With hundreds and hundreds of exciting games releasing every year, there’s never enough time to catch up on older titles you missed the first time around. The sad truth is that it’s just impossible to play everything, and some wonderful games will always slip through the cracks. Thankfully new console launches often feature a few older games ported to your shiny new toy, and the Switch 2 launch line-up has plenty of these to choose from. Of the selection I was most excited for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, and after playing through this unique title in a new portable package I can confirm I was right to be.
In Kunitsu-Gami you play as Soh, a warrior who is dedicated to defending a goddess called Yushiro. With her magical dancing powers, Yushiro can cleanse Mt. Kafuku from the corruption that’s plaguing it, but only if creatures called the Seethe don’t kill her first. That’s where you and the villager allies you gather come in, and by working together you’ll be able to take back the mountain from evil and save the day. The story is told without dialogue, and is quite vague because of it. It gets you into the action though, which is the star of the show.
In the more standard stages of Kunitsu-Gami you’ll be tasked with guiding Yushiro to a demonic gate that summons the Seethe at night. In the day, though, it’s your job to prepare, which you’ll do by cleansing the land and gathering villagers for your small army. Each villager can have a role assigned to them which will dictate how they help in battle, and although this starts rather simply with melee Woodcutters and ranged Archers, it doesn’t last long. Before you know it you’ll be using Sumo Wrestlers to draw in attacks, Ascetics to slow the hordes down, and Shaman to heal everyone and keep the army fighting.
By working out the various paths the Seethe will take in each map, you’ll be able to place units in effective spots to ensure they’re dealt with accordingly. In early stages you’ll be able to manage just by crowding the gate, but later on when there are multiple gates and enemy types it’s important to spread out your warriors for maximum effectiveness. It’s essentially a twist on classic tower defence gameplay, but with a whole lot more action thanks to Soh and his mighty sword.
Unlike your granddad’s crusty old tower defence games, Kunitsu-Gami allows you to jump into the action yourself and fight alongside your units. Soh starts the game with a few different attack options (oddly reminiscent of the combos you’d use in a Musou game) but as you progress you’ll gain access to various special moves that break enemy guards, and you can even wield a bow for ranged attacks. Don’t go in expecting deep character action style combat, but you’ll need your wits about you to defeat the Seethe all the same even on the earliest of stages.
Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess immediately hooked me with its clever combination of action and tower defence gameplay, but it was the constant new ideas it threw into its stages that kept me hooked. After you conquer a few stages you’ll encounter lanterns to light so your units can see the Seethe to attack them, then a few stages later you’ll be introduced to platforms that give archers extra range that incentivise clever unit placement. Even the new units come thick and fast, and they can all be upgraded between missions to improve their skills.
Every stage you complete will turn into a base you can hang out in between missions, but they’re all in need of repair. By assigning your villagers to fix various fences and shacks you’ll be given collectible plaques with information about friends and foes on them, currency to upgrade your unit types, and even gear to equip to Soh. It’s always worth fixing up various villages, and is a nice change of pace from the Seethe-killing action.
Now everything I’ve said about Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess so far was also the case if you played it on other consoles last year, so let’s talk about the differences on the Switch 2. A major one of these is the addition of a mouse control scheme, which I must admit seems particularly weird for a game like this but I suppose it’s there if you want it. It’s also worth mentioning that the performance on the Switch 2 is pretty much flawless. This comes at the cost of a bit of visual fidelity, admittedly, but to be able to play through the whole experience in handheld mode was absolutely worth that trade-off for me.
I had a wonderful time with Soh and Yushiro in Kunitsu-Gami, but it’s not perfect. One issue is that each mission features a few side objectives to complete for extra currency, but they’re only revealed after the first playthrough of a stage. This means it’ll take at least two playthroughs of a single level to unlock everything you can from it, but when these objectives clash it might mean a third time is needed. It’s just a bit excessive, and will make the game feel grindy for completionists. I also think a few boss fights are more frustrating than fun, an early example of this being a giant centipede in a dark cave that I never want to see again. The story is a bit dry, too, which is admittedly in part due to the lack of character displayed by the protagonist and their goddess.
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to right the wrongs of 2024 and play Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, because it’s an outstanding game that didn’t get the attention it deserved. The clever blend of engaging combat and thoughtful unit placement makes for a unique experience, and the ideas just keep coming as you progress. It’s also a perfect fit for the Switch 2, and I wouldn’t want to play it anywhere else.
