Capcom’s best new IP of the current gen was released in 2024 – Reader’s Feature

Although Capcom is currently enjoying a golden era, a reader argues that their most imaginative new IP came out two years ago.

I already had a digital copy on PlayStation 5 but I’m currently replaying Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess, this time on my physical (Key-Card) Japanese copy of the game on the Switch 2. It’s reaffirmed that it’s indeed one of my favourite games released in 2024, and blissfully evokes Capcom’s creative renaissance during the 128-bit generation – anyone else remember the Capcom Five on the GameCube?

Kunitsu-Gami feels like a game that could’ve easily been plucked from that artistically fertile harvest.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess is genuinely unlike anything I’ve played before, with its compelling mixture of tower defence strategy elements and Devil May Cry lite real-time combat mechanics, where your main goal is to literally, and visually flourishingly, carve a critical pathway for a defenceless priestess to purge corrupted tori gates and dispel the miasma of decay and doom in the vicinity.

You do this by imbuing rescued villagers with skills like archery, woodcutter (melee), arcane and healing magic types – just to mention the starting classes – to ensure the safety of the titular purifier.

I just love the mounting anxiety and sense of urgency when you’re making preparations during the day, in an attempt to secure the priestess’s success. And once night falls, and the onslaught of demonic forces are unleashed from the hellish gates, the tension and challenge ratchet up and the teeth clanking and pressure cooker micro-management commences.

I won’t spoil the standout moments in the mission design, but I was very impressed with the variety in the areas and objectives, and especially the seething monster designs. The grotesque, unearthly creatures filter through thick and fast and are a blast to deal with when you’ve optimised your allies’ selections and positioning.

The 3D hack ‘n’ slash gameplay starts off pretty simple but once you’ve made some substantial progress in the campaign the mechanical depth and nuance opens up splendidly, with extended combos, perfect guard and parry techniques, and some cool magical abilities and arrow types made available to the ethereal warrior you command.

I think Capcom have done an exemplary job rendering the strategic elements intuitive and rewarding. Much like with the tactical gameplay in the Pikmin series, I likened the creative process to ‘hiding the ice cream in the medicine.’ In that, the game presents a genre of game that, at least on the surface, is dauntingly complex, perhaps even esoteric, and makes it feel more accessible and palatable for a wider audience.

Needless to say, there’s an extremely strong, fertile foundation here that I’d love Capcom to build on, because games like Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess feel like an increasingly infrequent gamble from big publishers in the current climate of maximum risk aversion and numbingly iterative design.

Concerning the blemishes, the lock-on system can feel a little tenuous at times, especially during a hectic skirmish where you’re forced to deal with a deluge of foes at a bottleneck and the directional input of the attacks may not be as intentional as you’d hope.

Some of the more unique ideas do start to repeat themselves in the second half of the campaign, and you’ll gain access to a spell-casting class in the late game that can trivialise the challenge balance if abused.

Ultimately insignificant imperfections aside, Kunitsu-Gami: Path Of The Goddess is quite the triumph and a genuinely fun, intelligently designed game that had me captivated throughout its 20 to 25 hour duration. If you’re looking for something refreshingly different, and perhaps a little out of your comfort zone, I can’t recommend this artful, maverick endeavour enough.

By reader GG

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