The world needs more crazy games like Kunitsu-Gami

I often think back wistfully to the «good old days» of gaming. Especially the PS2, Xbox and Gamecube era, in which even huge AAA studios ventured into smaller AA projects from time to time. Games with a tight budget and small scope that were loads of fun despite their obvious limitations.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess reminds me of those games. A mix of strategy and hack’n’slash. It feels like a secret cult classic from the PS2 era reimagined for modern consoles. I love it. The world needs more games like Kunitsu-Gami!

Oh, my goddess!

Kunitsu-Gami is one of those games with a gameplay loop that’s difficult to describe. Not because it’s particularly complex, but because it’s weird.

Horrific demons from Japanese mythology have infested a mountain and the villages on it. By day, plant-like organisms grow out of the ground and destroy nature as well as settlements. At night, demons cause chaos and attack innocent villagers. To get rid of the monsters, I, guardian Soh, have to accompany a goddess to the foot of the mountain. The journey to the valley is divided into villages, which act as small levels.

Before I start the fight against monsters in a village at night, I first have to clean up the area during the day. I use my magical sword to remove the demonic infestation that’s taken hold of houses and nature. I also free villagers from disgusting demon cocoons with my katana. Yuck.

I receive crystals for removing the infestation. In turn, I use them as a resource to pave a safe path for my goddess through the infested village. After all, her Highness would never walk on normal ground, tsk. My goal is to lead the holy maiden to an infested torii gate so that she can use her magical powers to completely cleanse the village of demons.

The party starts at sunset

The big problem with the whole thing? The goddess is SO SLOW, and time never stops marching on. At sunset, those cursed torii gates are activated and all kinds of hellspawn crawl out of magical portals with the aim of killing the goddess. She’s so frightened that she can’t move at all, stopping dead in her tracks.

As a divine guardian, I slaughter the monsters with my katana and defend the goddess. Villagers I liberated during the day fight alongside me here. I use magic crystals I collected to transform them into powerful fighters – provided I haven’t used up all the crystals for the titular path of the goddess. At least my crystal count is replenished with every enemy I kill.

Unlike guardian Soh, I don’t control villagers directly, but give them instructions. I can pause the hustle and bustle on-screen at any time to give them orders and strategically position my mini army. The game plays like a mix of tower defence and hack’n’slash. A strange combination, but it’s heaps of fun and feels somehow nostalgic thanks to its quirky uniqueness.

The game keeps getting better

While my strategic options are relatively limited initially, new abilities open up with every mission I play. I’m constantly unlocking new classes for my villagers. My favourites: the giant Sumo Wrestler, a tank that draws enemies towards him, and the Ascetic, who slows down demons with magic spells.

I level up classes with resources I’ve earned, unlocking new skills for them. I also get the opportunity to equip my character with new skills about halfway through the game. The Guardian can learn new fighting styles, combos and even ranged attacks. In addition, there are always new equipable items I can use to trigger special attacks or benefit from passive abilities.

In short, the strategic depth of the tower defence combat and hack’n’slash gameplay increases exponentially over the course of the game without overwhelming me.

The complexity of levels also escalates considerably. If there’s only one path to a gate at the start, later levels consist of several sections and several cursed torii gates from which my goddess is attacked. The cool boss fights also keep me on my toes. Again and again, either the maiden or I die. But I don’t get frustrated about it, on the contrary. Thanks to the flexible upgrade system, I can withdraw skills I’ve earned at any time, invest my points in new skills and try again. Great!

The fact I also have plenty to do between battles is also wonderful. I have to rebuild liberated areas with my villagers. This usually takes time, which only passes by successfully completing a level. I’m making steady progress and am happy about my growing villages. My reward for these repairs consists of valuable resources for permanent upgrades.

Pure chaos and technical weaknesses

The fact the game sometimes degenerates into a huge mess and I often lose track of things is somewhat frustrating. So many enemies, so many villagers, so many effects. Tactical pausing doesn’t help, nor does the overview map. It’s almost unusable with its cryptic symbols and miserable navigation.

Graphically, Kunitsu-Gami impresses with a great art style. Colourful demons and effects craft an almost psychedelic atmosphere. I feel like I’m tripping through Japanese mythology. The superbly realised tilt-shift effect also makes the action look like a miniature diorama. Houses and objects in the game were first made as real miniatures, then 3D-scanned. Awesome!

Technically, the game is solid, nothing more. It runs smoothly on the PS5, but does contain washed-out textures and angular character models. Animations and cutscenes look a little awkward at times. But honestly, these less-than-perfect graphics are also part of the charm in a game like this. After all, Kunitsu-Gami isn’t a highly polished AAA game, but a small project that publisher Capcom released on the side. And I’m really grateful to them for it. More experimental titles like this one are desperately needed in a world full of expensive, generic and repetitive AAA games.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S (Game Pass) and PC.