Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess balances strategy, action and city building in a whole new way

I expected a lot of things as I completed the game. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess – but I didn’t expect it to feel as relaxing as it is supposed to. This unique action-strategy hybrid has a very specific setup – in each of its levels, set on a single beautiful mountain, Kufuku, you must free besieged villages from a magical contamination, then mobilize rescued villagers to defend their home from demonic attacks. Set in a day-night cycle that runs in real time, it mixes elements of strategy and tower defense with classic Capcom action as your player character Soh uses dancing sword fights to defeat threats alongside his new companions.

It should feel like a race against time—and often does. Each village has a different layout, requiring you to rethink your strategies as you unlock more and more roles for villagers—from axe-wielding lumberjacks who provide effective close-combat defense, to magical ascetics who can’t attack themselves but can hold off enemies for you and your troops. Through a few simple menus (which freeze time when opened), you can choose the roles for your villagers and place them on the map, letting you control the space while using Soh to pull off devastating combos and thin out the herds that will eventually reach your stationed soldiers.

The pace at which the game presents you with new challenges (from new enemy types to unexpected level design to new mechanics) and solutions to them (new villager roles, upgrade trees, and equippable special abilities for Soh) is pleasingly quick, meaning you’ll quickly learn how to fight effectively and find setups that suit your playstyle.

The key to success is balancing all of this with the progression of the maiden Yoshiro, who is both your most powerful weapon and your most vulnerable weak point. Each day you must literally clear a path for Yoshiro to reach the gates where your enemies spawn – when she reaches it, she can perform a dance that seals the gate and your victory. The closer she gets, however, the more vulnerable she is to attack – as Soh, you can die as many times as you like, but when Yoshiro’s HP runs out, you fail the level.

All of this makes for a stressful experience – but between these struggles for survival there is a human heart that Path of the Goddess which I learned to love in my two hours with the early game. When you finally liberate a village, you permanently unlock it as a base of operations. From here, you can begin making repairs and turning these places back into the idyllic villages they once were. With each level you complete, more work is completed – and the more levels you complete, the more villages you have at your disposal.

It gives the game a rhythm you might not expect – each stage is a bite-sized battle, constantly switching between exploration, strategy elements, and action. Completing stages can lead you to a subsequent boss battle that lets you test your knowledge in ever new ways – from learning how archers can control the field to having your villagers run off to turn on lamps in the dark, expanding your area of ​​effect in which to fight effectively. And between these battles, you return to your growing number of villages, trading upgrades for Soh, improving your villagers’ stats, and repairing buildings for resources and cosmetic rewards.

I got used to this rhythm very quickly and I quickly realized that Path of the Goddess is great for binge gaming, but is also perfect for short play sessions. Jump into a level, repair a village, face a boss – and come back later for more. In a gaming landscape where a lot of emphasis is placed on investing your free time in games that are constantly evolving and constantly moving the finish line, it’s refreshing to see Path of the Goddess It’s quite clear how you can take it at your own pace, and because it offers such unexpected gameplay at its core, I’m sure I’ll keep coming back.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will be released on July 19 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows PC – and will be available with Game Pass from day one.