Capcom's all-new "Gion: Path of the Goddess" review! You can enjoy battles that combine the action of fending off enemies and tower defense in which you place your friends to fight!

Players battle enemies alongside shrine maidens to save a mountain village from unholy forces.

The setting of the game is a mountain village called Kakafukuyama. One day, the village is suddenly swallowed up by the Unsullied, and the 12 "masks" that contain the power of the gods are taken from the village. The priestess "Yoshiro" and her summoned protector "Sou" fight to exorcise the defilement from Mount Kakafuku, while cooperating with the villagers to take back the village and the masks.

In addition to being built in a Japanese-style world, this title is also impressive for the vivid colors of the graphics that represent that world. For example, some of the flames that the enemies wear are a bit purplish over red. The graphics are realistic in the sense that even the smallest details such as the ground, trees, and characters' clothing are represented, but the vividness of the graphics makes them seem unrealistic in a good sense, as if the entire world of this work were a painting or picture scroll.

In addition, the kaleidoscope-like geometric patterns, including the trajectory of the player character Sou's slashes, are everywhere, and together with the highly saturated graphics, they also look very fantastic.

Repeating the daytime phase of purifying the village and the nighttime phase of fighting the wailing.

The game begins with a village near the top of Mount Kakafuku and gradually descends to the foot of the mountain, saving villages along the way from defilement. Each village has a shrine gate that is infested with filth, and the stage is cleared when the generation is guided to the gate and the filth is exorcised. The path to saving a village is divided into two phases: daytime, which focuses on exploration, and nighttime, which focuses on combat.

When you visit the village, the game begins in the daytime. The village is infested with impurities, and you must search and exorcise them to release some of them and save the villagers who are sealed in the village. The crystals are used to grant "professions" to the villagers and to draw "spirit paths" to advance the generations.

The "professions" are like equipment for the villagers, without which they cannot fight. There are various characteristics of professions, such as those for melee, long-range, and support, and they differ greatly in their attack methods and ranges.
It is important to divide the roles appropriately according to the attacking enemy and the surrounding terrain. It is possible to change occupations once you have chosen a new one, but in that case, you will need crystals corresponding to the occupation you change, so if you change occupations too often, you will quickly run out of crystals.

On the other hand, the spiritual path is like a route for the generations to reach the torii. The starting point is the first place where the generation is when they visit the village, and only the path leading to the torii can be drawn from there. As already mentioned, the pathway also requires crystals.

However, if you do not draw the spiritual path and advance the generation, you will not be able to purify the defilement, and you will have to repeat the battle with the wailing that occurs in the nighttime part of the game.

While assigning jobs to the villagers or drawing spiritual paths to lead the generation, time moves forward, and when the sun sets, the night phase begins. During the night phase, enemy foreign wails spring from the torii gate and attack the generation, so they are intercepted by moving the sect and placing rescued villagers along the path. The game is over when the generation's health reaches zero, so protecting her is more important than annihilating the enemy. After a certain amount of time, the sun rises and the game shifts back to the daytime phase. The day and night phases are repeated to exorcise the impurities from the torii gate of the village they are in.

One of the most interesting aspects of the series of events is the distribution of crystals. Crystals are used for professions and spiritual paths, so the amount of crystals distributed to each directly affects the outcome of the battle. The choice of occupation for the villagers to fight is an important point, but the amount of crystals needed also differs depending on the occupation. Should the villagers leave enough for the spiritual path and compromise on the occupation instead, or should they prioritize the occupation and put off the spiritual path until later? Depending on the situation, both are the right choices. It is fun to rack your brains over how to allocate the resource of crystals.

The second interesting point is the change in strategy depending on the position of the generation. The generation can only advance along the spiritual path during the day phase, and it always stops when it reaches the night phase. Therefore, depending on where the generation that must be protected is located, the way players move and the formation of the villagers will change.

If there is a three-way fork at the end of a single path, then while the generation is on the single path, it is enough to place allies in front of her, but if she stops at the fork of the three-way fork, she must face the different wailings coming from the front and from both sides at the same time.
Furthermore, the closer she is to the tainted torii gate, the shorter the time it takes for the different wailings to reach the generation, and the more intense the battle becomes. It is essential to modify your fighting style according to the distance from the torii gate as well as where you are positioned, for example, preparing more professions for close combat and reserving one profession that can attract the attention of the enemy.

The third point is the innovative game system , which combines action and simulation. It is a simulation-like system in which allies with assigned professions are deployed in the center of the generation to fight against the approaching wailing, but the player-controlled Mune can be moved freely as in an action game. The player can also use sword combo attacks to dispatch enemies, which is a completely different strategy from that of the villagers. The player can also use his own unit to support the villagers or the generation, depending on the situation.

At the same time, it is essential to consider the placement of villagers and the compatibility of their occupations according to the location and type of enemy. The system in which two types of combat, action and simulation, proceed in parallel was very innovative for me personally.

Villages that have been exorcised can be rebuilt using villagers. Depending on the rebuilt area, you can obtain "musubi," which are used to strengthen professions and the main character.

The Soh is quite strong even in its initial state and can protect the generation by itself in the early stages of the game. Just by using a combo of weak and strong attacks, he can take out enemies in the vicinity. If you are confident in your actions, you will probably not need much help from the villagers.

However, there will eventually be enemies that self-destruct and engulf their surroundings, are in the air and difficult to reach with swords, or are too strong to be defeated by a single player. The question is whether to divide the enemy's multiple routes of progress and protect them, or whether to deploy them evenly and protect the dangerous areas as needed, and how to make the most of the Mune and the villagers. This is also a difficult point, but at the same time, it is a fun place to explore your own strategies and strengths through trial and error.

A variety of occupations appear depending on the aspect.

If you defeat the "strong enemies" that appear after the village has been purged of its impurities, you will be rewarded with a mask that has been stolen from you, and you will be freed to take on a profession that corresponds to that mask. As mentioned earlier, there are those for close combat and those for long-distance combat, but in reality, they are more finely divided.

Shugenja

There are three types of shugenja: "somabito," who are strong against small, ground-based wounds and are characterized by their quick attacks; "bow-takers," who are good at long-range combat with bows and arrows; "shugenja," who can slow the movements of surrounding enemies for a certain time; "kakuriki," who can attract enemies using their exceptional durability as weapons; and "shugenja," who can only move during the day phase, but can dig out buried treasure chests and other items on the map. The "Kakuriki," which can only move during the day phase but can dig up buried treasure chests and other items on the map, the "Shaman," which restores the HP of surrounding allies, and the "Spearman," which is strong against ground-type wounds of medium size or larger and has high attack power.

Horned power (Kakuri)

Depending on which profession and where and how many villagers are deployed, a variety of strategies can be taken. You can place Kakuryoku in the front, a shamanist behind him to heal, and an archer in the back with a wide attack range to attack the enemy unilaterally from a special position. You can also place more shugenja to slow down the enemy's movement and use spearmen and sorcerers as follow-up attackers. These are just examples, and the optimal solution will vary depending on the location of the generation to be escorted, the types of enemies that appear, and other factors.

Enhancement of Sects

The player can move the "Soh" (the leader), who is strong enough to eliminate all the enemies by himself, but the villagers are also an important asset. Small zakos can be defeated with a few shots, and even medium-sized wailing monsters can be defeated by multiple attackers. The villagers will gradually become stronger depending on their training, as they can increase the attack power and strength of each occupation and learn new attack methods by using the spirit of birth. It is true that the village leader is strong, but it is also true that he cannot do everything by himself, especially in the latter half of the game.

Under the Japanese-style fantasy, with its coloring that must have been designed with color saturation in mind and impressive kaleidoscope-like geometric graphics and expressions, this title offers an innovative battle experience that combines action and simulation. Even those who are not good at the simulation element of fighting by placing allies can often cover up for themselves with actions using the Mune, and the game is gentle enough to allow for a forceful push in places. This title is especially recommended for those who like either action or simulation, or both genres.

Kunigami: Path of the Goddess

Compatible hardware: Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, PlayStation5, PlayStation4, Steam

CERO rating: B (for ages 12 and up)

Scheduled release date: July 19, 2024 (Friday)

Price: 4,990 yen (tax included)

Genre: Kagura strategic action drama

Official website: #

(C)CAPCOM