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GuideCastlevania: Belmont's CursePlatforms and bugsNew

Black screen in Castlevania: Belmont's Curse and other bugs: how to fix them

Updated: 4 min read

Black screen at launch: the cause

The game starts, sometimes you even hear sound, but the screen stays black. It often happens after changing video settings, including in the demo. Demo settings carry over to the full game, so the problem comes back after you buy it.

In its known issues notice KONAMI writes that the game may fail to launch on Steam and Xbox on PC when V-Sync is off and the frame rate limit is set to "Unlimited". PS5, Xbox and Switch do not have this bug.

Fix 1: KONAMI's official workaround

  1. In Windows open Settings → System → Display → Advanced display.
  2. Set the refresh rate below 60 Hz (for example 50 Hz). Exactly 60 Hz is not enough.
  3. Launch the game and on the title screen go to Settings → Video Settings.
  4. Turn V-Sync on and close the game.
  5. Restore your normal refresh rate.

If the game still won't start after several attempts, KONAMI points you to its customer support.

Fix 2: edit the settings file

If your monitor cannot go below 60 Hz:

  1. Close the game.
  2. Paste this into the File Explorer address bar: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\KONAMI\Castlevania Belmont's Curse
  3. Copy PLAYERPREFS.sav to your desktop (backup).
  4. Open it in Notepad.
  5. Find the entries {"key":"video/vsync","value":…} and {"key":"video/maxfps","value":…}. Delete both, each with the comma after it. If an entry sits right before ], delete the comma before it instead.
  6. Save the file and launch the game.

Do not delete the whole file. You would lose all your settings, and the folder syncs with Steam Cloud, so the old file can come back.

Fix 3: a frame cap in your graphics driver

Set the cap for this game only, not globally:

  • NVIDIA Control Panel: Manage 3D Settings → Program Settings → add the game → Max Frame Rate 60 or 144 and Vertical sync On.
  • NVIDIA App: Graphics → Program Settings → add the game → Max Frame Rate.
  • AMD Adrenalin: Gaming → select the game → turn Enhanced Sync off, Wait for Vertical Refresh Always On.
  • RivaTuner (RTSS): add the game and set a limit of 120 or lower.

Players also report these help: lowering the refresh rate to 120 Hz or 60 Hz for the first launch, verifying game files in Steam (Properties → Installed Files), disconnecting a second monitor and restarting the PC after changing driver settings. On ROG Ally set 120 Hz or lower in Armoury Crate.

There is also a "Start-up black screen fix" mod on Nexus Mods. It holds the game at 60 fps until the main menu appears, then restores your settings. It requires BepInEx. You use it at your own risk. The official fixes above work for most players.

The second common PC problem: the game "sees" a button you are not holding. Menus and the map scroll on their own, sometimes even with every controller unplugged. Players were already reporting this in the demo.

What helps, according to reviews and player reports:

  • Disable or uninstall vJoy (a virtual joystick installed by some wheel and button-mapping tools). In Device Manager it is under "Human Interface Devices". Restart your PC after the change. Games built on the Unity engine have the same known problem with vJoy (reported in the Unity Issue Tracker).
  • Unplug other unusual controllers: wheels, flight sticks, keyboards with a gamepad mode.
  • Turn off Steam Input for this game (Properties → Controller).

KONAMI does not list this bug in its notice. There is no official fix either (as of October 16).

Steam Deck

  • Valve rates the game "Playable": controls and performance are fine, but some text is hard to read. On the Steam Machine the game is "Verified".
  • KONAMI confirms that parts of the interface go off-screen on the Deck and is looking for a fix. Players also report no 1280×800 resolution and frame drops, according to some down to 20 fps. Others play without issues.
  • Steam Deck HQ recommends a 40 fps limit at 80 Hz. We do not know whether they tested the full game or the demo.

The game freezes on the title screen (system language)

On PS5, Xbox and PC the game can get stuck on the title screen after "Save and Quit" when the system language is one of a few languages, mainly Arabic. KONAMI's workaround: switch the system language to another supported one, such as English, and load your save.

When is the patch coming

KONAMI says it is preparing a patch for the black screen, the Steam Deck interface and the language bug. It will announce it when it is ready. No date has been given (as of October 16, 2026). These bugs are why Steam user reviews are "Mixed": is it worth buying.

Sources

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