Image: Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist
Following a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign in February of this year, Chris Stair and Trevor Youngquist’s upcoming upcoming Metroidvania Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus has earned a couple of notable names in the Metroid fan community.
The members of the team behind Another Metroid 2 Remake (AM2R) have joined this search action game inspired by Japanese folklore which, according to the developers, pulls out a leaf from the books by Hollow Knight and Okami .
Stair and Youngquist were originally working on the project alone, but now these three well-known names who know a thing or two about the Metroidvania genre have joined: Milton Guasti (DoctorM64, director of AM2R and level designer at Ori and the Will of the). Wisps), Esteban Criado (DruidVorse, AM2R’s main tester and Metroidvania speedrunner) and Robert Maloney (Sephazon, AM2R producer and associate of Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions). All three will work as an associate designer, head of quality control and head of production and publishing at Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, and what a team to contribute to this beautiful project.
Images: Christopher Stair, Trevor Youngquist
Using beautiful hand-drawn aesthetics to create fascinating levels, characters, and environments, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus follows Bo, a heavenly flower that must overcome obstacles and fight dangerous enemies after discovering the secrets behind the ascent. of a powerful shogun. Bo will use her staff to bounce around these worlds of Japanese watercolor and enjoy an eye-popping party and a boat laden with Japanese folklore.
Here are more details about the game from its Steam page:
– A family 2D side-scrolling action platform that fuses classic hand-drawn animation and scenery with new bells and atmospheric whistles that make the experience wonderfully new but welcoming.
– Strict platform controls. Bō feels amazing to control and players will feel great agency as they enter a state of flux navigating the challenging platform challenges.
– Explore a mysterious world! Bō’s world is open and interconnected. Explore everything from haunted baths to a thriving Japanese-inspired metropolis. Find ways to travel back to areas you think you’ve fully explored and unlock new paths and surprises.
– Unlock powerful new skills! Prepare and drink arcane teas to unlock Bō’s shape-shifting staff skills. Includes Mochi Mallet, Blossom Dash and Grappling Gun.
– Powers of the Daruma doll! Collect daruma dolls throughout your journey to hone your skills and offer you unique advantages (or even disadvantages). All daruma dolls start with 1 eye filled. They can be upgraded to a 2-eye daruma that enhances the advantage of the original daruma. These adorable daruma dolls will be by your side throughout your trip.
– A large cast of weird and adorable yokai (monsters of Japanese folklore) as well as original characters based on Japanese cultural archetypes. All of these characters and enemies come to life with traditional 2D frame-by-frame animation drawn by hand. 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 encounter many massive monsters of Japanese folklore. Use your acquired knowledge and skills to beat them and further your research.
– Beautiful hand-drawn immersive areas and landscapes with traditional Japanese-inspired ornaments.
– An absolutely beautiful original score composed by Moises Carmago, which wonderfully combines traditional Japanese instrumentation with modern orchestral music.
There’s a penny of a dozen Metroidvanies on the Switch, but with the beautiful images of Bo and the pedigree behind us, we’re very excited to see how this one turns out.
Good: Path of the Teal Lotus will be released on Switch sometime next year and we will definitely be looking forward to it. Check out last year’s teaser trailer below and share your thoughts on the game with us in the comments!
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