Back in the day, when games were cheaper to make and experimentation was rife, Capcom was one of the leaders in that department. It’s easy to forget how much that Japanese powerhouse was putting out during the PlayStation 2 era. While I am inclined to appreciate their output more than anything else these days, I’ve longed for games that experiment a little bit more than experiences like Resident Evil and Monster Hunter. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess feels like the Capcom of old, in a good way, and while it isn’t perfect, it does earnest work in fusing two genres to offer up something totally different.
In Kunitsu-Gami, you play as Soh. They’re a warrior tasked with protecting a divine maiden named Yoshiro as she works to cleanse the defilement brought to the holy mountain of Kafuku by a demonic presence called the Seethe. It’s a simplistic storyline that helps to give context for why Soh and Yoshiro are making their way down the mountain, but there’s not much surprise to be had here. The story is clearly the lowest priority for the developers here, as most of the story is told through optional collectibles, and while there is some cinematics, they have a minimal presence here.
Despite this, Kunitsu-Gami is still a great game and plays incredibly well. It’s a unique combination of action and strategy, with the gameplay being split into two distinct but obvious halves. Tower defence veterans will understand what’s happening here – during the day, Soh can cleanse the area to earn crystals, which can then be used to assign rescued villagers a combat role. During the day, Yoshiro ritualistically dances towards a demon gate to cleanse it, but during the night, she stops and needs protection from the Seethe.
At first glance, this setup is similar to any tower defence game. But everything else that is unique about Kunitsu-Gami helps it to stand apart. For one, Capcom has drawn on their experience with action games to impart Soh with a complete set of moves and abilities, giving you much more agency in defending Yoshiro. While the goddess is being attacked and villagers protect her, you can use various skills to fill any gaps in your defence. Too many melee villagers? Use Soh’s archery skills to fill that gap. It’s an elegant way to keep things interesting rather than just watching battles play out like you would in other strategy games.
Of course, it’s not just about Soh either. Each stage has a set number of villagers to save, each of which can be specialized into a specific role in exchange for the crystals you earn from cleansing each level. There’s already a degree of strategy here – choosing how to spend your crystals – but as you progress through the game, there are twelve roles to choose from. Some are as simple as the woodcutters, who act as simple melee attackers. In contrast, others lay down buffs or debuffs to make your defence easier. While some roles are underutilized, there’s a big enough mix to complement your playstyle with Soh in whatever way you wish.
The strategy element comes into play when considering how many choices must be made when preparing your defence. Every choice you make will cost you elsewhere. Whether it be crystals to specialize your villagers or time to repair specific structures with your on-site carpenter. The carpenter can also be directed to rebuild structures that’ll assist in your defence – whether it be towers that expand the range of your ranged units or barriers that’ll slow the flow of the Seethe. Choosing which structures to repair means you won’t fix others, and it can often also be the difference between a successful run and a disastrous one.
The Seethe are more than just your regular demons, though. Around twenty-four different types offer a wide variety of enemies you’ll encounter on your path of cleansing. Each is inspired by and designed after yokai from Japanese folklore, and the variety helps ensure that the action never gets old across the whole campaign. Like the villagers, some are simple melee attackers, but others are more complex, limiting Soh’s abilities to command the villagers or debuff them entirely. While this might seem unremarkable on paper, the unique and eclectic design of the Seethe helps them stand out.
Such a design philosophy dovetails beautifully with the boss encounters that Soh will come up against. They’re all unique and require some degree of strategy or team management to defeat effectively. Most are challenging but not brutally tricky, but others aren’t afraid to change the formula to keep things fresh. For example, one of the bosses doesn’t even let you bring villagers with you, requiring you to battle with Soh in a one-on-one fight. They’re an excellent way to break up an already well-paced campaign.
And I say that with no shred of irony. At first glance, I was sceptical as to whether Kunitsu-Gami might become tiring after a few levels or even the generous demo released earlier this month. However, the campaign continually introduces new elements or gimmicks to keep the formula fresh from beginning to end. Whether introducing a new enemy to a standard encounter or making Soh commandeer a boat through Seethe-occupied, Kunitsu-Gami leverages a substantial degree of enemy variety and objective design to provide a well-paced and enjoyable campaign.
However, other elements of the game may be interpreted differently. With each stage you cleanse, said stage can be revisited as a “base” for your team. When exploring each base, the villagers you’ve saved in the stage prior can be assigned to rebuild structures as needed. These serve as de facto side quests in the game, with the rebuild progressing as you finish missions by either replaying them or pushing forward. Completed structures reward a few things, be it buffing talismans, experience to upgrade, or lore drops or sweets to gift Yoshiro. Only two of these things arguably impact the gameplay, so your mileage may vary regarding whether you’d find value in replaying missions to earn them.
Another issue I’m not even sure is worth bringing up is the challenges system. Each level has three challenges that can be completed to earn extra experience points to upgrade Soh and the villagers. But these challenges aren’t revealed until you have finished the level. If you complete them on your first run, you’ll still be rewarded for them, but it does feel like a way to artificially force replayability rather than providing a fun challenge for those who might want to min-max their first run. However, some of these challenges are clearly unattainable until you revisit the level with better teams, so maybe I’m making a big deal out of nothing.
While I’ve left it to the last thing to speak about, Kunitsu-Gami’s strong presentation further demonstrates the strengths of the ever-versatile RE Engine. While it never quite reaches the photorealistic heights of the Resident Evil games, the solid artistic direction makes up for it. Drawing strong influence from Japanese art styles like Ukiyo-e, Kunitsu-Gami’s creative direction has a great fantasy feel highlighted with bright and vibrant colours. The result is a style that, if you screenshot any frame with a character or enemy, could look like a piece of artwork. And that’s even before considering the game’s strong performance, supported by a buttery smooth aptly named 60fps performance mode.
Such a similarly strong sense of presentation is bolstered by the game’s original score, which employs traditional Japanese instruments to sell the tone the game is going for. Instruments like the shamisen, koto and taiko drums do great work elevating the battles in a way that’s authentic to the time period the game draws from. The quieter tracks that play during the lighter base management moments are nothing short of beautiful, either. An unnecessary but appreciated touch is that your villagers will all dance to the music as they wait for the Seethe to approach them, giving Kunitsu-Gami’s already strong presence a great sense of personality, too.
And that’s what sets Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess apart from other games of this ilk. It takes some pretty typical elements of two very well-trodden genres and spits out something vibrant, colourful and unique with personality. And that’s why, even if you’re not typically a fan of these genres, I’d still recommend Kunitsu-Gami. It’s well worth your time and something we need right now in games – something different.