The path ahead is cursed and blessed — and totally worth the journey.
I love Okami. It’s one of my favorite games, and one of the most influential in my gaming journey. I love that it’s a retelling of Shintoism, a sort of way to convey this bible to the West. Whenever I think about Okami being used in another game, I wonder, “okay, why? Why is this here? Is it just an aesthetic thing” What I was pleased to find out is that Kunitsu-Gami is kind of the same thing that Okami is, with the Developers wanting to teach Americans and teach younger Japanese children about their ancient history, about their culture.
And that’s like exactly what this game is, a similar style of story as Okami. We have a world that has turned away from nature and turned away from the gods. And it’s like, once we do that, bad stuff starts coming out. All these demons start to come out, start haunting us and cursing us. And it’s up to us as a sort of summoned deity, a spiritualized representation of God, to lead the Maiden Yoshiro as she cleanses Mount Kafuku and its defilement.
The background of the game is steeped in Japanese mysticism and lore, but the gameplay mixes modern ideas like tower defense with ritual dances and resource & people management. Throw in the Okami DLC, which focuses on costumes and music, and it seems like a lot to juggle. And yet, it all works together incredibly well.
Kunitsu-Gami is a really fun, thought provoking kind of game. The story is really good and easy to understand, and the hybrid of tower defense and action is worthwhile. Why would Capcom greenlight a game like this? I don’t know. But I’m glad they did. Watch the video above for our full thoughts.
This review is based on a Steam code sent to SideQuesting by the publisher. The video first appeared on the July 24th, 2024 edition of The SideQuest.
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