Finally, a bit of genuine, winning originality. After about an hour of testing, Kunitsu Gami surprised us like very few other productions have been able to do in recent years, proving to be a breath of fresh air in concept and artistic direction. Among the demos playable at the Summer Game Fest (here are all the games announced at the Summer Game Fest) it stood out for its depth, desire to stand out and courage in putting his ideas into action. In Kunitsu-Gami Path of the Goddess there is both simplicity of approach and playful depth, in a balance that we hope remains intact even in the definitive version.
How Kunitsu Gami works
What is the peculiarity of Capcom’s work? It is a hybrid between a strategy game with Tower Defense elements and an action game of great aesthetic refinement: two souls that blend beautifully into one. In a land contaminated by corruption that takes on demonic features, only a girl, Yoshiro, seems to possess the ability to eradicate and purify it.
It is up to her faithful guardian Soh to defend her along the way, allowing her to carry out the blessing ritual. As protectors, we will have to trace a so-called “Spiritual Path” from one Torii Gate to another, preventing the monstrosities known as Furies from making an attempt on the young woman’s life. The gameplay is therefore divided into two distinct phases: the first preparation for battle, and the second protection. Kunitsu-Gami is made up of levels of variable size, in which corruption has now taken over. Despite not having Yoshiro’s gifts, Soh is still able to purify some small elements of the scenario, such as animals, plants, and even humans with an Onusa, so as to obtain Crystals as a reward, with which to assign different roles to the Inhabitants of those restored places. The entire exploratory and preparatory phase takes place during daylight hours: after having saved the men of a certain area, we will be able to assign them a “class”, whose skills will then be useful in Yoshiro’s defense during the nightwhen the creatures emerge from the Torii.
Three roles were available in the demo, but the complete work will contain many more. We met the Woodcutter (specialized in ranged attacks), the Archer (useful against small flying furies), and the Ascetic (capable of slowing down the movements of the beasts). Once the roles have been assigned to the Inhabitants, we will have to choose where to position them, also taking into account the differences in level of the ground, the distance from the girl and of the hidden paths that the Furies will try to sneak into to reach Yoshiro.
When we are ready, we will be able to trace the aforementioned spiritual path, giving the Priestess the opportunity to begin her purification dance. The day/night cycle will flow automatically, but we will also have the ability to accelerate it as we wish to speed up time and immediately reach the night phases. At this point, our only goal will be to keep Yoshiro safe, surviving until dawn arrives.
The combat against the creatures takes place in real time, and follows the trappings of a simple action game full of style. Simply press two buttons to watch Soh perform a “dancing attack”, performing swirling, elegant combos. Action and strategy support each other: the correct positioning of the Inhabitants, with the associated assignment of the most suitable roles for the various situations, will make the elimination of the Furies, who will focus everything on the overwhelming quantity, more smoothly. If you think that it is enough to place yourself in front of the Torii portal to rout the enemy hordes, you are wrong: first of all, around the entrance there is a lethal miasma for the protagonist, which therefore cannot get too close to the threshold; furthermore, the monsters benefit from a reduced period of invulnerability as soon as they put their paw out of the portal, thus forcing us to wait a few seconds before starting to attack them. These small details are enough to understand that the most strategic aspect of Kunitsu-Gami should not be underestimated at all.
Fight as you like
There is no single way to beat the Furies: The degree of customization that we tested in the demo (and which should be only a small part of a much larger total) offered good margin for maneuver in building diversified tactics. Leveling up a Role by maximizing its offensive output will allow us, for example, to stay more in the rear; on the other hand, by strengthening the defensive qualities we will ask the Inhabitants to give priority to the protection of Yoshiro, while we will wet the katana with the blood of the Furies.
We are really curious to find out how many variables there will be in the final game, an extremely important factor for the success of the adventure in its entirety. Between a horde and a boss fight, it will be appropriate to return to base camp, where we can purchase new Roles, improve our skills and obtain special skills to use in battle.
The preparation phase is as fundamental as improvisation: on the field things may not even go as initially plannedand therefore it will be necessary to adapt as necessary, perhaps ordering the Inhabitants to retreat in defense of Yoshiro, or to dive into the attack while we protect the Maiden.
Stimulating without being frustrating, Kunitsu-Gami’s gameplay suggests notable levels of quality that only the final version will be able to confirm or deny. According to what the developers told us, the adventure should last around 20 hoursa quantity likely to increase, if we consider that the variety of approaches is designed to enhance replayability as much as possible.
