Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 21: Cursed Torii Gate

■第21回　腕が４本あった時と無くなった時、呪縛鳥居
異界への入口であり出口の門番。体内から出てくるイメージでデザインしました。
鳥居に取り憑いて道を奪っている、大きな干からびた人型です。あれ、デザイン的には書くことがあまりない。… pic.twitter.com/Gsr3Bq5xmd

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) July 1, 2026

■第21回　腕が４本あった時と無くなった時、呪縛鳥居

異界への入口であり出口の門番。体内から出てくるイメージでデザインしました。

鳥居に取り憑いて道を奪っている、大きな干からびた人型です。あれ、デザイン的には書くことがあまりない。

祓われる時にリアクション等が分かり易くなる様に大きくしました。（一番大事なので）

鳥居前で敵を狩る事を阻止するために、鳥居自体も動いて攻撃してくる時代もありましたが、その役目は他に奪われ今に至ります。

■21st Round: The Cursed Torii When I Had Four Arms and When I Didn't, Binding Bird Gate

The gatekeeper of the entrance and exit to the other world. I designed it with an image emerging from within the body.

A large, withered humanoid figure possessing the torii and stealing the path. Huh, design-wise, there's not much to write about.

I made it large so that reactions and such are easier to understand when it's exorcised. (This is the most important part.)

There was an era when the torii itself would move and attack to prevent enemies from hunting in front of it, but that role has been taken over by others, and here we are now.

I wanted more lore on the design itself, like the marking on its forehead.
And its resemblance to Nanamagari?

It would've been cool to see these ideas incorporated into the DLC.

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 20: Bupposo(仏法僧ぶっぽうそう)

■第20回　冷静に見て！ふんどし姿なのに何故か人気（開発内）！仏法僧
これはノリノリに作ってしまいました。日本に来ちゃった異国印象の畏哭の剣士的なイメージです。
鞍馬天狗的なイメージで顔のお面を作り、お面に乗っ取られてしまったら！？として、この姿にまとめています。… pic.twitter.com/GElsb97UcE

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) June 29, 2026

■第20回　冷静に見て！ふんどし姿なのに何故か人気（開発内）！仏法僧

これはノリノリに作ってしまいました。日本に来ちゃった異国印象の畏哭の剣士的なイメージです。

鞍馬天狗的なイメージで顔のお面を作り、お面に乗っ取られてしまったら！？として、この姿にまとめています。

当初はウェーブ中に出てくる事を考えて居たので、村人を乗っ取って姿が変わる等も考えたりもしましたが、

大ボスとして改めて考え、ちっこいオブジェから出て来たら面白いだろうと思って演出しました。

アニメーションもノリノリで仕上げてくれたのでカッコよくなりました！でも、ふんどしにお面姿です！！

■Round 20: Look at it calmly! Somehow popular despite the loincloth look (internal development)! Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

I went all out making this one. It's got that foreign, intimidating swordsman vibe that's come to Japan.

I went with a Tengu-from-Mount-Kurama kind of image and made a face mask for it—what if it gets taken over by the mask!? And that's how I settled on this design.

Originally, I was thinking of having it appear during the wave events, so I even considered ideas like it possessing a villager and changing their appearance,

But then I rethought it as a major boss, and figured it'd be fun to have it emerge from a small object, so I added that as a performance element.

The animation team delivered it with full enthusiasm too, so it turned out super cool! But hey, it's a loincloth-and-mask getup!!

Plaque Lore:

その昔、全身にあざや瘤こぶのようなものがあり、異様に大きく手足の長い者がいた。刀を振ふれば岩をも易々と斬きり、人とは思えないほどだったという。戦場にて主を失い行く当てもなく、落人おちうどとして村に流れ着くがその異様さ故に恐おそれられた。しばらくして墓場で消息を断つも後にはとても小さな達磨だるまのような物が置かれていたという。墓場のある森ではブッポウソウがよく鳴くことから村人はその達磨だるまを「仏法僧ぶっぽうそう」と名づけ、御神木ごしんぼくに祀まつった。

Long ago, there lived a man with elongated limbs and a body swathed in bruises and boils. He wielded his sword effortlessly, slicing through even stone with an inhuman strength. The man lost his master on the battlefield, and with no home to return to, found his way to a village. But his strangeness frightened the villagers, and he disappeared one night from the graveyard, leaving behind nothing but a small Daruma-shaped doll. The villagers named it after the birds known as Bupposo, whose frequent cries could be heard from the forest, and enshrined it within a sacred tree.

The knees are inward again but the body is obviously male. 

(maybe they're using female and male references to create androgyny in the Seethe? Or maybe I'm mistaken about the knees?)

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 19: Shiniku Zamurai(屍肉侍しにくざむらい)

■第19回　見た目の衝撃と機能と屍肉侍
刀を使う敵って魅力ありますよね。ゲーム視点は引き気味なので、鞘から抜いても多分、分からないな、如何しようかな。
開発初期にミーティングで体に刺さった刀を抜いて戦う案があった事を思い出し、それを人体でいう所の頭集約。… pic.twitter.com/PJ7nRWsIhm

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) June 26, 2026

■第19回　見た目の衝撃と機能と屍肉侍

刀を使う敵って魅力ありますよね。ゲーム視点は引き気味なので、鞘から抜いても多分、分からないな、如何しようかな。

開発初期にミーティングで体に刺さった刀を抜いて戦う案があった事を思い出し、それを人体でいう所の頭集約。

身体は全体的に抽象化した印象にして、色々な角度や切り取り方で顔に見える様にデザインしています。

複数体での連携した動きは割と厄介。SEに関しても色々とお願いして困らせた気もしなくは無いですが、

総合的にインパクトが出たので気に入ってます。皆さんの協力ありがとう！

■19th Round: The Shock of Appearance, Functionality, and the Corpse Meat Samurai

Enemies who use swords have a certain charm, don't they? From a game perspective, it's a bit reserved, so even when drawn from the scabbard, it's probably hard to tell—hmm, what to do.

I recalled that during an early development meeting, there was an idea about pulling out a sword stabbed into the body and fighting with it, so I consolidated that into what would be the head area in human terms.

I've designed the body to give an overall abstracted impression, so that it looks like a face from various angles or cropping methods.

Coordinated movements by multiple units are fairly troublesome. As for the sound effects, I feel like I made a bunch of requests and might have caused some trouble,

But overall, it turned out impactful, so I'm quite fond of it. Thank you all for your cooperation!

Plaque Lore:

合戦の中、敵味方関係なく人を襲おそい刀を振ふるった侍さむらいがいた。ある夜、寝込ねこみを襲おそわれたことで命を落とす。 その亡骸なきがらは無数の顔が集まった見た目をしており、どこが本当の顔か分からなかったと言われている。いつの頃ころからか、夜な夜な戦いを求める侍さむらいが山中に現れ、頭部に刺ささった刀を引き抜ぬき、斬きりかかってくると伝えられる。

There once was a samurai who swung his sword at all those in his path, regardless of friend or foe. His life came to an end one night when he was taken down in his sleep. Legend says the corpse left behind was merely a collection of faces, with no way to tell which one was the true face of the samurai. Even in death the samurai's lust for blood is unyielding, and it can be found roaming the mountains at night, a sword pulled from its own head in hand.

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 18: Nurikabe(塗壁ぬりかべ)

■第18回　驚異で最高の出落ち、塗り壁！？
塗り壁…難しい、とても難しい。動き遅くなるだろうし、大きさにも限界あるしどうにかならんもんかと。
ミーティングの最中に「像が真っ二つに割れて広がって壁になる」というアイデアが出て来た瞬間完成。… pic.twitter.com/r1x0gnRaE2

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) June 24, 2026

■第18回　驚異で最高の出落ち、塗り壁！？

塗り壁…難しい、とても難しい。動き遅くなるだろうし、大きさにも限界あるしどうにかならんもんかと。

ミーティングの最中に「像が真っ二つに割れて広がって壁になる」というアイデアが出て来た瞬間完成。

道の広さは引き具合で制御対応可、速度は一定で近づく恐ろしさ、大事なのは何よりも見た目とギミックのインパクトですね。

像は具体的な見た目にするのは心苦しいので、それっぽい偶像をデザイン。中の畏哭はデカい顔で平べったい身体が入っていて、

広がるとそれを坂に敵が昇ってくると伝え、後は担当者の情熱で仕上げて貰いました。色んな解釈の塗り壁が居ても良いんじゃなのかな…

唯の像がまっすぐ動くだけという事でアニメーターの方もビックリしていました。

■18th Round: The Ultimate Drop Comedy with Amazement, Plaster Wall!?

Plaster Wall... it's tough, really tough. It'll slow down the movement, and there's a limit to its size too—wondering if there's any way around it.

Right in the middle of the meeting, the moment the idea "the statue splits clean in half and spreads out to become a wall" came up, it was done.

The width of the path can be controlled by adjusting the pull, the speed is constant for that creeping dread as it approaches—most importantly, it's all about the visuals and the gimmick's impact.

It felt wrong to give the statue a specific look, so I designed something like a vague idol. Inside, there's the Wail of Dread with a huge face and a flat body crammed in,

and when it spreads, it conveys enemies climbing up it like a ramp—after that, the person in charge wrapped it up with their passion. Maybe it's okay to have all sorts of interpretations of "plaster wall" out there...

The animator was shocked too, since it was just a straight-moving statue and nothing more.

Plaque Lore:

巨大きょだいな仏像の姿をした畏哭いこく。宗そうたちの目の前で壁かべとなり妨害ぼうがいしてくる。とある村の男の話では夜道を歩いていると、 地響じひびきと共に暗闇くらやみの中から巨大きょだいな仏像が現れたという。男が先に進もうとすると突如とつじょ仏像は二つに割れ、壁かべとなって道を塞ふさがれてしまったという記録が残されている。

The Nurikabe appear as large Buddha statues, but can turn into walls to block Soh's path. Legend says that there was once a man who was walking in the pitch of the night when all of a sudden the ground beneath his feet shook, and a tremendous Buddha statue appeared as if from the shadows themselves. The man tried to continue past, but the statue split into two, forming a large, impassable wall.

A dangerous enemy in the DLC. It can flatten Yoshiro, defiling her instantly.

 

Kunitsu-Gami Game Design Commentary 17: Shokera(しょうけら)

■第17回　畏哭一のスタイリッシュ！しょうけら
題名通りです、今までもこの先も割と敵のクセが強いと言われてまして。一体ぐらい所謂カッコいい枠があっても良いのでは？
そう言われる日が来ると思って、考えてました、本当です。… pic.twitter.com/M7XZbAGMZv

— 【公式】 祇（くにつがみ）：Path of the Goddess (@Kunitsu_Gami_JP) June 22, 2026

■第17回　畏哭一のスタイリッシュ！しょうけら

題名通りです、今までもこの先も割と敵のクセが強いと言われてまして。一体ぐらい所謂カッコいい枠があっても良いのでは？

そう言われる日が来ると思って、考えてました、本当です。

素直にしょうけらをイメージしつつ、今作に合うようにディティールと攻撃性を詰めました。

動きは創作ダンス等で活躍する渡辺さん。とても魅惑的な動きを吹き込んで頂けたので想像以上のカッコ良さ！！

■17th Round: Ikkyu's Stylish Style! Shoukera  

As the title says, it's been said up until now and probably will be in the future that the enemies have pretty strong quirks. Wouldn't it be nice to have at least one in the so-called "cool" category?  

I was thinking that a day like this would come, I really was.  

I imagined Shoukera straightforwardly while packing in details and aggression to fit this work.  

The movements are by Mr. Watanabe, who shines in creative dance and such. He infused it with such bewitching motions that it's cooler than I could have imagined!!

Plaque Lore:

高所から飛び掛かかって人を襲おそう畏哭いこく。その鋭するどい爪つめは頑丈がんじょうな鎧よろいさえも、いともたやすく切り裂さくという。二カ月に一度の庚申かのえさるの日の夜、罪を犯した人間が寝静ねしずまるのを見計らって罰ばつを与あたえるという神が穢けがされて畏哭いこくになったとする説がある。そのことから、しょうけらが現れる夜は大勢で集まって寝ねずに過ごすという風習がある。

The Shokera leap from great heights to attack their prey. Even the strongest armor is no match for their sharp claws. Legend states that on the night of Koshin, occurring once every 60 days, a god transformed into a Seethe after passing punishment upon the slumbering humans for the sins they had committed. It has now become a custom for people to gather together and stay awake throughout the long nights the Shokera are said to appear.

The head wears a veil like Yoshiro and the horns remind me of Cursed Soh.

Don't you think the lower body looks quite feminine in its proportions? The knees are inward, which is a female trait. The smaller waist in comparison to the hips.

The Seethe are said to be the Goddess's 'kin'. Was this considered when designing them?
These twitter posts don't always give too much information...

Why do these villagers not have masks?

Another discovery.

These characters never have masks in this cut-scene. It's not pre-rendered as you can see Yoshiro's clothes can be changed.

Even though any villager can equip any mask(except for shaman and sumo wrestler) during game-play, lore-wise only the descendants of an ancestral deity can use its mask.

So..is that what this scene is establishing? That only the descendants may use the mask?

Even though I've put archer on everyone here, only those shown in archer clothes would be allowed to actually use the mask? (but cannoneer and woodcutter will show up on the masked villagers...)

Or are these villagers outsiders who moved here and so would not be able to use the mask?

If the boat capsizes, their cocooned bodies float away (RIP)

Extremely amusing.

A new discovery after 400+  hours. The third clip is me realizing it.