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Review: Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus
Jul. 21st, 2024 10:16 amI don't often post video game reviews, but I really wanted to do a review for this game (and there aren't really any places I can post a review, sadly, since I'm playing on the Switch rather than on Steam).
If you want a challenging platformer that requires relentless precision, this is the game for you! If, on the other hand, you play games to unwind, don't be fooled by the beautiful art style and cute design - look elsewhere!!
I describe myself as a casual gamer. I enjoy action RPGs and Super Smash Bros. I've played Mario and the odd Sonic games as far as platformers go; I haven't played Ori or Hollow Knight, which were apparently the inspirations for this game. I found this game to be frustratingly difficult.
The platforming is incredibly precise; one dash that takes you too far or jump when you weren't supposed to, and you have to start the sequence all over again. It was doubly frustrating when you had to backtrack through a bunch of stuff every time you died because save shrines aren't that plentiful. I also found combat difficult, as so much of it revolves around "pogoing" off enemies. However, in order to pogo, you need to hold down on the joystick, and if you're also using the joystick to move horizontally (which you are, usually), then oftentimes you might not be pressing "down" enough to trigger a pogo, and you'll take damage instead.
The boss encounters had good ideas, but I found that they took FOREVER to beat because they had so much health and too much of boss fights were obstacle courses where you had to survive long enough just to be able to hit the boss a few times. In other words, the attack windows were so short that bosses took forever to die. I also hated some of the forced combat arenas, which seemed designed to be as annoying as possible (the one in the western part of the Ice Caverns made me rage so hard!!).
This is also a game where you can't farm/grind for upgrades if you're struggling, as health upgrades are locked behind Lotus Seeds that you can only get from specific quests/story sequences. You can farm up teapot upgrades relatively easily, but that's it. I didn't find the Daruma dolls a meaningful help for combat, and I also thought most of the Omamori not that useful, since many of them were too specific to a certain context to be worth equipping. Or, they were just flat-out useless. Like stopping time while changing Daruma? Getting rid of the timer while batting objects? Who needs those? Generating shockwaves with the Mochi Mallet? The Mochi Mallet is so rarely useful in combat if you're not facing a few specific enemies that that's a waste of a slot. And so on.
Honestly, though, the difficulty wouldn't have bothered me as much if it weren't for some design choices that add to the difficulty. With more save shrines, with shrines being able to function as fast-travel points, with the ability to farm health upgrades early if you want, and with more helpful Omamori, I would have found the game more accessible. (Also, it would have been better if the game had gotten rid of the most frustrating enemies. Like those homing cats in Midori Forest or my absolute bane, the f#$%ing wolf/weasels in Megumi Mountain.)
On the plus side, the game IS gorgeous. I just wish it wasn't so frustrating. This is definitely NOT a game I would recommend to anyone who isn't experienced at playing 2D platformers/challenging Metroidvania games.
If you want a challenging platformer that requires relentless precision, this is the game for you! If, on the other hand, you play games to unwind, don't be fooled by the beautiful art style and cute design - look elsewhere!!
I describe myself as a casual gamer. I enjoy action RPGs and Super Smash Bros. I've played Mario and the odd Sonic games as far as platformers go; I haven't played Ori or Hollow Knight, which were apparently the inspirations for this game. I found this game to be frustratingly difficult.
The platforming is incredibly precise; one dash that takes you too far or jump when you weren't supposed to, and you have to start the sequence all over again. It was doubly frustrating when you had to backtrack through a bunch of stuff every time you died because save shrines aren't that plentiful. I also found combat difficult, as so much of it revolves around "pogoing" off enemies. However, in order to pogo, you need to hold down on the joystick, and if you're also using the joystick to move horizontally (which you are, usually), then oftentimes you might not be pressing "down" enough to trigger a pogo, and you'll take damage instead.
The boss encounters had good ideas, but I found that they took FOREVER to beat because they had so much health and too much of boss fights were obstacle courses where you had to survive long enough just to be able to hit the boss a few times. In other words, the attack windows were so short that bosses took forever to die. I also hated some of the forced combat arenas, which seemed designed to be as annoying as possible (the one in the western part of the Ice Caverns made me rage so hard!!).
This is also a game where you can't farm/grind for upgrades if you're struggling, as health upgrades are locked behind Lotus Seeds that you can only get from specific quests/story sequences. You can farm up teapot upgrades relatively easily, but that's it. I didn't find the Daruma dolls a meaningful help for combat, and I also thought most of the Omamori not that useful, since many of them were too specific to a certain context to be worth equipping. Or, they were just flat-out useless. Like stopping time while changing Daruma? Getting rid of the timer while batting objects? Who needs those? Generating shockwaves with the Mochi Mallet? The Mochi Mallet is so rarely useful in combat if you're not facing a few specific enemies that that's a waste of a slot. And so on.
Honestly, though, the difficulty wouldn't have bothered me as much if it weren't for some design choices that add to the difficulty. With more save shrines, with shrines being able to function as fast-travel points, with the ability to farm health upgrades early if you want, and with more helpful Omamori, I would have found the game more accessible. (Also, it would have been better if the game had gotten rid of the most frustrating enemies. Like those homing cats in Midori Forest or my absolute bane, the f#$%ing wolf/weasels in Megumi Mountain.)
On the plus side, the game IS gorgeous. I just wish it wasn't so frustrating. This is definitely NOT a game I would recommend to anyone who isn't experienced at playing 2D platformers/challenging Metroidvania games.
