Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus
- July 17, 2024
- Squid Shock Studios
- 8h median play time
2024’s incredible lineup of indie titles continues to grow, and Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus deserves to be right near the top. It’s a picture-perfect Metroidvania, impeccably designed and gorgeous in motion. Do not miss this.
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus" is a hand-drawn adventure game inspired by Japanese folklore, where you play as a celestial fox named Bō. Using your legendary bō staff, you'll traverse a 2.5D side-scrolling world filled with Metroidvania elements, encountering mystical creatures, facing massive monsters, and uncovering an ancient prophecy. Your agility and acrobatic skills will be tested as you navigate through the platforming challenges of this hauntingly beautiful realm.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 5
Steam Deck
Windows
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Gorgeous hand-drawn art style and beautiful original score enhance the game's atmosphere.
- Engaging level design with a focus on aerial combat and fluid movement mechanics.
- Challenging platforming that rewards skill and mastery, providing a satisfying gameplay experience.
- Frustrating platforming sections with punishing mechanics that can lead to repeated failures and lengthy resets.
- Boss fights can feel overly long and tedious due to high health pools and limited attack patterns.
- Lack of clear direction and map markers can make navigation and exploration feel cumbersome.
- gameplay287 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay is heavily inspired by titles like Hollow Knight and Ori, featuring a unique pogo mechanic that allows players to regain jumps through midair attacks, creating a fluid and dynamic platforming experience. While many players appreciate the beautiful art and engaging mechanics, some express frustration with difficulty spikes, tedious boss fights, and a lack of polish in certain areas. Overall, the game offers a solid metroidvania experience with a focus on aerial combat and platforming, though it may require patience to master its mechanics.
“The movement and game flow are fluid once you get used to the basic mechanics of the game.”
“The main gameplay of aerial combat/maneuvering is great.”
“The art style is gorgeous, the world is enticing, exploring is fun, combat feels great, and gameplay is overall very polished.”
“The gorgeous art, characters, and music aren’t quite enough to save it from the gameplay, which I found rather tedious; overall, it wasn’t for me.”
“It was trying really hard to be Hollow Knight or Ori and the Blind Forest but just didn't have the gameplay polish.”
“Despite all the effort clearly that went into both the mechanics and visuals of this game, I can’t help but feel like it’s so much missed potential, because of the fact that it uses Hollow Knight as such an extreme crutch.”
- graphics190 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus" are widely praised for their stunning hand-drawn art style, which beautifully captures the essence of Japanese mythology. Reviewers highlight the game's vibrant visuals, smooth animations, and immersive environments, often comparing its aesthetic to beloved titles like "Okami" and "Hollow Knight." While some minor bugs and occasional cluttered visuals during combat are noted, the overall artistic presentation and sound design are considered exceptional, enhancing the gameplay experience significantly.
“Bō: path of the teal lotus is a beautiful game, with precise and responsive controls, charming characters, and a gorgeous art style.”
“The graphical style is positively gorgeous and fluid; I've found myself in awe of the scenery, and the influence of Japanese mythos harkens back to Okami.”
“Overall, it's a gorgeous journey through a world full of Japanese folklore that will impress with its visuals, sound, platforming, and its unique aerial combat system.”
“Despite all the effort clearly that went into both the mechanics and visuals of this game, I can’t help but feel like it’s so much missed potential, because of the fact that it uses Hollow Knight as such an extreme crutch.”
“Sometimes the visuals can be a little too cluttered in combat, but that is a minor issue, and only relevant in a couple of boss fights.”
“In most cases it was reasonable enough to give a pass, but there were definitely some outliers that either had too large of a hitbox, or the hitbox extended past the visuals enough to hit when visually it shouldn't have.”
- story188 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-paced, while others feel it lacks depth and emotional connection. Many appreciate the art direction and character designs, but criticize the heavy reliance on text and exposition, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the narrative has its moments, it often feels predictable and underdeveloped compared to other titles in the genre.
“The game story is fine, it follows Bo trying to save the day by defeating the big skeleton and uncovering something else that is going on in the city. A solid cast of characters is met along the way, and it is quite enjoyable to interact with unique and gorgeous designs.”
“They do a good job of telling a full, compelling story in a relatively short amount of time without it feeling like I was stuck in an endless loop of 'race to the next dialogue point.' The movement and platforming is challenging without being a showstopper, and the boss fights are all unique and satisfying to beat.”
“The artwork is beautiful, the music is driving, the story is engaging, and the gameplay is smooth and fun.”
“I can't drag myself to read anything else about the story; it didn't catch me, so when I got into the city, which is full of walls of text and NPCs, I really didn't want to be there.”
“The game feels rushed; content and story both don't meet the standards I was waiting for with a game that advertises a great deal of interesting lore related to Japanese folklore, which unfortunately mostly comes in long yet clumsy texts without much purpose.”
“I certainly tried to care about the story, but when the vast majority of it is 'look at this wall of text', I quickly got tired of it.”
- music139 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its beautiful composition and seamless integration with the game's atmosphere, particularly enhancing the themes of Japanese mythology. Many players noted that the soundtrack is not only catchy and intense during boss fights but also complements the stunning visuals, creating an immersive experience. While some found the music to be average or not particularly memorable, the overall consensus is that it significantly contributes to the game's charm and appeal.
“The unique Japanese mythology art style and setting allow it to differentiate from others in the genre and make it a beauty to look at. The theme soundtrack adds to this as well, with areas and bosses getting great soundtracks that are catchy and intense when they need to be.”
“The music is phenomenal and the story and characters are great.”
“The music and sound effects, and the art are breathtaking.”
“Music: the soundtrack, to me, is nothing to write home about.”
“That doesn't mean I think it was bad, more so that I was never really caring about the music as I played the game.”
“That said, I would be the first to admit that I typically don't resonate much with a game's music unless it really blows me away.”
- grinding73 mentions
- 1 % positive mentions
- 1 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding the platforming and boss fights to be excessively tedious and repetitive, particularly in the late game. Critics noted that the lack of checkpoints and long respawn distances contribute to a frustrating experience, while some felt that the game mistakes tediousness for difficulty. Although the game features beautiful art and engaging mechanics, the grind for upgrades and the repetitive nature of certain challenges detracted from the overall enjoyment for many players.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“The stretches between respawn points is just absurd, and it is pointlessly tedious and feels like the game doesn't respect my time when it sends me ridiculously far back in the middle of even close to the end of a platforming section.”
“As it is, I just can't find it in me to beat the final boss because of exactly this - it is just a tedious, overly repetitive and long platforming challenge with no checkpoints that I have to restart all over if I die.”
“Now for the bad, the last two or three areas transitioned to being 70-80 percent tedious platforming, with little of anything else, making the last few hours a complete slog and completely ruining the nice mix that had been there before.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 88 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beauty, with stunning visuals and a complementary soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers highlight the masterful integration of art and music, creating a captivating environment that supports the fluid aerial combat and platforming challenges. Many consider it one of the most atmospheric games they've played, drawing favorable comparisons to titles like "Ori and the Blind Forest."
“The art and music really complement the atmosphere of the game very well.”
“One can say that the atmosphere of this game is conducted masterfully.”
“Every area contains wallpaper-worthy scenery, and the soundtrack composed by Moisés Camargo complemented the atmosphere perfectly.”
- emotional14 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the game features charming designs and challenging gameplay, it struggles to create a strong emotional connection with players. The fairy tale-like atmosphere may contribute to a lack of emotional depth, causing key scenes to feel underwhelming despite the game's overall appeal.
“Delightfully charming, challenging, and emotional.”
“Perhaps rather fitting for the game's overall fairy tale-like vibe, but it does mean that scenes which require emotional build-up tend to fall a bit flat.”
“Their designs are fantastic, but I have zero emotional connection with the story.”
- character development12 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is noted for its visually stunning character designs and artistic cutscenes, drawing inspiration from titles like Hollow Knight. However, reviewers caution that players should not expect deep lore or significant character growth, as the focus leans more towards aesthetics and gameplay mechanics rather than narrative depth. Overall, while the character designs are praised, the development aspect is considered limited.
“Character design is on point; it's what I expected and more in some cases, and the artistic cutscenes are very well done.”
“I also really love the art of this game; everything is polished and beautiful, and the character designs are so good.”
“The style of things is obviously inspired by Hollow Knight in terms of character designs, but it definitely does its own thing given the setting it adopted.”
“Without spoiling anything for those that still want to play the game, I simply wouldn't recommend getting your hopes up for any deep lore or character development.”
“The style of things is obviously inspired by Hollow Knight in the respect of character designs, but it definitely does its own things given the setting it adopted.”
- stability5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while it runs well on the Steam Deck and features cloud save functionality, players report clunky mechanics, bugs, and occasional UI glitches that detract from the experience.
“The game runs great on the deck, and there is cloud save now.”
“Kinda clunky, kinda buggy, kinda dull unfortunately.”
“The linearity of the bridge section is painful, unnecessarily long boss fights, occasional UI glitches.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its cute and funny side characters, which contribute to an overall enjoyable and amusing gameplay experience. Players appreciate the charming art style that complements the comedic elements, making the game both entertaining and visually appealing.
“Very funny to play!”
“I really like the cute art with the funny characters.”
“The game features cute and funny side characters.”
Critic Reviews
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus Review – Gorgeous Teal, Lacking Zeal
While not a path best left untrodden, Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is a title that struggles to find its way to its full potential.
50%Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus excels at its goal of delivering a commendable and exciting title.
0%Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus Review
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is a game where charm meets challenge and a passion for Japanese culture is expressed with artistic flair. Its emphasis on platforming skill over exploration gives it a distinctive profile in the Metroidvania crowd and, while that might not be everyone’s cup of tea, for many, the appeal will blossom like the trees in Sakura City.
80%
