Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess: 5 Tips When Starting the Game [CNET]

Here are the best things to do when beginning Capcom’s new demon-exorcising action and strategy game, Kunitsu-Gami.

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 be a little complex at the start of the game, when players are thrown into the mechanics and day-to-night cycle from the jump. Here are five tips to help players at the beginning of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.

In Kunitsu-Gami, players control Soh, a spiritual warrior protecting the Maidan Yoshiro, a priestess dedicated to purging the demonic defilement from all the villages of her home mountain. Each of the villages is its own stage, consisting of a start and end point: During the day, players must lead Yoshiro to one or more defiled Torii gates that, when night falls, spew a flood of demonic creatures, the Seethe. 

That day-to-night cycle takes a bit of time to master. During the day, players lead Soh around the stage, purifying various defiled points to earn crystals (in-game currency) and freeing villagers from their cocoon prisons. Then Soh can spend crystals to assign villagers combat roles to fight the Seethe after night falls — but be careful to save some crystals to use for Yoshiro, who consumes them on her march to purify the stage-ending gates.

Between stages, players can revisit finished stages to assign those freed villagers to make repairs and earn rewards, as well as equip different combat skills and talismans for varying passive effects. You can also upgrade your villager combat roles using Musubi, a rarer in-game currency earned by making the aforementioned village repairs or completing challenges while playing through stages or defeating bosses.

Villagers can be assigned to one of several combat roles, from melee woodsmen and ranged archers to treasure-unearthing thieves and others. You’ll unlock more combat roles as you defeat more bosses, which you can face after finishing their respective stages. 

That’s a basic run-through of Kunitsu-Gami’s gameplay, but here are tips when starting the game.

Keep Yoshiro moving through the day cycle

When entering a village and starting a stage, it’s easy to rush out and purify every corruption point (getting all of them will earn you a new talisman), free every villager and prepare for the demonic onslaught when night falls. Just don’t forget to get Yoshiro moving before you do: Stand in front of her and hold down the interaction button (square on PS4/PS5; X on Xbox One/Xbox One S/X) to “carve a path” for her to walk on her way to purifying the main gate. 

If you forget to get Yoshiro moving, you might have to survive an additional night or more if she doesn’t make enough progress on her march to the demon-spewing gates. You’ll start each stage with some amount of crystals, so use some to carve a bit of her path before you rush out to clean up the village, and remember to come back later to keep her moving.

Balance your crystal budget — including in combat

Since you’ll be using crystals to both set Yoshiro on her path and assign combat roles to villagers, you’ll need to balance those needs. During the day, don’t worry about the latter — just get Yoshiro moving and go forth and clean up the village. You’ll get a batch of crystals each time you purify one of the corruption pillars around the village, as well as a small amount for attacking the corrupted frondlike plants that regenerate every morning for a more dependable flow of crystals.

But you’ll also get crystals for defeating Seethe enemies at night, which will certainly help you carve more of Yoshiro’s path in the morning but is even helpful while enemies are still coming. Yes, you can wait until nightfall to assign combat roles to your villagers. This can be helpful to shift your strategy on the fly — say, first assigning someone as a thief during the day to dig up treasure (which can contain a bounty of crystals), then reassigning them for a combat role at night. More advanced villager combat roles cost more crystals, so you may have to wait until you gather more crystals from defeated Seethe.

Replay stages for more rewards

After you play a stage, you’ll see how well you did completing a set of three hidden challenges — or for a boss, if you beat them within a time limit. A bit unfair, but there are other reasons you’ll want to return to a stage. Each village stage has a previously mentioned sunken treasure (or more) lying half-submerged in the dirt; you’ll need a villager assigned to the thief role, which you unlock after defeating the game’s third boss. Remember to move the thief villager directly over the chest to get them to unearth it.

Each stage has one or more of the more valuable black treasure chests, which often contain talismans or even combat arts. Later stages will position some of these in tough-to-reach spots that require certain upgrades to Soh’s combat abilities. Yes, you’ll eventually be able to upgrade Soh alongside the village combat roles, making it more crucial to revisit stages for Musubi rewards.

Coming back to a stage later will allow you to complete challenges you wouldn’t have been able to finish the first time around, like assigning villagers to multiple roles. Other more difficult challenges, like not taking damage, are easier after unlocking and equipping certain talismans.

Between stages, repair villages

After liberating your first village, the game will guide you to revisit it to make repairs. This is pretty simple, as you’ll be assigning those villagers you freed during the combat stage to different parts of the village to fix them up. There isn’t too much strategy involved here, though you may want to opt for the repairs that get you villager-improving Musubi over the lore-filled Ema Plaques. You will want to finish all the repairs, as returning to Yoshiro’s tent thereafter will net you permanent rewards like expanding your cap of crystals.

Repairs will only be done after performing one or more activities, like playing (or replaying) a stage or defeating a boss (each repair site will tell you how long it’ll take). The trick is to remember to go back to villages between these activities — collect rewards, set new repairs and then flow into the next stage or boss fight. 

You’ll need to go back to villages anyway to make changes to Soh’s equipped combat skills and talismans, as well as upgrade villagers and, eventually, Soh’s skills. 

Upgrade villagers and deploy them according to each stage’s quirks

When spending Musubi upgrades on villager combat roles, note that they’ll get improved capability at the third and sixth tiers — including special abilities that stagger enemies, attack multiple foes at once or expand support role abilities’ areas of effect. But it’s wise to focus on the archers, as they feel especially powerful with their long range and ability to hit flying targets. At 50 crystals, they’re also pretty affordable, and they synergize well with tankier village combat roles you’ll unlock later. 

While in a stage, know where roles are best positioned, typically with melee in front and ranged units behind them. No two stages are identical, with some splitting the flood of Seethe into lanes while others have multiple gates pouring enemies toward Yoshiro from different directions. Players will have to split their attention with Soh running back and forth, especially as stronger demons are summoned that take time to wear down and defeat. You’ll have to set up your units wisely so they can be left alone for stretches of time.

Stages may also have different traps and tools that can be built during the daytime phase. A special NPC, the builder, accompanies Soh and Yoshiro and can be assigned to build these structures — you’ll just have to approach their foundations and assign the builder. You may not be able to construct them all before night falls, but they’ll help hold back the horde of enemies in their own way. Consider them when positioning your villagers around the battlefield. Elevated platforms give archers more range, while slowing traps allow your melee units to get in more hits.