Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a action-strategy game developed and published by Capcom. The game was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on July 19, 2024. Upon release, it received generally positive reviews from critics.

Gameplay
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is an action-strategy game played from a third-person perspective, and features elements from real-time strategy and tower defense games. In the game, the player assumes control of Soh, who is tasked to protect a divine maiden named Yoshiro who must "purge and cleanse" villages of "defilement" and return the legendary Mt. Kafuku to peace.

Gameplay is divided into two different parts. Daytime is the preparatory phase in which Soh must explore the village and rescue villagers, as well as setting up various contraptions. At night, evil spirits named the "Seethe" will invade the village from Torii gates, and the player must ally with the rescued villagers to defend Yorshiro from hostile attacks until sunrise. Players can strategically place villagers in tactical positions, and assign them with different roles. For instance, a woodcutter is a powerful melee attacker, while an archer can provide ranged support. Players can also further equip Soh and the villagers with one of twelve masks that also grant them divine powers. The position and the roles of the villagers can also be changed during combat. If Soh becomes severely injured in the game, he will enter "Spirit mode", allowing him to continue issuing commands to other villagers.

Development and release
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is developed by Capcom Development Division 1, the studio behind games such as Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. Shuichi Kawata, who previously worked on Shinsekai: Into the Depths, is the game's lead director. Development of the game lasted for more than four years. Like Shinsekai and Ōkami, the game was heavily inspired by Japanese folklores. Soh's combat was inspired by an ancient ceremonial form of dance named kagura, while enemy design was influenced by Japanese yokai. The game is powered by Capcom's in-house RE Engine.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess was officially revealed by Capcom in June 2023. The game is scheduled to release for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on July 19, 2024, and will be available at no additional cost for Xbox Game Pass subscribers at launch. Players who pre-ordered the game will receive additional in-game items and an artbook.

In July 2024, the Capcom Next Summer livestream video on YouTube announced that a demo for the game was released with a collaboration alongside Ōkami until July 17, using costumes, weapons and music from the game.

Collaboration
Capcom worked with Ningyo-Joruri Bunraku Theater supervising director Master Kanjuro Kiritake III to direct a bunraku prequel to the game. It was released via Youtube on July 18, 2024 titled Ceremony of the Deity: The Maiden’s Destiny.

According to Tairoku Nozoe, who wrote the script, it was the idea of Shuichi Kawata, game director, to have a prequel based on a bunraku due to Kawata being a fan. Master Kanjuro agreed to help Kawata plan the bunraku despite his hesitation due to not having a concept idea in mind.

Reception
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess received "generally favorable" reviews from critics, according to review aggregator website Metacritic. It has scored 79 in Metacritic with its Ps5 version, 82 in its PC's version and 84 in its Xbox Series version.