Review | Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus

A short review

Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is an action-adventure platform game developed by Squid Shock Studios and published by Humble Games (apparently this was their last one before they closed), with Raredrop Games handling the home console versions. It was released on July 17, 2024, for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

I only know of Signalis when it comes to the mentioned publisher, but I can’t say I really play their games. Bō looks so sweet and nice—I just had the urge to play it.

Bō is a Metroidvania-type game, so expect the expected—it really reminds me of a mix between The Messenger and Hollow Knight, but without the awesome Messenger music.

There is just something special about hand-drawn sceneries and graphics, and nothing can replace it.

Story and the characters

The game follows Bō, a fox spirit born from a celestial blossom in the heavens, who journeys through a world based on Japanese folklore and mythology to fulfill an ancient prophecy. On your journey, you’ll meet a handful of NPCs who either give you quests or guide you toward the next step.

I like the culture and overall feeling this game brings, but it kind of lacks depth and stronger characters. Even Bō feels underutilized and shallow at times. As I mentioned, it’s all wrapped in beautiful Japanese culture and scenery, so that part is spot on. It’s just too bad that something so pretty doesn’t have a stronger story and presentation to match.

Across 12–20 hours of your journey, you’ll explore different regions and unlock new moves to reach new areas, find secrets behind secret walls, and defeat enemies and bosses to keep things interesting. It’s a well-rounded, decent game in its genre—but nothing more.

I love the city, but most of all, I love the exploration and skillset you get while exploring. The hit and jump combo is really good.

I love the city, but most of all, I love the exploration/skillset when you explore. Hit and jump is really good.

Game design, exploration

There’s not much to explain—it’s a regular 2D side-scrolling adventure where you need to use your skills to survive the environments and enemies. With your bamboo stick, you kick some asses, and with that sweet jump + hit, you get another jump. I love that! It reminds me of what The Messenger used. Once you get the dash and other skills, it becomes a lot of fun in the long run. Too bad there’s no double jump, but it was enough as it is.

I was constantly feeling like I was enjoying myself while exploring. There’s almost no backtracking, and while there aren’t a ton of areas, there are enough to challenge every new skill you get. I feel like that’s a good approach—I don’t like repeating parts of a game just to make it longer.

The challenges are great. Some are harder, but mostly it’s about how skilled you are. The combination of extra moves when you strike a target of any kind is really interesting, and the whole gameplay feels smooth. It’s also not a hard game—until you try beating it without healing or dying, that is.

Fast travel exists, but I do miss instant fast travel later on. I don’t see the point in wasting time running to the teleport cauldron every time.

I’m a sucker for anime. Some scenes are really pretty and cool—I just wish there were more of them.

I'm a sucker for anime. Some scenes are really pretty and cool, I just wish there was more.

Combat

Combat falls a bit short, but then again, it feels fun and challenging, so that makes up for it. You can upgrade your bamboo stick and equip some secondary attacks to get more out of it, but mostly it’s about avoiding attacks and dealing damage while dodging. There are also accessories to keep things interesting, but none of them are really required.

I love how you can use everything around you to land a hit and get that extra jump, and how you can use most areas to “dance” while fighting. I felt like no challenge was too hard—no boss either—so just enjoy the journey. It’s not as hardcore as Hollow Knight, so no worries.

Finally, a game where almost no backtracking is needed. Why don’t all games do it like this?

Finally a game where almost no backtracking is needed. Why don't all games do it like this?

Side Content

Side content is mostly about getting quests from NPCs and completing them. Not much is gained from certain quests, and when you complete them all, there’s almost no reward in terms of lore or story—just small bits here and there. Of course, it’s advisable to upgrade your health, attack, construct buildings in town, etc.—it’ll make your journey easier, and it’s always cool when you get a new challenge, because all of them were super fun.

Getting 100% is not hard, but one quest where you need to carry a certain egg was... so frustrating. You can’t get damaged, or else it breaks. The area is one of the harder ones, so good luck. I’m no fan of no-hit trophies or events—I like to enjoy most of my games.

I wish we could ride the big fox.

I wish we can ride the big fox

Conclusion

Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is a beautiful and charming game with a strong visual style and satisfying movement mechanics the reminds of Hollow Knight and The Messenger. While it doesn’t quite deliver on deep storytelling or character development, its smooth gameplay, fun exploration, and minimal backtracking make it a joy to play for fans of the genre and the style. It’s not a groundbreaking Metroidvania, but it’s definitely a solid one—worth playing if you’re into the genre or just love that hand-drawn, anime-inspired style games. Plus, it's short!