Metroidvania fans seem to be living through a golden age. Hollow Knight and the Ori series, the indie hits of the last decade, have established themselves as all-time classics, fueling a horde of imitators, tributes, and new ideas. Even as recently as 2024, entries range from the imaginative, lo-fi hit Animal Well to the lavishly presented Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. Bo: The path of the Teal Lotus can be one more Metroidvania, but, amazingly, it’s another one worth your time.
The story begins with an atmospheric animated scene in which the heavenly flower “Tentaihana” falls from the sky into a lotus flower. This represents Bo, a small fox-like creature draped in petals. While the narrative doesn’t go far, the tone of the world is developed effectively, with a cheerful cast of characters ranging from a two-headed psychic toucan to a ramen chef with a fishcake head. The dialogue is never taken too seriously, whether it’s referencing classic memes, breaking the fourth wall, or speaking very harshly.
Publisher Humble Games has described it as an “action platformer with elements of Metroidvania,” and developer Squid Shock Studios can be said to have delivered Metroidvania-lite. Relatively linear progression and a quick-to-pick-up map make it less demanding if you prefer, and the main gameplay challenge is coordinating a series of moves to navigate treacherously tricky platforming sections and bosses.
A key element of that detour is the mechanic where hitting an enemy or object cancels Bo’s jump. By chaining consecutive kicks and jumps, it is possible to stay off the ground for a long time and build up huge attack combos. Add in run, drift, and other unlockable maneuvers, and you’ve got a set of controls that can be a handful, but open up a ceiling of skill. We got stuck on dexterity challenges far more often than exploration or environmental puzzles.
In fact, it gets to that level of difficulty where you start trying to do things that you think are probably not what you should be doing – like you’re one step ahead of the game. Turns out it’s the other way around and, yes, you should have done something so difficult. (One particular escapade with an egg will haunt us forever.)
If you’re worried about being blocked by increased difficulty, Slow Mode among the accessibility options provides some reassurance. We tested this (in the interest of a thorough review, not because we couldn’t hack it…honestly), and besides making things more doable, it actually trained us to work better with the speed cranked up to full speed. The rhythm of jump, kick, jump, jerk, kick, jump, kick, kick, jump… is satisfying enough to get your fingers and thumbs on, and a little help made the fun even more accessible.
All those intricate key sequences require precise timing. For the most part, Path of the Teal Lotus keeps its job running smoothly. We felt our Switch struggled with some of the more spectacular scenery and things were slow here and there. However, as much as we’d love an excuse for failing in the more difficult sequences, we couldn’t honestly say that the frame rate held us back in practice. If you want to silky smooth, maybe look elsewhere, but especially on a small screen, performance is not an issue.
The visuals offered by this game are really beautiful. The hand-drawn cartoon style, highlighted by dramatic parallax, beams of light and moving environments, is beautifully executed. The bosses are a treat, and the troll princess from the bridge stands out as a real screen filler, drawing classic Japanese woodblock prints – especially Hokusai’s views of Mount Fuji. Elsewhere, stone foxes turn their heads as you pass through a rich green forest with a rainbow pouring over it, or the sun’s rays pierce scattered cherry blossoms between gnarled trunks. It’s a style that’s been treated to video games before, particularly in Okami, but Bo’s take on it feels fresh.
What further enlivens the world is the music, which creates an atmosphere with its well-measured absence as well as its mix of traditional Japanese instruments and more modern sounds. A lot of moments he lets the sound effects do the talking, in the form of banging bamboo, the gentle crackling of embers, the booming footsteps of a giant spirit lurking through the distant background, and the wind hushing through the leaves.
Beyond the art direction, Path of the Teal Lotus is steeped in Japanese culture and language. ‘Infused’ is the operative word here, as the big focus is on the tea. Bo carries a kettle that fills with tea as you deal blows to enemies. If you have a few seconds to sit still, you can drink it to restore your health. The kettle itself can also be upgraded with Bo. A quick cup also accompanies each save, in miniature shrines scattered around the map. Collectable stupor spells and daruma figures also serve as buffs and special attacks, while many characters and locations are named after Japanese words. At times it may seem like a non-stop tour of Japanese clichés – torii gates, chouchin lamps, cherry blossoms, temples, shrines and ramen abound – but it’s clearly a passionate representation of folklore and culture.
If there’s one criticism that can be leveled at Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, it’s that it’s far from groundbreaking. Everything here, even to some extent including the elegant presentation, is a collection of things that existed before. While it has its own gameplay experience, it’s quite subtly different from the other giants in the genre. If you’re going to like this, a lot depends on the combat mechanics that meet the platformer and the appetite for a Metroidvania that relies more on skill than discovery.
Conclusion
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is a game where charm meets challenge and passion for Japanese culture is expressed with artistic flair. Its emphasis on platforming skills over exploration gives it a distinct profile in the Metroidvania crowd and, while it may not be everyone’s cup of tea, for many the appeal will blossom like the trees in Sakura City.
