Capcom have been on a roll in recent years with their major franchises taking centre stage in either remake or sequel form. It was therefore quite refreshing seeing a brand-new title from them being announced last year June. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess looked quite intriguing from the reveal trailer but not much else was known about it other than the fact that it featured demons and a katana wielding masked hero.

Fast forward to July 2024 and we’ve finally managed to get a taste of what Capcom’s been cooking. And let me tell you, this is a tasty meal for sure. So what exactly is Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess about and is it worth playing?



Players in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will take on the role of Soh, a guardian or guide tasked with protecting the shrine maiden Yoshiro. The game kicks off with demonic creatures pouring forth from a Torii gate atop Mount Kafuku as a result of dark corruption festering. This corruption spread due to mankind’s polluting activities upsetting the balance of nature on the mountain. Soh, Yoshiro and some villagers face off against the demon hordes known as the Seethe but ultimately fail and are pushed back before Yoshiro gets a chance to perform a rite of cleansing.

The game revolves around defeating Seethe, collecting “Masks” which imbue villagers with special abilities and guiding Yoshiro to Torii gates to purify them of the Seethe corruption.

Playing as Soh, you will be tasked with guiding Yoshiro down the mountain while cleansing various regions and villages before finally returning to the summit to restore peace to Mount Kafuku. The game revolves around defeating Seethe, collecting “Masks” which imbue villagers with special abilities and guiding Yoshiro to Torii gates to purify them of the Seethe corruption.



Controlling Soh is fairly straightforward with movement being fast and fluid. Players can run, jump, slice, dodge and issue commands to villagers via a strategic view that’s triggered with the press of a button. As you collect masks by defeating strong boss-level Seethe, you’ll unlock more roles for your villagers to be assigned to. For example, you can assign a villager to be an Archer or a Woodcutter and later on in the game, you’ll gain access to more complex roles that augment your capabilities when in battle.

Strategy is a key component of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess since you’ll have to control Soh while carefully keeping an eye on Yoshiro on her journey towards the Torii gates within levels. You’ll have to carve a path through the darkness for Yoshiro to traverse to reach a Torii gate while a day and night cycle occurs. During the day, you can explore a region and repair structures or contraptions and purify ensnared villagers which can then join you in your battle. Day time is therefore quite precious for preparing for the horrors to come during the nighttime when the Seethe pour forth from the Torii gates.



Nighttime is where all the real action takes place and you’ll have to protect Yoshiro from waves of Seethe enemies until daybreak. This is easier said than done with various Seethe enemies being quite challenging to deal with. Thankfully though, Soh is quite capable of hacking and slashing his way through enemies and has the villagers to rely on too. Later levels are quite dastardly with the types of enemies and the number of them thrown at you. You will have to pay careful attention to both your villagers, Yoshiro and yourself when traversing areas so as to prevent anyone from dying.

Strategy is a key component of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess since you’ll have to control Soh while carefully keeping an eye on Yoshiro on her journey towards the Torii gates within levels.

Strategically selecting the right role of a villager is essential to victory in numerous levels because of the type of Seethe you may be fighting. Flying Seethe cannot be hit by Woodcutter villagers and will require ranged Archers to take them out. Some Seethe are also quite resilient and may require quite a beating before finally dissipating.



The mix of both strategy and full-on action gameplay is what makes Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess so much fun. Controlling Soh, you can use a variety of sword slash combos to deal damage as well as use “Tsuba Guard” powers which are effectively special abilities to do specific things. Equipping the right talisman for the job further enhances the game’s strategic aspects since you can opt to augment your villagers damage output or rely on pulling off flashy attacks with Soh himself.

There’s quite a lot of variation within levels too with some levels having contraptions that can be repaired that add additional strategic aspects to consider. Taiko drums, traps, raised platforms, cannons and more exist and these can be critical for keeping Yoshiro or yourself alive during the nighttime Seethe attacks.



Additionally, upon purifying Torii gates, Soh and Yoshiro will establish base camps as they progress down the mountain cleansing it from the Seethe corruption. Back at the bases, players can upgrade their villager’s masks and roles as well as upgrade Soh himself using “Musubi” that’s collected from completing levels or tasks.

The mix of both strategy and full-on action gameplay is what makes Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess so much fun.

This brings me to one of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess’s flaws. The game can be quite challenging and some levels require you to go back and replay earlier levels to complete the bonus objectives so that you can earn upgrades or upgrade materials. Repairing structures in the base also require time to pass and the quickest way to do this is by replaying an earlier level. A layer of repetitiveness can be felt a few hours into the game but thankfully because of the way the game has been structured, this is alleviated somewhat with variation in the level design.



Unlocking more of Soh’s capabilities also introduces a lot more fun to the game and the progression system implemented here is very rewarding. Commanding villagers reminded me of a Capcom game from the PS2 era known as Chaos Legion. In that game players would summon various monsters with specific roles to attack enemies.

In Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess you’re effectively doing something very similar with assigning roles to villagers and then directing them on the battlefield. If you played any of the Devil May Cry games, Soh’s hacking and slashing will feel quite familiar to you. His attacks however are based around more flowery dance-like sword techniques.



Graphically Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess looks beautiful with an art style reminiscent of Monster Hunter Rise mixed with Okami. Capcom also included a photo mode here and it is great fun using it to take screenshots of Seethe or Soh’s flashy techniques.

Commanding villagers reminded me of a Capcom game from the PS2 era known as Chaos Legion.

Powered by the RE Engine, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess isn’t exactly mind-blowingly gorgeous since it’s more on the artistic side of things but when the effects ramp up, the game sure is a visual feast for the eyes. Seethe designs are also fascinating and some are really quite creepy, drawing inspiration from Japanese Yokai. Boss enemy designs in particular really stand out and taking them down feels incredibly satisfying.



When it comes to the story, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess uses cutscenes in levels to show story events to you. All the lore and other storytelling is done via in-game item descriptions and there’s barely any voice acting in the game except for a few one liners from NPCs. The game’s story therefore takes a backseat to the action but if you take the time to read the lore entries, you won’t regret it. It’s enjoyable learning about the origins of some Seethe especially given how unique their designs are.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is Capcom at their finest doing something new. It’s highly reminiscent of the PS2 era of video gaming where Capcom experimented with different things that birthed some of their most well-known franchises we’re used to today. Yes, the game can be quite repetitive at times but there’s just something about it that kept me coming back for more.

The Devil May Cry-esque demon slaying and the strategic tower defence-like assignment of villagers to protect Yoshiro is addictive. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess may not be everyone’s cup of tea and it might seem formulaic to some but damn, Capcom really have crafted an enjoyable game here. It seamlessly blends so many genres together and the resulting mixture has that distinct Capcom flavour to it that I love.

*PS5 Review code provided by Capcom