4.5/5 ★ – renatchein's review of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess.

Souls game meet tower defense. I was drawn to KG for its beauty. From the villager's clothing to the corruption gates everything is extremely well crafted. The colors astound you at first sight, the aesthetic of the corrupted scenarios and the choreography of the fighting moves and stage completion are something overwhelming. The story is told mostly without words, just Yoshiro's exhaling some short phrases during the whole game. And it works! It's a classic tale of japanese folklore and how the self sacrifice of some benefit those who can't stand against the powers of evil. The gameplay is something of a mix I've never seen. You can only control the main protagonist, Soh. But throughout the game you gain power-ups that allow you to command freed villagers and turn them into a myriad of warriors, do specific tasks and stand at the right places. That's where the tower defense comes in. It's fun and I couldn't wait to see what new unit they would reveal at each surpassed boss. The stage is won by keeping Yoshiro alive long enough for she to slowly reach the destination gate and purge the corruption from the current village. She moves only during the day, same timespan that you have as Soh to find and free the available villagers, assign classes and tasks to them and command the Carpenter to restore some traps and gadgets to assist you. During the night is when the yokai traverse corrupted gates and try to harm Yoshiro. Every stage there's a new type of enemy to face and a new quest to overcome so you're constantly changing your strategy. The replay is immensely recommended as you gain more power-ups as you complete the stage's challenges and uncover the prizes needed to upgrade your units and Soh themself, also easing the enemies' defeat. And in every village you free there's work to be done and resources to improve you. Extremely recommended. Took me ~24h to finish the game. And there's a NG+ with the true ending.