Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus

A really solid Metroidvania. What stood out most, both before and during playing it, was its visuals. The traditional Japanese aesthetic was unique and well-executed. It truly felt like a Washi painting through effective use of colour, motion, and texturing. I thought the music and sound design were strong, and the decision to make the various characters' voices traditional instruments was creative and immersive. The thematic and mechanical significance of tea was also greatly immersive, helping achieve strong ludonarrative harmony. The combat was good. It had a strong identity around staying airborne that felt sleek and competent, even if the game neglected giving it any ludonarrative significance or justification. Given the short runtime, the simplicity was appreciated and of fitting depth. The boss fights were fun and distinct, even if they were fairly derivative; my favourite was Tengu. This fight wore the inspiration of Mantis Lords, or Sisters of Battle, from [i]Hollow Knight[/i] on its sleeve. It had great rhythm and difficulty, but it did drag by the third round. I recommend this if you are a Metroidvania enthusiast, or if you find the aesthetic captivating. Do note, the lore and narrative were superficial and largely ignored.

the games solid but it just feels so clunky to play and look at. Its missing a lot of polish like an ori or hollow knight but it still has a cute charm, 5.9/10

It is difficult for me to judge such a game. On one hand, I absolutely hate precision platforming / platforming in general. On the other hand, this game's visuals and character design are a delectable treat and is highly rewarding in the broadness of that category together. The story is fast-paced and great for what it is. I personally enjoyed it a lot, but I do wish there was more in terms of lore scale across the different regions you encounter within this game. Music was awe-inspiring, emotionally resonant, and awesome all the way through! Each piece of music you encounter fits whatever is happening quite well, if not masterfully for certain areas (Gashadokuro in particular for me personally). And I must state again that every character in this game was so flavorfully wonderful! To me, the most important aspect of games is music, lore, and characters. Gameplay is usually secondary for me, and even though some of the platforming made me pull my hair out, I simply can't hate a game like this due to how good everything else was! I really hope more games in the future get as ambitious as this game did with its characters as I feel every game benefits with a unique setting of characters :D I haven't played the DLC yet, so this review is merely for the base game. Furthermore, I think I would have enjoyed the platforming more if I had some buddies to watch me stress over it, but I played the game alone, and so the alone-gamer syndrome of rage fills the cauldron once more lmao -- 6/22/2026 - I completed through all of the DLC. The Tunuki races were pretty fun aside from the ones in Ice Caverns. Going through and doing all five seals for each of the bosses was an enormous challenge and mental warfare that I gave up and continued sooooooo many times. It has also made me encounter various bugs, wacky interactions, and insanely tight and precise techniques in order to maximize damage. Through these methods I can confidently know, and say, which bosses I absolutely loathe and which I absolutely love. Gashadokuro and Asahi were the bosses I absolutely never had any pleasure in doing. Yokozuna is fun but kind of boring for a boss. Kitsura, Tengu Trio, Jorogumo, and Sakura Shogun remain as my favorites with Kiri Kiri Bozu and Armakillo remaining as good middle ground bosses that are fun but lack complexity within the 5 seal challenges. I did not do the guauntlet with the seals as that would take too long to become comfortable doing... and well, I'd rather not spend a hour to go through all the bosses when it took like 7 hours to learn how to beat the Tengu Trio once under 5 seals. All the cosmetic stuff and customizable room was a nice feature of the DLC that I wish more games did. Very good endgame goals and content for people who want to continue playing the game and want a incentive to do so. Gambling and RNG isn't really my thing in games so the luck pools within the machine weren't that fun but I did manage to get them all after 30k Kitsunebi. I was stuck at 76 for at least 20k, which is insane bad RNG LOL After trying to beat the game without dying, I found out I was definitely going to get an aneurism if I tried that multiple times so I was more then happy just doing the challenge of not using my teapot to heal to beat the game. I did complete that one at least lol

This is genuinely one of the best metroivanias I have ever played! I love the art style a lot and the characters are very cool. The platforming is very fun and the boss fights are the perfect skill level for me! (I suck at boss fights). This game has features within platforming that are unique which i haven't seen in any other game which i really appreciated. This game is very fun and I'd highly recommend checking it out!!

こっちを歩いてるんだぞ！

Una preciosidad de juego. Una joya perfecta de combate aéreo y acrobático. Movimientos gentiles y con gracia envueltos en una atmósfera pintada al estilo japonés tradicional en donde se atraviesan las páginas de la historia de Bo.

Great game. Not just a great metroidvania, but a great platformer. A simple platformer with these mechanics would have been great on its own, but it's elevated even more by fun combat and exploration. I love the attack-to-stay-up mechanic. I also love the item you get late-game that allows you to see your missing collectables on the map. I wish all metroidvanias had this. My only complaint is the infinite kettle quest where you have to find 4 collectables based on vague riddles alone - too much aimless wandering for my taste, so I won't be 100%ing this. Great game though.