Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess has been totally ignored and that makes me sad

Its merits aren’t immediately obvious, but its far better than most reviews gave it credit for

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess / Capcom

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a tough game to describe, and that’s the problem. Nobody is sure if they want to play an action-RTS hybrid — they don’t even know what that means, and I can’t blame them. The gorgeous artwork is distinctly Japanese and relegates the English title of the game to tiny text. The story is steeped so deeply in Japanese mythology and folklore that, unless you’re a big weeb like me, you probably won’t have a single clue what’s going on as you play. 

It’s a tough sell, top to bottom. Worse yet, its merits aren’t immediately obvious. It took over five hours of gameplay for the whole thing to finally “click” for me, and that’s more time than most people are willing to spend waiting for something to make sense. I certainly didn’t give the latest Avatar movie that much time.

Read more: Kunitsu-Gami Path of the Goddess review – Capcom's experimental side

If you play Kunitsu-Gami like an action game, the game will punish you at set moments. If you play like it’s strictly an RTS, the game will punish you again. To find the way forward you must complete stages, challenges, and repair villages to earn more resources to upgrade your player character and villager units. You can refund your resources anytime, allowing you to build a custom team and plan for each encounter you embark on.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess / Capcom

Torii gates cover a sacred mountain with defilement, and a brave young Shrine Maiden must make her way around the mountain, purifying each gate, before ascending the central steps to cleanse the mountain permanently. With each gate she purifies, she absorbs the defilement, corrupting herself in turn. It’s a noble sacrifice, and as a result, the entire game is tinged with sadness. You are returning life to the mountain as animals and people thrive in the villages you restore, but you’re also losing your only companion throughout the whole experience. In each stage, your mission is to protect her, but ultimately, you’re helping her die.

It left an impression on me, but not just because of the story. Kunitsu-Gami’s action-RTS gameplay is unlike any other game I’ve played. It was most comparable to something like Pikmin 3 – allowing me to pause and tell units where to position themselves – but even then, there’s genuine action combat. You can dodge, parry, unleash special skills, and more. The villagers are the first line of defense, but you are the final one. Should our precious Shrine Maiden be under attack, or if there’s a boss encounter, it’s almost always on you. Tactics and classes for your villagers can make a big difference, but you won’t be able to sit back and relax while your team takes care of things.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess / Capcom

To enjoy Kunitsu-Gami you need to be a bit of a weeb, you need to enjoy action combat, and you need to revel in upgrading and unleashing units to do battle. Oh, and even then, you might need a few hours for the gameplay loop to really settle in. It’s a tall order, it really is, I understand that, but it’s brilliant. The story hit for me in the end, but the loop of repairing villages and destroying Yokai is what kept me playing to that point.

The worst part is, you’re probably reading this because you’ve played Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess already, and you want to see what someone else thought. And that’s no good because I really need more people to play this game for the first time. It’s one of the most refreshing games of the year – in a year where Slitterhead released, mind – and far better than most reviewers gave it credit for. If you want a unique gaming experience to enjoy over the Christmas break, play Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.