Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus Reviews
Squid Shock Studios lets loose an astonishing debut in the form of Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, a silky-smooth metroidvania platformer.
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus tries its hardest to break out of the staples of genre contemporaries, such as with its folklore backdrop and a handful of new abilities, but it sometimes results in being more convoluted than necessary. Still, it’s set in a beautiful world that’s a joy to explore, with tough bosses and platforming that provide a rewarding challenge.
Though it features some of the best parts of modern metroidvania games, too often Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is waylaid by its lack of direction and poor platforming.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is, plain and simple, one truly superb and expertly-crafted metroidvania game. The cast of colorful characters ends up leading to quests that feature impressive gameplay that encourages exploration as you eventually discover more of the world, the action is superb and challenging with a lot of fun movement, and it all looks dazzling as you take in all of the sights of Japanese mythology, depicted here in such a charming style. If you're a fan of the genre, you need to check it out. And if not, consider Bō a good place to start.
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.
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is simply a must play Metroidvania, with fantastic locomotion, gorgeous visuals and boss fights I won't forget in a hurry.
In a crowded genre, Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, stands out with its wonderful hand-drawn visuals and rewarding platforming focused gameplay. The demanding difficulty won't be everyone's cup of tea, but for those after a challenge, it's well worth seeking out.
A metroidvania with its fair share of inspiration, albeit too tied to the need to remain in mid-air most of the time.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is an extremely charming metroidvania thanks to its rich use of Japanese folklore in its world and character design. Not only is the world nice to look at, but a delight to explore. There are some rough edges when it comes to the platforming, but there is immense fun to be had if you can work past them.
As long as you don't expect anything genre-defining, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is a breathtaking Metroidvania experience. The art style is gorgeous, the action-platforming is fast and satisfying, and the sweet modesty of its tale is though-provoking and gentle. Path of the Teal Lotus is a little heavy with the tutorials at the beginning, boss battles later on get frustrating, and it doesn't do anything remarkably new, but fans of Hollow Knight will find this a gratifying curio that's well worth diving into, even if the pool here is a little bit shallow.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is a remarkable achievement. Not only is the overall presentation truly stunning with its authentic, watercolor design, but the platform-focused gameplay and thoughtful combat system establish the game as an essential title in the Metroidvania genre. With its responsive controls and challenging boss battles, the game offers an immersive and rewarding experience that will keep players engaged from start to finish.
But while the game at times demands a level of execution that its design doesn’t always facilitate, its frustrations are fleeting. They resemble the towering skeleton that stomps through its world—revealing themselves in bursts but largely sticking to the darkness, denting but not fully cracking the beauty, coziness, and wondrous sense of atmosphere that surround them.
While Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus plays it too safe with its gameplay, its engrossing setting and large cast of charming characters help it stand apart in the ever-crowded Metroidvania genre.
A small but very fine adventure that does a lot right. Absolute recommendation for fans of platformers and metroidvanias.
Review in German | Read full review
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus wears its inspirations boldly – Hollow Knight in particular – but makes its unique mark in a delightfully crowded modern Metroidvania market. The platforming is difficult but the level design is creative. The boss fights are too long but encourage you to use what you've learned. There are UI issues but they don't occur often enough to ruin the game. The bridge section is brutal but shows an impressive confidence in the level design that persists until the end. The writing, art, and music are sublime. You should play this if you're a genre fan with more patience than me.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus from developer Squid Shock Studios is a beautiful game that features all the right magical moves to make this a challenging precision platformer but stumbles badly with imprecise controls that make what would be a good experience frustrating.
If it wasn’t for these pain points, Bō would be a game I wholeheartedly recommend to any fan of Metroid and its ilk, but they currently stand as severe detriments to the overall experience. I hope they’re things that can be ironed out with patches, because Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is positively dripping with love for the genre and deserves to be acknowledged for what it brings forth—not the concessions I must make regarding it. It took me roughly 16 hours to reach 100% completion, and I enjoyed 15 of those hours greatly. A brief conversation I had with someone on the marketing and community side of Squid Shock Studios vaguely pointed towards even more secrets to uncover or future content planned for the game, and I will likely jump back into Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus to experience those myself when and if they happen: but only because I know the worst is behind me.
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.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is stunning, atmospheric, fun, and challenging. It's a great metroidvania that, even without being too original, uses the right inspirations to paint like few others a Japanese fable of contemplative beauty and rewarding agility.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is one of the most beautiful games I have played. With great characters and a compelling story, it is sure to draw you in and challenge you.