Following a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign in February of this year, the upcoming stunning Metroidvania Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus by Chris Stair and Trevor Youngquist has gained some notable names in the Metroid fan community. Members of the team behind Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R) have joined this Japanese folklore-inspired quest action game that developers say draws a leaf from the books of Hollow Knight and Okami. Stair and Youngquist originally worked on the project on their own, but now they have with them these three credible names who know little about the Metroidvania-Milton Guasti genre (DoctorM64, AM2R Director and Ori and the Will of the Wisps level designer ), Esteban Criado (DruidVorse, AM2R’s Lead Playtester and Metroidvania speedrunner) and Robert Maloney (Sephazon, producer of AM2R and Associate for Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions). The three of them will work as Associate Designer, QA Lead, and Production and Publishing Lead in Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, and what a team they will bring to this beautiful project. Images: Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist Using beautiful handmade aesthetics to create enchanting levels, characters and environments, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus follows Bo, a celestial flower that must overcome obstacles and fight dangerous enemies after revealing the secrets behind the rise of a powerful shogun. . Bo will use its staff to bounce around these worlds of Japanese watercolor and treat you to a feast for the eyes and a load of Japanese folklore. Here are some more details about the game from its Steam page: – An intimate 2D side-scrolling action-platformer that combines classic animation and scenes by hand with new atmospheric bells and whistles that make the experience wonderful novels but also familiar. – Tight platform controls. Bō feels amazing in control and players will feel great as they enter a flow mode navigating challenging platform challenges. – Explore a mysterious world! The world of Bō is open and interconnected. Explore everything from haunted baths to a thriving Japanese-inspired metropolis. Find ways to travel back to areas you thought you had fully explored and unlock new trails and surprises. – Unlock powerful new abilities! Make and drink occult teas to unlock the skills of the changing Bō staff. Including Mochi Mallet, Blossom Dash and Grappling Gun. – Daruma doll power-ups! Collect daruma dolls throughout your journey to coordinate your skills and give you advantages (or even disadvantages) in unique ways. All daruma dolls start with 1 eye. These lovable Daruma dolls will be by your side throughout your journey. – A large cast of strange and adorable yokas (monsters from Japanese folklore) as well as original characters based on Japanese cultural archetypes. All of these characters and enemies come to life with traditional handmade 2D frame-by-frame animations. Help them with their side missions or just go for a chat and a cup of tea. – Epic Boss Battles! On your journey you will meet many huge monsters from Japanese folklore. Use your knowledge and skills to defeat them and go further in your search. – Beautiful hand-painted and riveting areas and landscapes with traditional ornaments inspired by Japan. – An absolutely wonderful original musical composition by Moises Carmago, which beautifully combines traditional Japanese orchestration with contemporary orchestral music. There are a dozen Metroidvanias on the Switch, but with Bo’s beautiful graphics and the genealogy behind it, we’re extremely excited to see how it turns out. Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus will be released on Switch sometime next year, and we will definitely be watching it. Watch last year’s teaser trailer below and share your thoughts about the game with us in the comments! Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube Further reading
