When I first saw the Kunitsu-Gammi: Path of the Goddess' reveal trailer last year, the gameplay made it seem like Capcom was returning to the hack-n-slash action of Onimusha. The style of the trailer was rooted in a fantastical and monstrous Sengoku Japan setting, and a masked hero, armed with a sword, slashed through mobs of grotesque beasts. There wasn't much need to decipher it beyond that--it was an old-fashioned brawler from a developer that has done plenty of them in the past. Now that I've had hands-on time with the game, I find that my initial assumption from a year ago--while not entirely wrong--was only half right. Kunitsu-Gammi: Path of the Goddess is more than a return to a tried-and-true genre, and is instead shaping up to be an all-new twist on two genres I love.

To explain Kunitsu-Gammi: Path of the Goddess at its most basic level, it's half tower defense-style strategy game and half hack-n-slash, in which both operate in real-time, complementing one another in novel ways. As Soh, you must guide the goddess Yoshiro through Japanese villages that have been defiled by a demonic-like presence. In order to rid the land of evil, Yoshiro must cleanse the village's Torii gates, from which Seethes--grotesque and terrifying monsters--emerge in an attempt to stop the goddess from purifying the land. Each level operates in a day-and-night cycle. During the day, you'll gather resources and purge villagers who are imprisoned in ghastly cocoons, who will in return join your party to fight alongside you. When night comes, battle commences as Seethes pour from the Torii gates, and you must protect Yoshiro at all costs.

As my first night pushed on, I stood guard at the Torii gate as mobs of monsters emerged. I used a series of combos to dance between beasts, cutting them down and gathering crystals (the game's main resource). With the press of a button, I was able to pause my game and reposition some of my villagers to better guard paths on either side of the helpless Yoshiro, preventing my enemies from flanking her. Moving back and forth, I would change my strategy, sometimes assigning roles to the villagers to take on a more defensive position, then re-enter real-time combat to whale on monsters using an array of light attacks ending with a heavy blow.