During its initial reveal in late 2023, the internet, myself included, quickly penned Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess as an experimental title reminiscent of Capcom from the PlayStation 2 era, with games like Onimusha and Okami coming to mind.
After playing Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, I can say the statement above still rings true, aptly conveying my experience with the game. From its unique amalgam of genres to its cryptic and intentionally sparse dialogue, Path of the Goddess is a rare and shining example of a big studio taking a risk in a landscape where experimental video games are seldom seen (At least, from AAA studios).
For the uninitiated, which, in all honesty, should be most of those reading this review, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess takes place in a fictional mountain setting set during what appears to be the Edo period. The painterly, Ukiyo-e-inspired aesthetic of the game blends lush and pastoral elements found in nature against hauntingly beautiful demons ripped straight out of Japanese mythology. The crux of the story revolves around the player restoring the villages and outposts that dot the mountain by aiding the titular Goddess on her pilgrimage against the defilement that plagues the otherwise picturesque setting.
“Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a rare and shining example of a big studio taking a risk in a landscape where experimental video games are seldom seen.”
With the 12 greater demons unleashed upon the lands, each holding a precious aspect of the Goddess in the form of precious masks, the player must guide the Goddess throughout the mountainside, reclaiming what is rightfully hers. In-game, acquiring a mask grants the player a new unit or class that can be deployed in battle. Classes in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess range from the usual suspects, such as the woodcutter, a standard, short-ranged attacking unit, to more exotic and situational units, such as the Sumo Wrestler and Thief, the latter of which is best reserved for daytime excursions that see them unearth buried treasure that can sometimes be found on the map.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess features a day and night cycle, with battles taking place during the night phase while the daytime tasks players in first getting rid of the defilement and freeing trapped villagers, which bolster your units, repairing traps and other contraptions, such as barriers that slow down enemy units, archer posts, AoE buffing zones and more.
The primary goal in completing stages in Path of the Goddess boils down to clearing a path to the main Torii Gate, which acts as the spawn point for enemy demons. Eventually, the game introduces multiple gates, requiring the player to carefully consider the best choke points available to them to fend off the demon onslaught better as they try and get to the Goddess.
Clearing the path forward requires crystals, which can be earned by cleansing the defilement, slaying demons, and freeing villagers. Crystals are your main currency when in-battle or during the day when in an action stage. Crystals can be used to assign different classes to the rescued villagers, in addition to when you want to change an assigned class, such as after using a thief to uncover hidden loot, but before night falls, in order to better utilize your available units for battle.
Early on, managing your crystal distribution isn’t a big deal. However, as the game progresses, keeping track of your crystals becomes imperative, such as an instance in which I made it to the end of a section within a particular level, cleansing the path forward straight to the Torii Gate but running out of crystals just shy of getting to cleanse the gate before night fell, resulting in placing the Goddess in a terrible spot, forcing me to restart the stage.
Thankfully, later stages that introduce multiple Torii Gates will save your progress as you get through them, but mistakes like the above will still require a restart to better plan before retrying. Stages that feature multiple gates also feature a minigame in which the player must aid the Goddess in cleansing the gate, which results in healing any damage done to the Goddess before proceeding deeper into the level.
“In many ways, like its non-traditional presentation, playing Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess itself involves a lot of experimentation.”
In many ways, like its non-traditional presentation, playing Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess itself involves a lot of experimentation, some of which comes with just learning the game, which early on can feel somewhat clunky but later transforms into more of a need of wanting to utilize your units better, effectively plan routes and find all hidden items, such as the equipable charms that can be earned by freeing the ten villagers that occupy each stage.
With its focus on bolstering units that ultimately do the bulk of the fighting, the combat prowess of the player is limited to a normal and heavy attack, plus a special skill that is tied to a cooldown, which can be either be an attack or AoE buff/debuff, tied to an equipped charm, which the game features a wide variety of, granting the player a ton of range when it comes to their bonus skills.
Outside of combat, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess features an emphasis on rebuilding liberated stages, which in-game translates to spending resources, such as the number of units required for a given project, having enough materials, all in an effort to rebuild sections of the village or outpost, with bonus rewards granted once an area is completely restored. Learning what sections to repair first can be significant, as certain regions reward the player with a special currency used exclusively to level up unlocked units, granting them higher tiers of skills and abilities, ultimately making them stronger in battle.
The constant back-and-forth of managing units, repairing the villages during the day, and engaging in battles at night creates a truly unique gameplay loop, making Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess stand out beyond its striking aesthetic and setting.
Ultimately, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess won’t be for everyone. Still, if you’re a longtime fan of Capcom and pine for the days of their more unique titles or just want to try something that truly feels different, then Path of Goddess should definitely not be missed.
