Bo Path of The Teal Lotus Review
Bo: Path of The Teal Lotus Review
When we first starting drafting the review for Bo: Path of The Teal Lotus, the takeaway was something along the lines of playing this will definitely help pass the time while we continue to wait for Hollow Knight: Silksong.
While that sentiment still remains true, it feels slightly dismissive of Squid Shock and the work that they have done crafting this incredible adventure. The more we played, the more we realized that, despite being inspired by games like Hollow Knight, Celeste, Okami and Paper Mario, it strongly carves out its own identity. Bo: Path of The Teal Lotus is much more than just a stop gap between now and one of the most anticipated Metroidvanias of all time. It’s a phenomenal experience
The Metroidvania genre has always been about derivative mechanics and diminishing innovations. What usually makes a Metroidvania great, isn’t how it reinvents the wheel, but how all of the separate elements come together as a cohesive package that feels unique and Bo: Path of The Teal Lotus feels like nothing I have played before.
PROS
Bo: Path of The Teal lotus is a colorful, hand drawn, 2.5D action platformer inspired by Japanese folklore. It’s also truly a kickstarter success story about four people that just were looking for 35k in funding ended up getting nearly 180k from backers, which eventually lead to the studio being able to find a publisher in Humble Games. All of this helped Squid Shock create the vision that they originally intended and deliver an excellent game.
In regards to the aforementioned cohesive elements, each one is nearly flawless. The visuals have a stand out in a genre of similarity, the score is extremely refreshing as it draws from Eastern inspiration, which builds immersion, the plot was engaging with witty dialogue that didn't overstay its welcome, and bosses that were not only unique from one another, but were also epic in scale and challenge.
There are a few areas that require extra attention due to their quality. In addition to the stunning art, the world design is beyond reproach and you know this because you can explore without constantly looking at the map. Each location is not only unique visually, but flows perfectly into each other. It also is easy enough to traverse with plenty of hidden paths and very tough, but optional areas, all of which are essential for an exceptional experience. This continued to the quests in Bo, which felt like more than just your typical fetch quests as even at times they provided you with riddles that made you observe the world in a different eye.
Whenever there is discussion of a new Metroidvania, there is always the concern of how it will find a way to stand out. In one of the most crowded genres, there never feels like much room to innovate and standout,. What makes Bo unique, outside of the stunningly gorgeous visuals, is the focus on aerial movement and combat. The game constantly demands that you use whatever skills you have to stay in the air. Not only does this system make Bo feel unique in a world of copy cats, but it leads to some extremely satisfying and challenging sections. This works in harmony with an absolutely flawless performance, and controls that have razor sharp responsiveness.
We touched on the inspirations behind Bo, which Squid Shock haven’t been shy about. Most games are usually inspired from one game, which usually feels like an iteration or almost an attempt to capitalize on popularity. What’s incredible is that you can feel aspects of inspiration in Bo, but it never feels like a lazy attempt to use what’s already been done. There is the slight witty writing and some paper cut out visuals from Paper Mario, platforming sections that absolutely push your limits from Celeste, the rich cultural tapestry inspired by Japanese culture, folklore and mythology similar to Okami and the obvious Hollow Knight inspirations.
CONS
There are minimal downsides. The bosses are such a spectacle that there can be so much happening on screen at once, especially the further you progress and more skills are unlocked with loads of color indicators on screen. Sometimes, to give the sense of scale, the camera is zooms out, making things even small, which can at times be hard to find out where you are in all of the chaos. This could also just be a Steam Deck/Nintendo Swtich handheld issue.
Towards the end of Bo, there are some platforming sections that have extremely limited checkpoints and require you to make it through certain gauntlets in one run. Even though the difficulty curve was perfect throughout the game, these were still challenging and felt like the platoforming areas that were inspired by Celeste the most.
The folklore inspired quests were great, but I wish it told the player which quests were main and optional. Time is limited and sometimes sticking to the golden path is nice if you would rather finish the game as opposed to see every single thing that it has to offer. However, considering that most times it’s hard to differentiate, is a testament to the quality of the quests.
Finally, giving the player the ability to drop pins on their map at points of interest could have alleviated some of the frustration near the end when the map is quite huge and you need to return to certain areas.
VERDICT
Right before 2024 began, we looked ahead at ten of the most anticipated Metrodvanias coming out with Bo: Path of The Teal Lotus being on the shortlist. We declared that there was a good chance that 2024 could end up being one of the best years for the genre in a long time if most of these games live up to their expectations. Bo: Path of The Teal Lotus is making me look like Nostradamus due to it addicting, unique and near perfect Metroidvania experience that exceeded our expectations.