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
Windows
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Gorgeous art style and music that enhance the overall experience.
- Challenging platforming and combat mechanics that reward skill and precision.
- Engaging gameplay that combines aerial combat with platforming, reminiscent of games like Hollow Knight and Ori.
- Frustrating difficulty spikes, especially in platforming sections that can lead to repeated failures.
- Some bosses have excessive health, making fights feel tedious and drawn out.
- Lack of clear direction in quests and exploration, leading to confusion about where to go next.
- gameplay145 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay is heavily centered around a pogo mechanic, offering a unique blend of platforming and aerial combat reminiscent of titles like Hollow Knight and Ori. While many players appreciate the fluid movement and engaging mechanics, some express frustration with difficulty spikes and the repetitiveness of the pogo mechanic, particularly during boss fights. Overall, the game is praised for its beautiful art and polished gameplay, though it could benefit from better balancing and additional options to enhance the experience.
“The gameplay is unique with the air combat; it's a very smart idea to build the whole game on this aspect.”
“The art style is gorgeous, the world is enticing, exploring is fun, combat feels great, and gameplay is overall very polished.”
“The movement mechanics are incredibly satisfying, and the world is both charming and visually stunning.”
“Don't get me wrong, I love challenging games where I can learn the mechanics and try different things to overcome an obstacle, but here you have no other options just to be good with the sequence, and I don't like to be frustrated with one mistake meaning I have to restart from the beginning.”
“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.”
“The gameplay, combat, graphics, and sound design are all impressively executed, but the gameplay feels like a poor imitation of Hollow Knight.”
- graphics97 mentions
- 62 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus" are widely praised for their stunning, hand-drawn art style that beautifully incorporates elements of Japanese mythology. Reviewers highlight the game's gorgeous visuals, smooth animations, and engaging environments, often comparing its aesthetic favorably to titles like "Hollow Knight" and "Okami." Overall, the art direction is considered a standout feature, enhancing the gameplay experience with its charm and visual appeal.
“The graphics and visuals are stunning, and I liked them more than Hollow Knight.”
“The art style is gorgeous, the world is enticing, exploring is fun, combat feels great, and gameplay is overall very polished.”
“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 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.”
“This also happened when I first launched the game, and two of the little animations that display the developer logo and whatnot also had bugged out graphics.”
- story95 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story of the game is generally well-received for its engaging characters and beautiful art direction, though opinions vary on its depth and pacing. While some players appreciate the unique take on Japanese folklore and the interwoven quests, others find the narrative predictable or lacking emotional connection. Additionally, certain quests, particularly the "fragile egg" quest, have drawn criticism for their frustrating design, overshadowing the overall enjoyment of the story.
“A beautiful dive into Japanese folklore with an original story attached.”
“The artwork is beautiful, the music is driving, the story is engaging, and the gameplay is smooth and fun.”
“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.”
“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 like it could use more testing; way too many frustrating elements, and the story 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.”
- music69 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its phenomenal quality and how well it complements the game's art style and themes, particularly those inspired by Japanese mythology. While some found the soundtrack to be exceptional and immersive, others felt it was merely adequate, noting that it didn't stand out significantly during gameplay. Overall, the music is described as a beautiful and integral part of the game's atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience for players.
“The music is phenomenal and the story and characters are great.”
“An absolute feast for the eyes with the art direction and excellent soundtrack; bō is a great game if you're looking for a game to scratch some of that 'metroidvania' itch.”
“The music, and art, the gameplay, all of it.”
“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.”
“Visuals, music, and general movement are all on par with HK, but the world is noticeably smaller.”
- grinding37 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 97 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly during platforming sections and boss fights that require repetitive actions with little reward. Many reviews highlight the lack of checkpoints and long respawn distances as contributing factors to the grind, making the experience feel unnecessarily punishing. While some players appreciate the challenge, the consensus leans towards a need for better pacing and a more forgiving design to enhance enjoyment.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Never have I felt a platforming section of a metroidvania this tedious and annoying to do in my whole metroidvania career.”
“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.”
“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.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 88 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals and complementary music, creating a captivating experience that enhances the fluid aerial combat and platforming challenges. Reviewers highlight the wallpaper-worthy scenery and masterful execution of the overall ambiance, making it a standout title for fans of atmospheric gameplay. Overall, the art, music, and atmosphere are consistently rated as exceptional, contributing to a highly enjoyable gaming experience.
“The art and music really complement the atmosphere of the game very well.”
“Every area contains wallpaper-worthy scenery, and the soundtrack composed by Moisés Camargo complemented the atmosphere perfectly.”
“The atmosphere is beautiful, the gameplay is fun and not awkward at all.”
- emotional7 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a mix of charm and challenge, with an emphasis on aerial combat that enhances gameplay. However, many players feel a lack of emotional connection to the story, noting that while the game's design is fantastic, the emotional depth and build-up in key scenes often fall short, resulting in a somewhat flat experience.
“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 development6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
While the game features stunning character designs and polished art that draws inspiration from titles like Hollow Knight, reviewers note that it lacks depth in lore and character development, suggesting players should not expect a rich narrative experience. The focus appears to be more on visual appeal and platforming mechanics rather than intricate character arcs.
“I also really love the art of this game; everything is polished and beautiful, and the character designs are so good.”
“Character design is on point; it's what I expected and more in some cases, and the artistic cutscenes are very well done.”
“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.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, with players appreciating the cute art style and the presence of funny side characters that enhance the overall comedic experience.
“I really enjoy the cute art with the funny characters.”
“It's very funny to play!”
“The game features cute and funny side characters.”
- stability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed, with users noting it can feel clunky and buggy. However, it performs well on the Steam Deck and now includes cloud save functionality, which is a positive addition.
“The game runs great on the Steam Deck, and the addition of cloud save is a fantastic feature.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or major bugs, which makes for a smooth gaming experience.”
“The stability of the game is impressive; I can play for hours without any issues.”
“Kinda clunky, kinda buggy, kinda dull unfortunately.”
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%
