Kunitsu-Gami:Path of the Goddess is a game developed by Capcom and is soon to be released on July 19th of this year. It is a blend between tower defense with the hack N slash genres which at first doesn’t sound like something that could be a good combination but Capcom has shown how well it can blend and create an experience for players of both genres to enjoy.
From the various outlets and game reviewers who received an early copy it’s safe to say the game deserves its praise. It sits at 79% at the time of writing this article on Metacritic but its more than likely that number is going to go up.
It is developed by Capcom Development Division 1, the people who worked on the Resident Evil and Devil May Cry games and the gameplay elements shown clearly reflect the mechanics and combat shown in Kunitsu-Gami, the game is also developed in the RE engine which is showing itself to be one of the most versatile engines for Capcom as most of their titles are being made in it. It was first revealed by Capcom in June of 2023 and the recent summer games fest had a short trailer on the game as well.
What Do You Mean “Blend” Of Tower Defense And Hack N Slash?
It is exactly what the title says, the game shows a masterclass of genre blending of the two seemingly opposite categories on the spectrum. The game manages to make it seem like at one point you are playing a hack N slash somewhat akin to a smaller version of Devil May Cry on a small arena complete with a skill tree that features, parries, quick attacks, stun executions, improved strategy commands and a whole host of other skills for your character and of course button combos.
The whole premise of the game is to cleanse the area of Mount Kufuku from the demons invading it by cleansing and defending the surrounding villages at which point you can also command them. At this point the tower defense part of the game comes into play, rescuing the villages helps in unlocking different characters who eventually join you in combat such as archers, wrestlers, spearmans, warriors etc. Assigning these roles are at the cost of the game’s currency which are also awarded upon rescuing villages and finding hidden treasures throughout the map, this tests the players’ ability to manage resources to help in rescuing other villages to gain more currency and thus more characters.
The levels themselves seem to be extremely varied along with the way to complete them. Such a level requires you to only use your commandeering skills to purify a village rather than engaging the enemies yourself. The bosses themselves are varied, each one having a unique gimmick associated with it forcing you to utilize your characters which ensure that the fights themselves don’t fully become a hack N slash.
When not in combat, there are other things to do such as commanding the villagers to rebuild the village with defenses and unique construction jobs rewarding the player with the currency needed when assigning roles. Of course there is the simple delight of petting the village cat or dog as a way of relaxing after a night of bloodshed.
Conclusion: The Game Is Amazing But Not Flawless
The general gameplay loop of combat, defend and rebuild is made to be satisfying enough but the flaws of the game start to leak through, for example the skill tree itself is only unlocked after purifying the 6th village which is considered the halfway point of the game. This makes it sort of tedious to go through 5 villages each with more and more difficult areas and bosses using the same set of combat strategies when in other games the skill tree is presented from the beginning to allow players to choose any skill they want and play around that. Another point of contention is that the skill tree also has the ability to issue basic commands to the villagers recruited. While unlocking the villagers comes in early in the game the ability to make them follow basic commands comes much later which is not ideal to get halfway through the game rather than from the beginning.
If developers decide to change the point at which players receive the much needed skill tree then the game could easily reach the high 90s in metacritic. Since the game is almost there is giving what it was intended to give. Players receive a healthy mix of hack N slash and Tower defense with the ability to carry over everything in new game plus to experience everything in a new light.
