlevania Dominus Collection as Dawn of Sorrow and Portrait of Ruin, so buying one gets you all three plus Haunted Castle Revisited, rewind and quick saves. The collection's English Steam reviews are 94% positive from 1,501. We ranked it below Dawn of Sorrow on capabilities because its structure is less of a classic Castlevania, and on ease of setup because the collection needs 8 GB of RAM on PC. If you already own the Dominus Collection for another game, this is the one to play next.

Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse is the deepest of the NES games. Konami's history page sets it 100 years before Simon Belmont's birth, with Trevor Belmont able to team up with three partner spirits: Grant DaNasty, Sypha and Alucard, who later stars in Symphony of the Night. Branching Paths of Fate lead through up to 17 possible levels, including the Clock Tower and a sunken city. You buy it in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection for $19.99, the same eight-game package as Super Castlevania IV, sold on Steam, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. It ranks below Super Castlevania IV because the controls and difficulty are older and harsher: Konami's own copy calls it the supreme challenge, and the Steam page for the Anniversary Collection does not list the rewind and save features found in the Advance and Dominus collections. The collection's English Steam reviews are 81% positive from 1,884. For series fans, it is also the setting for the new Castlevania: Belmont's Curse.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is built around two heroes. Konami's history page says Jonathan Morris wields the Vampire Killer whip while Charlotte Aulin is a spellcaster, and the Steam page explains that you switch between them with a single button press or fight side by side. Mystical paintings open portals to locations beyond Dracula's castle, and the story is set in 1944. It is part of the $24.99 Castlevania Dominus Collection with Dawn of Sorrow, Order of Ecclesia and Haunted Castle Revisited, which adds rewind and quick saves and holds 94% positive English Steam reviews from 1,501. We ranked it below its two collection mates on capabilities because its tag-team idea is its main hook, while Dawn of Sorrow and Order of Ecclesia each bring larger progression systems. Since all three come in one purchase, most buyers will play it anyway.

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was the first of the Game Boy Advance trilogy, and its main idea is the Dual Set-up System. Konami's history page says combining an Action card with an Attribute card creates over 80 spell effects, from fire whips to ice blizzards, and it lists 10 magic summons such as Golem, Serpent and Griffin. You play Nathan Graves, an apprentice vampire hunter rescuing his master inside Dracula's castle. It ships in the $19.99 Castlevania Advance Collection alongside Aria of Sorrow, Harmony of Dissonance and Castlevania: Dracula X, and the collection's encyclopedia covers the DSS system, which helps because the cards are easy to miss. Rewind and save anywhere make the harder stretches more forgiving. It ranks ninth because Aria of Sorrow, in the same collection, refines the same exploration style, so most buyers start there and come back to Circle of the Moon second.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is the outlier on this list: a 3D action game by MercurySteam that Konami describes as a re-imagining of the Castlevania mythology. You play Gabriel Belmont of the Brotherhood of Light, armed with the Combat Cross, whose murdered wife's soul is trapped between life and death. The Steam Ultimate Edition costs $29.99 and includes the Reverie and Resurrection DLC chapters, and the cast includes Robert Carlyle as Gabriel and Patrick Stewart as Zobek. It runs on modest hardware, with a 1 GB RAM minimum and 15 GB of storage. It ranks last for three documented reasons: it is the most expensive purchase here, its English Steam reviews are the weakest at 72% positive from 3,261, and its Steam requirements still list Windows XP. Pick it if you want a cinematic 3D brawler, then follow with Mirror of Fate HD ($14.99) and Lords of Shadow 2 ($39.99), both also on Steam.