Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Review (PS5)
Summary: Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a unique action strategy game that basks in its clever and entertaining design. Conquer the mountain and yourself in this courageous dance between good versus evil.
4.6
Altitude Attitude
Cleanse the evil from the mountain and save the villagers from their impending doom! Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is an action strategy game developed and published by Capcom and released on July 19th of 2024. The game pays tribute to Japanese culture and mythology as well as resembles older generation games in multiple ways like style, gameplay, and its intrinsic nature overall. It has the flair of Folklore and Overlord, the softness of Okami, the attitude of Genji: Days of the Blade, and the sensitivity of Nier. It’s sort of a perfect storm of ideas and in the eye of the tornado is a unique experience that is sure to resonate with you. Slice through the Seethe to save the day in this exceptional expedition to rid the summit of impurity.
The game’s premise is straightforward and cuts to the chase. Mt. Kafuku is contaminated by some otherworldly wicked presence. The denizens try their best in safeguarding their home, but provide little challenge for their menacing opponents. You play as Soh, someone who protects the divine maiden, Yoshiro, who has special abilities to deal with this defilement. The creatures are able to wreak more havoc than anyone had thought and Soh and Yoshiro have to retreat after their untimely defeat. Now as Soh, you must protect Yoshiro as you trek up and down the mountain to save villagers and to push back the ever growing control of the hostile creatures known as the Seethe. Follow the pair while they cleanse the land and search for the stolen masks that will help them take down this elevated threat.
None of the characters in the game speak. There is hardly any spoken dialogue at all. Characters’ expressions and actions tell everything that needs to be said. There are some smaller story bits etched here and there that you will come across throughout your adventure, but there is a large focus on the strategic value within the gameplay. You can also earn plaques of enemies that you can view back at your base which has more information about that enemy on it as well as a 3D model you can rotate around.
The game feels great to play. Soh is pretty flexible with their movement, but you will notice that there is some deliberate weight and purpose with their attacks. You can jump to get up on some ledges and the dodge button is set to the L3 button by default which is innately awkward, but is not at all bothersome with how the game plays out. You have your reliable basic attacks as well as dance attacks that cover more of an area so learning how to combo them effectively against the different enemy types works wonders. Besides the controllable character Soh, there is a lot more that you need to successfully manage to be able to complete your mission.
Each level is laid out differently, but the main goal is to let Yoshiro reach the end of the level to perform a ritual to purify the landscape. The game operates on a day and night cycle. During the day everything is peaceful and you must use your time wisely to come up with a plan before everything goes into motion because at night, the Seethe strikes. As Soh, you must carve out a path that Yoshiro slowly walks through. It’s not that simple though since a lot of actions relies on how many crystals you have. Breaking objects and defeating enemies nets you with the valuable crystals that will allow you to create the path for Yoshiro. There are a lot of things you need to balance since the closer Yoshiro is to the goal at the end of the path, the closer she is to the monsters. You can also save villagers and assign them to different roles to help you protect Yoshiro’s slow prance toward peril.
This is where the masks come into play. Each mask is a different role. You can assign a villager as a woodcutter if you need a powerful melee attacker on the frontlines or an archer for ranged attacks or flying enemies. Eventually, you can upgrade these roles to make them more powerful and applicable during certain situations. You can place them anywhere around the level at any time, so it is important to take in the structure of the environment and use what you have to your advantage before night falls. You can also deploy the villagers at the same time like if you want to focus all of your efforts on a larger enemy. The game gives you the rundown of its rules in a concise way and gets more complicated with its set ups and enemy variants.
The Seethe are a gross bunch of exhaustive heaps of entangled violence and they look spectacular. The entire game looks incredible, but the Seethe especially are visually unique and deceptively stunning. Some are low to the ground and slow moving and some are taller and briskly skim over the surface. You will need to be calculated during your scrimmage with the many types of monstrosities. These mutants have inventive ways to cleverly make their way toward Yoshiro so you can never let your guard down when the sun sets.
After an area is purified, you set up camp in the newly decontaminated area. Here, you can rest and switch up your gear before moving on to the next level. You can assign villagers to fix the surrounding damaged area and be rewarded with useful items like Musubi which is used to level up your roles. You can also go back to completed levels to fulfill different goals like breaking all of the pots during that mission or completing it in an allotted time. Completing these different tasks is a good idea if you want an extra edge in battle. Different equipment like Tsuba guards and talismans that give you buffs like an increase in Sol’s max health play a large part in the overall gameplay functionally and provide different strategic builds when going up against peculiar arrangements of the Seethe.
The entirety of the game and its mechanics flow so well together that you get in the groove of methodically arranging everything out and committing to your decisions rather quickly. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is one of those games that is just straight up fun because of how good it feels to play. Other implementations of the games procedures such as having to deplete the resist gauge on enemies, barriers that can be built for protection, recovering health at Torii gates, being able to fast forward time to reach different parts of the day faster, unstoppable attacks, and toxic miasma that emits from Torii gates so you can’t spawn kill the Seethe are all systematically coherent within the design of the game and improves your gaming experience even more.
The graphical style is striking and expressive. Some of the Seethe enemies are surprisingly grotesque such as an early enemy that seems to vomit up their throat. Th eir colors are bright and their movements are eccentric. The world has a painterly aesthetic and varnishes the backdrops with elegant colors and mesmerizing motifs. The many dances that characters perform are beautiful and set the scene of the serene direction the game circulates in. The audio direction is equally amazing with the music popping off immediately with fast energetic drums. The bases have smooth and tranquil music that matches the impressionable vicinity. The PlayStation 5 DualSense controller’s speaker also has some cool audio moments with alarming whispers and Yoshiro’s calls of distress.
Final Thoughts?
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is an extraordinary game with a distinctive style that is exciting to play. The strategic values and constant fluctuations in the gameplay is creative and appealing. The mechanics aren’t anything especially new, but the way the game develops its pieces enhances the overall design and quaintly makes the game its own beast. The game undoubtedly stands out with its loud and compelling graphical style as well as having a superb soundtrack. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is an innovative adventure that is a precipice of design in the gaming space of today. Snuff out the blight and bring peace in this steep climb to victory!
About the Author
Nay Clark Gaming holds a special place in my heart and I never stop talking about video games. I really love all types of games and have an interest in games that have complicated stories and lore because I enjoy untangling the mystery of it all. When I'm not gaming, I unsuccessfully try to control three amazing and incredibly bright kids.
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