Kunitsu-Gami Path of the Goddess' new mode dials the strategy up to 100

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess was my 2024 game of the year. Sure, there was Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and even Balatro, but Capcom's bizarre tower defense action game hybrid was something new. Developed by Capcom Division 1, the team behind one of my all-time favorite series, Devil May Cry, it's faithfulness to Japanese culture and highly stylized demonic Seethe make it gorgeous to look at, while its hard-as-nails strategy gameplay and slick, almost dance-like combat make it hard but not overly punishing. If you've completed the game already or, like me, want another reason to dive back in, the brand-new Wayward Journey mode is perfect for you – but beware, it's tough as hell.

If you haven't played Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, it's effectively a tower defense RTS game mixed with action-focused combat. Your job is to guide Yoshiro, the story's mysterious Maiden, through hordes of Seethe, demonic entities that are intent on corrupting the land around them.

During the day you set up defenses to keep Yoshiro safe, and recruit villagers to your cause, using traditional wooden masks to assign them different roles (the woodcutter, for example, is a melee fighter, while the archer snipes foes from afar). When night falls, the Seethe are unleashed, and it's up to you to stop them getting to Yashiro. Then, when dawn breaks, you can carve out The Path of the Goddess, ultimately guiding Yashiro to the end of the level which, in turns, lets you complete it.

Wayward Journey, however, amps things up even further. You're given a very short period of time to recruit villagers, erect traps and barriers, and acquire items from nearby shrines, then you're faced with a midnight onslaught of horrors. The aim is simple: defeat waves, complete different zones, then do it all again.

You can choose from various randomized rewards at the zone's shrines, but you'll have to have the right amount of Crystals (earnable in-game currency) to do so. I quickly found that, between fixing my defenses and assigning my villagers roles, I was running out of the precious stones. Thankfully, the shrines can help here by dishing out thousands of Crystals at a time, but they also offer some real boons – The Twelve Faces, for example, decreases the damage Seethe do to villagers. It forces you to be economical: should you invest more in training up and buffing your warriors, or are you better splashing the cash on barricades and traps? Either way, you'd better decide quickly.

These rewards drop as you clear waves, too; think Hades or any other good roguelike game. They're relatively abundant, but you'll have to think on your feet to fully optimize your build path. It's worth noting, however, that Yoshiro cannot be healed using any of these artifacts, and doesn't regain health as you move from zone to zone. If she dies, your run ends, the corruption spreads, and the mountain falls. No pressure, then.

The combat itself is relatively similar to what we've seen before, but with the gameplay changes that the various rewards offer kicking in if and when you receive them. The Seethe themselves, however, aren't here to play – there's no gradual ramp up like with the base game, and instead you're hit with the bell-headed, tanky Noderabo immediately. I also ran into myriad warbling Rosokuro during my adventure.

Straight off the bat, Wayward Journey really does feel like 'hard mode.' Its gameplay is faster paced and more reactive, forcing you to make hard but meaningful choices on the fly. While on the surface it feels like just more of the same, there's an intensity that wasn't quite there with the base game; in an odd way, I like the idea of smacking my head against it over and over again to get that high score. It's the perfect way to while away the hours, and I can't wait to play more of it.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess' new Wayward Journey mode will be released for free on Thursday June 5, aligning with the game's Switch 2 launch. Note that you'll have to complete the entire story campaign in order to access it. If you haven't played Capcom's Eastern adventure yet, then check out my Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess review to find out why you should.

In the meantime, however, we have a list of all the best strategy games if you love hearing the gears in your head work overtime. Alternatively, check out our guide to all of the upcoming PC games for 2025 and beyond if you're planning on slotting Kunitsu-Gami into your schedule.

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