Whereas we await information about Silksong, the sequel to Hole Knight, a separate indie studio went forward and made a religious successor of types. Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus has no connection to Hole Knight, however from the second you are taking management of the fox spirit named Bō, it’s inconceivable to not evaluate the 2 2D platformers. That stated, carrying your inspiration in your sleeve isn’t essentially a nasty factor when stated inspiration is a masterpiece.
Bō is tasked with saving the world from a collection of huge, looming threats drawn straight out of Japanese folklore. Bō is nearly powerless on his personal, however with the remodeling bō workers, Bō can navigate the world with ease and take down monsters alongside the best way.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus is combat-heavy however focuses simply as a lot on platforming because it does on combating. Together with your bō workers, you possibly can strike sure objects on this planet to reset your soar and sprint. Chaining all of your actions collectively is critical to advance, and as you progress by the story, you’ll acquire new talents that add to the complexity of traversal. Finally, you’ll sprint, soar, glide, and slingshot throughout the map at breakneck speeds.
That is the place the sport excelled for me. I’m a sucker for an incredible puzzle platformer, and though not one of the concepts current in Bō are distinctive, they mesh nicely collectively. I used to be repeatedly reminded of a few of my favourite moments in Rayman Origins, Celeste, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps as I charted death-defying paths by the world, avoiding spike traps, partitions of fireplace, spinning laser wheels, and leagues of enemies that refused to depart me alone.
I used to be much less enthused by the fight, which is all the time comparatively manageable up till a boss combat. There are nicely over a dozen enemy sorts within the sport. Some simply slowly amble in your normal path. Others fly round taking pictures ice shards, roll at you whereas blowing hearth, or dart throughout the display screen at mild velocity. Taking up one or two at a time is all the time possible, however there are contained fight arenas and boss fights that flip the sport right into a bullet hell shooter. The one drawback is that you may’t actually shoot again.
You do have a set of Daruma dolls that every have totally different talents — one dashes ahead to hit enemies, one blows hearth, and one other throws bombs — however these devour tea. When you’ve run out of tea, your solely possibility is to stand up shut and private to smack the unhealthy guys along with your workers. Too usually, I felt like I used to be dying not as a result of I had failed to concentrate to the assault patterns or use my talents accurately, however as a result of there was an excessive amount of litter on the display screen to keep away from each stray monster, projectile, and environmental hazard within the room.
Tea works identical to SOUL in Hole Knight. For those who maintain down left set off, you’ll slowly devour tea, which can restore your well being. I didn’t actually love this technique in Hole Knight, and it’s simply as irritating right here. You must stay fully nonetheless whereas ingesting tea, and it takes a number of beats to really work. That’s not particularly helpful when the aforementioned projectiles and enemies are all the time half an prompt from operating into Bō, which interrupts the consumption.
This frustration is assuaged considerably by omaromi — amulets you gather throughout the journey that enhance Bō’s abilities. One I acquired a number of hours into the sport allowed me to sip tea whereas transferring slowly, which was a lifesaver in sure fights.
The place Bō actually units itself aside is its artwork fashion and fantastical setting. Each character you meet and each creature you battle is impressed by Japanese folklore, from bird-like demons (tengu) to cute tree spirits (kodama) to an enormous skeleton (Gashadokuro) trampling cities off within the distance. Paired with the hand-drawn artwork, the sport is really enchanting.
Whereas it’s a bit tough across the edges and infrequently had me on the verge of rage-quitting, I used to be pretty impressed by Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus. It’s a difficult, attractive, and fast-paced Metroidvania that doesn’t break a lot new floor. Personally, I don’t want each 2D platformer to reinvent the wheel, in order that fits me simply superb.
Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus launches for Change, PS5, Xbox Collection X/S, and PC on July 18.
