Inspired by Japanese folklore, Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus looks gorgeous

An upcoming 2.5D action platformer with some gorgeous visuals inspired by Japanese folklore? Sign me up, this sounds great but it's a little while away yet.

Seems I completely missed this one originally, as it was funded on Kickstarter back in early 2022 and Linux is a confirmed release platform for the game. It surfaced again recently, as they've now teamed up with Humble Games (the publishing arm of Humble Bundle).

Check out the new trailer:

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"Flow with acrobatic grace and agility through a mysterious world of myth and legend in Bō: Path of the Teal Lotus, a colorful hand-drawn adventure inspired by Japanese folklore.

Undertake a mystical journey as Bō, a celestial blossom (fox tentaihana) descended from the heavens to play a key role in an ancient and mysterious ritual. Use your legendary bō staff to bounce and glide fluidly through an otherworldly realm of hand-drawn, dreamlike landscapes, strange and adorable yokai, and massive monsters summoned from ancient legends of Japan."

Features:

• A genre that will feel familiar yet fresh to many players. A 2.5D side-scrolling action platformer with metroidvania elements that merges classic hand-drawn animation and scenery with new atmo- spheric bells and whistles that make the experience wondrously novel yet cozily familiar.
• Tight platforming controls. Bō feels amazing to control and players will feel great agency as they enter a flow state navigating the challenging platforming puzzles.
• Explore a mysterious world based on Japanese folklore! The world of Bō is open and interconnected. Explore everything from haunted bathhouses to a thriving Japanese-inspired metropolis. Find ways to travel back to areas that you thought you explored fully and unlock new paths and surprises.
• Gather and collect ingredients and relics. Mine the valuable resources in the Kagayaki Cave or harvest bizarre flora in Midori Forest.
• Unlock powerful new abilities! Brew and drink arcane teas to unlock Bō’s shapeshifting staff abilities. Including the Mochi Mallet, Blossom Dash and the Grappling Gun.
• Daruma doll sidekicks! Collect daruma dolls throughout your journey to tune your abilities and give you advantages (or even disadvantages) in unique ways. All daruma dolls begin with 1 eye filled in. They can be upgraded to a 2-eyed daruma that enhances the original daruma’s perk. These loveable daruma dolls will be by your side throughout your journey.
• A colorful cast of bizarre and adorable yokai (Mischievous monsters from Japanese folklore) as well as original characters based on Japanese cultural archetypes. All of these characters and enemies are animated with charming detail in traditional hand-drawn 2D frame-by-frame animation. Help them with their side quests or just stop by for a chat and a cup of tea.
• Epic Boss Battles! On your journey you will encounter many massive monsters from Japanese folklore. Use your gained knowledge and skill to vanquish them and advance further in your quest.
• Beautiful hand-drawn and immersive areas and landscapes with traditional Japanese inspired trimmings.
• An absolutely gorgeous original musical score composed by Moises Camargo (Moixhka) that beautifully blends traditional Japanese instrumentation with modern orchestral music.

You can follow it on Steam, due for release in 2024.