Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is a beautiful Metroidvania developed by the indie studio Squad Shock Studios. The game emphasizes action-based combat and platforming, though it sometimes struggles to achieve balance in both areas. While the abundance of indie Metroidvanias is a welcome trend, it also presents a challenge for players with limited time and money to decide which one is worth playing.
The game does not offer a strong narrative. Instead, it relies on background lore, brief dialogues, and cutscenes to present its story. The game begins with an animated cutscene showing something crashing from the heavens into a lotus flower, from which the titular character, Bō, emerges.
Bō starts the game armed with a staff and gradually gains new powers as the story progresses. These powers are provided by NPCs after certain conditions are met. Various interesting NPCs are scattered throughout the game, offering insights into the world. The opening tutorial and gameplay mechanics are explained through interactions with these NPCs.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus deserves praise for its stunning art style and visuals. The game is visually impressive, standing alongside peers like Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest. It draws inspiration from Japanese folklore, reflected in its enemies and environments. However, the game features minimal dialogue, especially in the first half, which contributes to a sense of ambiguity and confusion. Without clear directions or a compelling narrative, it can be challenging to stay motivated to continue playing.
The world map is designed with a distinctive color scheme, creating diverse environments and a variety of enemies. However, the core gameplay elements—combat and platforming—have their flaws. It takes time to get accustomed to the controls of Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus. Bō can attack objects or enemies in the air, gaining an additional double jump, which can be repeated indefinitely. This mechanic is crucial in many boss fights, where staying airborne and targeting weak points is essential, but mastering it can be difficult.
New abilities are unlocked later in the game, including dash and drift, among others. These abilities allow players to access new areas and previously unreachable places, typical of the Metroidvania genre. Consequently, players can expect a significant amount of backtracking throughout the game. While Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is not traditionally difficult, it does require good reflexes to navigate its challenging platforming sections, which are also integral to most boss fights. Mastering the mechanics of attacking objects or enemies to gain jumps is essential early on. However, as more abilities are introduced, it can become increasingly challenging to manage Bō’s movements, particularly during fast-paced boss fights.
The boss fights are beautifully animated with a hand-drawn art style, enhancing the visual appeal of the game. Playing on the Steam Deck OLED is particularly enjoyable, even though the game does not support HDR. It was impressive to see the game support a higher frame rate, running at 90 FPS on the Steam Deck OLED out of the box. I did not encounter any significant performance issues, and the frame rate remained close to the 90 FPS target, making the platforming experience smooth.
The musical score in Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is incredible. Composer Moisés Camargo masterfully captures the traditional Japanese folklore setting. The sound effects enhance the combat experience, making each strike on the enemy feel impactful. The gameplay mechanics are also inspired by Japanese myths, with Bō collecting charms that grant new buffs or powers. However, a significant issue arises from the lack of meaningful combos. Bō can only perform a simple combo, though it is possible to mix this with the ability to jump and cancel into a new attack chain.
One major issue with progression is the game’s vague direction. Players are pointed toward completing a set of objectives, typically involving reaching a new level or biome, finding an NPC who gives a mission, and then attempting to complete it. Without an efficient fast travel system, this process can become cumbersome, especially since some locations require tricky platforming to reach. Although fast travel is available, it must first be unlocked. Exploration often feels unsatisfying because, aside from the main missions and optional content, rewards do not seem to justify the effort required.
The user interface and overall presentation of the game are excellent, but the map design can be confusing. It is easy to lose track of where to go, leading to uncertainty about the correct path. The game does not indicate if an NPC or shortcut has been missed, often resulting in backtracking to earlier locations to find a way forward. Combined with tricky platforming and somewhat repetitive combat sequences, this can lead to a frustrating experience.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is not a perfect Metroidvania game, but it is enjoyable if you can overlook its flaws. The developers deserve praise for their work on the art direction, music, and core gameplay mechanics. However, they may have tried too hard to emulate the Metroidvania style of Hollow Knight rather than opting for the more accessible approach seen in Ori and the Blind Forest.
The game would be more enjoyable if the platforming were less tricky and if the combat offered more variety. Despite these issues, I would still recommend it in the crowded field of indie Metroidvanias, as it provides a fun experience overall.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus Game Information
- Price: $19.99
- Publisher: Humble Games
- Developer: Squid Shock Studios
- Platform: PC (Reviewed)
- Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher
