Developer: Douze Dixièmes
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PS5, Switch, Switch 2, Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Action, Adventure
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
MIO: Memories in Orbit is a wonderful metroidvania with an amazing art style, too.
The first, most striking aspect of the game is the visuals. The art style is hand-drawn, painting wonderful characters and backdrops throughout the entire experience. As you move to various areas, the tones and visuals change too. The game shifts from warm blue tones to dark grey tones and a mixture of everything in between. I didn’t tire of the meticulously rendered characters and backgrounds through my playthrough. The wonderful and immaculate visuals are complemented by an amazing score that is emotional.
Gameplay leans heavily on the metroidvania action platformer genre, and while this may seem like something you’ve seen and played before, which is true in parts, the game unfolds various mechanics through beautiful in-game tutorials that walk you through each new element. It’s an action platformer where you unlock new game mechanics throughout your playthrough, with each addition bringing a fresh feature to your little robotic character. Your character starts off with the very basic game mechanics of any action platformer: attack, jump, and double jump, but as you progress, you will gather new mechanics and have the ability to upgrade certain mechanics and health, too. There is an upgrade-based system where you will unlock points and allocate your upgrades in the limited allocated points. Each perk has its own unique strength; you will have to figure out what works for your playstyle. The controls are tight and super responsive, so all the deaths are down to human error and not the game being unfair.
The game really does every part really well, and it’s that which keeps you coming back. While you have to backtrack through certain areas as you gain new powers, the powers and the capability of multiple powers to navigate some complex level design feels like such an achievement. The game is full of achievement, and after killing bosses or navigating near impossible locations, you get a sense of achievement. Other elements, like unlocking an alternate entrance that bypasses a huge chunk of the map or finding a secret area, give a huge sense of accomplishment.
The bad: while the bad list is small, in the first few hours of the game, you will have one spawn/save point. This means a lot of retracing your steps to get back to a boss or to a difficult part of a level. This becomes frustrating and annoying, but it is minor in the grand scheme of things. While this may seem like a small quality-of-life element for the game, there were times I wanted to respawn much closer to tricky areas. As you progress, you will unlock more save points and the capability to travel between save points, too. Repetition: You will be retracing your steps like most Metroidvania games, so you will experience some fatigue and or annoyance when you die. There were elements of the game, some platforming elements, that I sucked at and died a lot, but I suppose that’s my issue, and this will vary from player to player.
Sapphire, who also played MIO: Memories in Orbit, had the following to say, “ MIO: Memories in Orbit is a side-scrolling Metroidvania that brings to life a compelling story with fascinating game mechanics that make the game enjoyable and challenging to play. MIO is a game where you are required to be patient, which builds to the generosity of how the game plays out. This is a game where sudden encounters can lead to you doing, which requires the game to play out in several builds. My first encounter resulted in me dying several times, which at first I thought was quite annoying. However, the story has you lose max health, which helps you develop your character, install upgrades and earn currency. This becomes such a challenge at some points of the game, but you tend to appreciate the gameplay the more you explore and encounter enemies.
My favourite aspect of this game would have to be the ambient atmosphere with absolutely gorgeous art style that seamlessly blends sketch-like and 3D elements. Every scene, character and landscape you encounter is filled with great presence and colour. The world is built around a dying world where you are not welcome, and it captures the beauty and unsettledness between several areas. You can go from luscious jungles and next encounter a frozen vast.
I thoroughly enjoyed the boss encounters. Each boss is extremely creative and so much fun to encounter. They each pose quite a challenge. The combat in MIO is fairly simple, but with excellent mobility that makes the transitions between exploration and action effortless and smooth. MIO also offers players the time to look for hidden secrets, which extends the gameplay further. There is much more to expect from this game, and the gameplay is nicely laid out. The more you progress, the more difficult the game becomes, and enemy attack patterns begin to differentiate, which changes the way you seek things.
There were several aspects of this game that I thoroughly enjoyed. My very first impression of the game was that it reminded me of Ori and the Blind Forest, but this game feels so much more rewarding. It’s so interesting having the ability to mix upgrades that allow you to see enemies’ health bar only if you turn off Mio’s status, and that comes with so many other mixes you can encounter. It’s almost like playing with modifiers in the game, but it’s what truly makes this game stand out.
My only issue with this game is that the narrative seems like it felt off short. At first, the narrative and the gameplay are quite slow, and after a few hours, the engagement builds up; however, the narrative lacks what could have had an emotional impact. The connections you make through the game feel a bit unexplained at the end; however, the beauty that is captured by the sense of sacrifice in this game is excellent, even with its lack of depth of narrative.”
MIO: Memories in Orbit is a wonderful piece of artistic gaming that combines epic gameplay and does a brilliant job in the Metroidvania genre. The amazing artstyle and deep game mechanics make for a brilliant game.
Overall: 9/10
Enjoys more than the odd game, long time gamer, somewhat a technologist and everything else in between.
Also enjoys a good solid game of FIFA online. Currently PS4, XBOX 360 and STEAM.
