Capcom is on a tear. For the last half-decade, they’ve played it relatively safe with massive hits like Resident Evil and Monster Hunter, but then they dropped Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess and everything got weird. In a good way. It’s a game that feels like it fell out of a time machine from the PlayStation 2 era, yet it looks like a neon-soaked fever dream of Japanese folklore. If you’ve been looking at the screenshots and wondering what the heck you’re actually supposed to do in this game, you aren't alone. It doesn't fit into a neat little box.
Is it an action game? Sorta. Is it tower defense? Basically.
At its heart, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is about Kagura dance and defilement. You play as Soh, a warrior tasked with protecting a divine maiden named Yoshiro as she purges a mountain of seething, oily corruption. By day, you’re a strategist. You rescue villagers, assign them roles like Woodcutters or Archers, and carve a path through the sludge. By night, the torii gates bleed monsters called Seethe, and the game transforms into a frantic dance of blade-flashing combat and real-time unit management. It’s stressful. It’s beautiful. It’s unlike anything else on the market right now.
The Genre Mashup That Shouldn't Work
Most games try to be one thing. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess tries to be three things at once and somehow sticks the landing. You have the "Day Phase" where the clock is your biggest enemy. You’re running around like a madman, breaking pots for crystals and saving villagers who have been swallowed by the corruption. Every second you spend exploring is a second you aren’t moving Yoshiro toward the gate.
If she doesn't reach the gate before the sun goes down, you’re stuck fighting in the middle of a field with no natural bottlenecks. That’s where the tower defense DNA kicks in. You aren't just building turrets; you’re positioning human beings. You have to think about lines of sight and height advantages. An Archer is useless if he’s standing behind a thicket of trees, but put him on a watchtower and he becomes a god.
Then the sun sets.
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The music shifts from serene flutes to heavy, rhythmic percussion. This is the "Night Phase." You’re controlling Soh in third-person, pulling off combos that look like a deadly ballet. But you can’t win by just swinging your sword. You have to constantly pull up the command menu—which slows time but doesn't stop it—to tell your Woodcutters to fall back or your Shamans to heal. It’s a plate-spinning act. If you focus too much on Soh’s combat, your villagers die. If you focus too much on the villagers, Soh gets swamped by the larger Seethe. It requires a specific kind of mental multitasking that feels incredibly rewarding once it clicks.
Real Japanese Folklore vs. Game Design
Capcom didn't just make up these monsters. The Seethe are deeply rooted in Japanese "Yokai" traditions, but with a body-horror twist that feels distinctly modern. Take the Gashadokuro, the giant skeleton, or the various depictions of hungry ghosts. They don't look like cartoon villains; they look like manifestations of filth and regret. This ties directly into the Shinto-inspired themes of kegare (defilement) and harae (purification).
Everything in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is tactile. When you "clean" a part of the mountain, the colors bleed back into the world. It’s satisfying in the same way power-washing a dirty sidewalk is satisfying.
The game also leans heavily into the concept of "Kagura," the ritual ceremonial dance. Soh’s movements aren't just hacks and slashes. They are rhythmic. They are expressive. Even the UI elements feel like they were painted with a brush onto rice paper. This level of thematic consistency is rare. Usually, a developer picks a theme and slaps it onto a generic gameplay loop. Here, the gameplay is the theme. You are dancing to restore order.
Why People Get Frustrated (and How to Avoid It)
Let’s be honest: the learning curve is a bit of a cliff. A lot of players go into this expecting Devil May Cry and get frustrated when they realize Soh isn't an invincible powerhouse. In Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, Soh is a conductor first and a warrior second.
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One of the biggest mistakes newcomers make is hoarding crystals. Use them. Carve the path early. If you try to save up for the "best" units in the first few stages, you’ll find yourself overwhelmed by basic mobs. Another tip? Don't ignore the "Mazo Talismans." These are equipable items that fundamentally change Soh’s abilities or provide buffs to the villagers. Some of them feel almost broken if used correctly, like the ones that increase crystal drop rates or allow Soh to recover health while standing near Yoshiro.
The game also features a "Base Management" side where you rebuild the villages you’ve saved. This might seem like busywork, but it’s where you get the materials for upgrades. If you skip the rebuilding process, you’ll find the mid-game bosses—like the terrifyingly fast Bukkotsu—almost impossible to beat.
The Technical Brilliance of the RE Engine
It’s wild to think that the same engine that powers the photorealistic Resident Evil 4 Remake is behind this vibrant, stylized world. The RE Engine is clearly a Swiss Army knife. In Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, the engine handles hundreds of individual particles and dozens of on-screen enemies without breaking a sweat. On PS5 and Xbox Series X, the frame rate stays remarkably stable even when the screen is a chaotic mess of magic circles and exploding monsters.
The art direction does a lot of the heavy lifting. Instead of chasing realism, Capcom went for a "living painting" look. The contrast between the dark, oily purple of the corruption and the bright, saturated reds and golds of the purified areas is striking. It’s the kind of game that makes you stop and use the photo mode every ten minutes.
A Masterclass in Niche Appeal
This isn't a game for everyone. It’s weird. It’s specific. It’s demanding. But in an era where big publishers are terrified of taking risks, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a breath of fresh air. It’s a "AA" game with "AAA" polish. It reminds me of the era when Capcom would release experimental titles like Okami or God Hand.
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The game doesn't respect your time in the way a "live service" game does—it doesn't want you to play it forever. It has a story to tell, a mountain to clean, and then it lets you go. There’s something deeply respectable about that.
How to Master the Path
If you’re just starting out, or if you’re stuck on a particularly nasty night, there are a few tactical shifts that can change everything.
- The "Yoshiro Pivot": Don't just leave the Maiden at the back. As the night progresses and you clear waves, use the command menu to move her forward during the night. If the path is clear, gain those extra yards. It saves you massive amounts of time the next day.
- Role Synergy: Never just spam one type of unit. Woodcutters are great for frontline defense, but they need Shamans to keep them alive and Archers to thin out the flying enemies. A balanced squad is always better than a specialized one in the early game.
- Soh’s Guard: Soh’s parry is incredibly generous. If you time it right, you can negate almost all damage and open up enemies for a counter-attack. Practice this on the smaller Seethe until it’s muscle memory.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a rare gem that rewards patience and tactical thinking over raw button-mashing. It’s a vibrant celebration of culture wrapped in a tight, challenging strategy game. Whether you’re playing it on Game Pass or bought it standalone, give it a few hours to "click." Once you understand the rhythm of the dance, you won't want to stop.
Next Steps for Players:
- Prioritize the Thief unit in the early stages; they can dig up hidden caches of crystals that are essential for late-night defenses.
- Focus on upgrading Soh’s "Command" speed first in the skill tree. Being able to re-position your troops faster is more valuable than a 5% increase in sword damage.
- Always check the "Objectives" tab for each stage. Completing specific challenges grants you unique rewards that can't be found anywhere else, including rare Mazo Talismans that change the tide of boss battles.
- Revisit cleared stages. You can go back with your upgraded units to finish tasks you missed, which is the fastest way to farm materials for base reconstruction.