While Castlevania has had several 3D outings since the series began in 1987, it's typically a lot more common today to see game developers drawing influence from the series's 2D entries; games like the original Castlevania trilogy on the NES, Symphony of the Night, and the portable games for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS
But recently, we've stumbled across an interesting project, called Night Hazard, which appears to be bucking this trend, promoting itself as a "love letter" to some of the more divisive titles in the series, like Castlevania 64, Legacy of Darkness, Lament of Innocence, and Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.
Night Hazard is the passion project of an indie developer named Unholy_Malphas (of Holy Sword Studio), who recently took to Twitter/X to share a short video of their game, alongside a request for Castlevania fans to help spread the news of their game. Looking at the early footage of the game, it has a pretty beautiful retro-inspired aesthetic, which seems to borrow more heavily from the N64 Castlevania games, boasting dramatic skyboxes, low-poly textures, and simple level geometry.
The gameplay, meanwhile, is described as slightly closer in style to the PS2 game Curse of Darkness, featuring a combat system that becomes more like a hack 'n' slash platformer the more you upgrade your character.
Set in a dying and tormented world, Night Hazard tasks players with becoming the Unholy Knight Malphas, an unforeseen savior who must face the unimaginable horrors that have usurped humanity and now command the realm. Exploring the dark and twisted land, with an armoury of different weapons at your disposal, you'll find yourself fighting skulls, imps, and undead knights, while also uncovering unsettling NPCs and secrets hiding behind breakable walls.
The game is available to wishlist now on Steam, with the developer anticipating the title to launch in late 2026 at the earliest.