Bo: Path Of The Teal Lotus Review

Brought to you by the folks at Squid Shock Studios and Humble Games is Bo: Path Of The Teal Lotus. And, at the time I am writing this review, the only game from Squid Shock. Is that good or bad? Let’s find out.

In Bo, we play as… well… Bo. A fox spirit born from a celestial blossom on a trip through ancient Japanese folklore and myth as we try and manage an oncoming disaster foretold in a prophecy.

Fairly simple story, but if you (like me) aren’t very familiar with the mythology it may be a little harder to follow along with and references will be missed. But that’s ok, you don’t need to do any reading before you play the game.

Bo is your typical silent protagonist who can run and jump and hit things with a stick. Over the course of our adventure we find better waits to hit things with sticks, we meet a bunch of new friends and enemies and, at the end of it all, we save the world from the hubris of man. Or something like that.

Game play is typical action adventure platformer kind of thing. It’s a 2d side scroller that required new abilities to be unlocked before progress can be made. We have to revisit older areas to get collectables, complete quests, and open up the rest of the world.

Combat starts off a little clunky but as you get a hang of it it really ends up being, I think, a very smooth and enjoyable experience. It can get tense, especially in some of the boss fights, but it’s very fluid and you can activate abilities pretty much on the fly when you get the hang of it. It’s easy to get a handle on but it’ll take some time to master.

Graphically the same is gorgeous. The lead artist (Christopher Stair) is also the director and writer for the game. The graphics have a story book kind of quality to them. Not in the same way a Paper Mario or Yoshi’s Island does, more like a Tengami does. The colors are bold a vivid, the sprites are well designed, the backgrounds are gorgeous. One game I could probably point to for a similar look though in a different style would be Pocky and Rocky.

The music is fantastic. I had to pick up the soundtrack after we finished streaming it. The music is a lovely blend of traditional and modern, of energetic and relaxing, of forceful and peaceful. No track is wrong for it’s scenario. Do I think it’s as good as the Death’s Door soundtrack? No. But it’s close.

I enjoyed the hell out of this game. It was nominated for several awards since 2024 when the game was released, it didn’t win any but that’s ok. The doesn’t mean it’s bad. I think it’s a wonderful experience from start to finish.