Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess: 5 Tips for Starting the Game
Capcom’s new game Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a fun mix of hack-and-slash action and strategy, wrapped in Japanese mythology and historical culture. But that blend of different genres can prove a bit complex early on in the game, as players are thrown into the mechanics and day-night cycle from the get-go. Here are five tips to help players get started in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.
In Kunitsu-Gami, players control Soh, a spiritual warrior protecting the Maidan, and Yoshiro, a priestess dedicated to cleansing the demonic contamination from all of the villages on her home mountain. Each village is its own stage, consisting of a start and end point: During the day, players must guide Yoshiro to one or more of the contaminated Torii gates, which, when night falls, release a flood of demonic creatures known as Seethe.
It takes some time to get the hang of that day-night cycle. During the day, players guide Soh around the stage, purifying various desecrated points to earn crystals (in-game currency) and freeing villagers from their cocoon prisons. Soh can then spend crystals to assign villagers combat roles to fight the Seethe after night falls – but be careful to save some crystals for Yoshiro, who’ll consume them during her march to purify the gates at the end of the stage.
Between stages, players can revisit completed stages to assign freed villagers to perform repairs and earn rewards, as well as equip various combat skills and talismans for various passive effects. You can also upgrade your villager combat roles with Musubi, a rarer in-game currency earned by performing the aforementioned village repairs or completing challenges while playing stages or defeating bosses.
Villagers can be assigned to one of several combat roles, from melee woodsmen and ranged archers to treasure-unearming thieves and others. You’ll unlock more combat roles as you defeat more bosses, which you’ll encounter after completing their respective stages.
This is a basic overview of Kunitsu-Gami’s gameplay, but here are some tips for when you start the game.
Keep Yoshiro moving throughout the day cycle
When you enter a village and start a stage, it’s easy to run out and purge every corruption point (getting them all rewards you with a new talisman), free every villager, and prepare for the demonic onslaught when night falls. Just remember to get Yoshiro moving before you do so: stand in front of her and hold the interact button (Square on PS4/PS5; X on Xbox One/Xbox One S/X) to “create a path” for her to walk through on her way to the main gate.
If you forget to get Yoshiro moving, you may have to survive another night or more if she doesn’t make enough progress on her march toward the demon-spewing gates. You start each stage with a few crystals, so use a few to cut a chunk of her path before you rush out to clear the village, and remember to come back later to keep her moving.
The player can spend crystals to assign villagers combat roles, such as the melee woodcutter (yellow outfit) and the ranged archer (blue outfit).
Balance your crystal budget, even in battle
Since you’ll be using crystals to set Yoshiro on her path and to assign combat roles to villagers, you’ll need to balance those needs. Don’t worry about the latter during the day—just get Yoshiro moving and head out to clean up the village. You’ll earn a batch of crystals each time you purify one of the corruption pillars surrounding the village, as well as a small amount for attacking the corrupted leafy plants that regenerate each morning for a more reliable supply of crystals.
But you also get crystals for defeating Seethe enemies at night, which will definitely help you clear more of Yoshiro’s path in the morning, but is even more useful while enemies are still coming. Yes, you can wait until nightfall to assign combat roles to your villagers. This can be useful for changing up your strategy on the go—for example, assigning someone to be a thief during the day to dig up treasure (which can contain a wealth of crystals), then reassigning them to a combat role at night. More advanced combat roles for villagers cost more crystals, so you may want to wait until you collect more crystals from defeated Seethe.
After defeating bosses, players unlock new villager combat roles. From left to right, starting next to Yoshiro is the enemy-slowing Ascetic, then on the other side of Soh is the melee woodcutter, ranged archer, and finally the tanky sumo.
Replay levels for more rewards
After you play a level, you’ll see how well you did on completing a set of three hidden challenges—or a boss, if you beat them within a time limit. It’s a little unfair, but there are other reasons you might want to return to a level. Each village level has an aforementioned sunken treasure (or more) half-submerged in the dirt; you’ll need a villager assigned to the role of a thief, which you unlock after defeating the game’s third boss. Just remember to move the thief villager directly over the chest to have him dig it up.
Each stage has one or more of the more valuable black treasure chests, which often contain talismans or even combat scrolls. Later stages will place some of these in hard to reach places that require certain upgrades to Soh’s combat scrolls. Yes, you will eventually be able to upgrade Soh in addition to the village combat scrolls, making it more important to revisit stages for Musubi rewards.
If you return to a level later, you can complete challenges you couldn’t complete the first time, such as assigning villagers multiple roles. Other, more difficult challenges, such as taking no damage, are easier after you unlock and equip certain talismans.
At the end of each stage, Priestess Yoshiro will cleanse the Torii Gate of demonic defilement, readying the village to be rebuilt.
Repairing villages between stages
After you’ve liberated your first village, the game will guide you to revisit it to perform repairs. This is pretty straightforward, as you assign the villagers you liberated during the battle phase to different parts of the village to repair. There’s not too much strategy involved here, though you may want to opt for the repairs that give you villager-enhancing Musubi instead of the lore-filled Ema Plaques. You’ll want to complete all of the repairs, as returning to Yoshiro’s tent afterwards will grant you permanent rewards, such as expanding your crystal cap.
Repairs only occur after you’ve performed one or more activities, such as playing (or replaying) a level or defeating a boss (each repair site will tell you how long it will take). The trick is to remember to return to villages between these activities — collect rewards, perform more repairs, and then move on to the next level or boss fight.
You will have to go back to the villages anyway to make changes to Soh’s combat skills and talismans, as well as upgrade the villagers and eventually Soh’s skills.
The builder may be tasked with creating platforms from which villagers can attack, and traps to slow down enemies.
Upgrade villagers and deploy them according to the peculiarities of each phase
When spending Musubi upgrades on villager combat roles, keep in mind that they gain enhanced abilities at ranks 3 and 6, including special abilities that stagger enemies, attack multiple enemies at once, or extend the range of support role abilities. But it’s wise to focus on the archers, as they feel particularly powerful with their long range and ability to hit flying targets. They’re also quite affordable at 50 crystals, and they synergize well with tankier village combat roles you unlock later.
Know where your roles fit best in a level, usually with melee units leading and ranged units following. No two levels are the same, some split Seethe’s flood into lanes, while others have multiple gates that send enemies at Yoshiro from multiple directions. Players will need to divide their attention with Soh running back and forth, especially as stronger demons are summoned that take time to wear down and defeat. You’ll need to position your units wisely so that they can be left alone for longer periods of time.
Stages can also have various traps and tools that can be built during the day phase. A special NPC, the Builder, accompanies Soh and Yoshiro and can be assigned to build these structures – you simply need to approach their foundations and assign the Builder. You may not be able to build them all before night falls, but they’ll help hold back the enemy horde in their own right. Keep this in mind when positioning your villagers around the battlefield. Raised platforms give archers more range, while slowing traps allow your melee units to land more hits.
