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After a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign back in February this year, Chris Stair and Trevor Youngquist’s upcoming stunning Metroidvania Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus has garnered some notable names in the Metroid fan base.
Team members behind Another Metroid 2 remake (AM2R) have joined this Japanese folklore-inspired hidden object action game that the developers say is inspired by the books by Hollow Knight and Okami.
Stair and Youngquist originally worked on the project alone, but have now been joined by these three respected names who know a thing or two about the Metroidvania genre – Milton Guasti (DoctorM64, director of AM2R and level designer of Ori and the Will of the Wisps), Esteban Criado (DruidVorse, lead playtester of AM2R and Metroidvania speedrunner), and Robert Maloney (Sephazon, producer of AM2R and partner on Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions). The three will be working on Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus as Associate Designer, QA Lead and Production and Publishing Lead and what a team to drive this beautiful looking project forward.
Using beautiful hand-drawn aesthetics to create intriguing levels, characters, and environments, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus follows Bo, a celestial blossom who must overcome obstacles and battle dangerous foes after uncovering the mysteries behind the rise of a powerful shogun Has. Bo will hop her staff through these Japanese watercolor worlds, and you’ll be treated to eye candy and a boatload of Japanese folklore.
Here are some more details on the game from its Steam page:
– A familiar side-scrolling 2D action-platformer that blends classic hand-drawn animations and landscapes with new atmospheric bells and whistles that make the experience delightfully new yet cozily familiar.
– Strict platform controls. Controlling Bō feels amazing and players will feel great as they enter a state of flow and complete the challenging platforming challenges.
– Explore a mysterious world! The world of Bō is open and networked. Explore everything from haunted bathhouses to a thriving Japanese-inspired metropolis. Find ways to travel back to areas you thought you fully explored and unlock new paths and surprises.
– Unlock powerful new skills! Brew and drink arcane teas to unlock Bō’s shapeshifting staff abilities. Including Mochi Mallet, Blossom Dash and Grappling Gun.
– Daruma doll power-ups! Collect Daruma Dolls along your journey to hone your skills and give you unique advantages (or even disadvantages). All Daruma dolls start with 1 filled eye. They can be upgraded to a 2-eyed Daruma, which amplifies the benefit of the original Daruma. These adorable Daruma dolls will accompany you throughout your journey.
– A wide variety of bizarre and adorable yokai (monsters from Japanese folklore) as well as original characters based on Japanese cultural archetypes. All of these characters and enemies are brought to life with traditional 2D hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation. Help them with their side quests or just drop by for a chat and a cup of tea.
– Epic boss battles! On your journey you will encounter many giant monsters from Japanese folklore. Use your acquired knowledge and skills to defeat them and further advance in your quest.
– Beautifully hand-drawn and immersive areas and landscapes with traditional Japanese-inspired decorations.
– An absolutely beautiful original score, composed by Moises Carmago, which beautifully blends traditional Japanese instrumentation with modern orchestral music.
There are a dozen Metroidvanias on the Switch, but with Bo’s beautiful graphics and the family tree behind it, we’re very excited to see how this one turns out.
Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus is coming to Switch sometime next year and we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this one. Check out last year’s teaser trailer below, and let us know your thoughts on the game in the comments!
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