Mio: Memories in Orbit

MIO: Memories In Orbit is a deceptive experience that lulled me into thinking that it might be retreading some of the roads that had already been masterfully done by its genre-siblings, but only a few hours had me appreciating every crevice and finely realised detail throughout its lush world. It manages to stand all and establish itself as a fantastic metroidvania that draws upon the strengths of the genre, while creating a world all its own.

Hairlow Knight

MIO wears its tough-as-nails metroidvania influences proudly, but spends enough time contorting familiar ideas into punishing gauntlets and rewarding patience with dazzling artistic spectacle that it truly comes into its own.

Even after finishing the game and getting the sense that much has already been discovered, there is still so much to explore.

A melancholic metroidvania that dares to drift in familiar space.

MIO: Memories in Orbit is a beautiful Metroidvania that features wonderful platforming segments alongside challenging encounters. The world encourages exploration, with each route rewarding you, further incentivising you to venture into the unknown. Although the game follows conventions, it delivers a fascinating adventure that fans of the genre will adore.

MIO: Memories in Orbit leaves a strong first impression and continues to deliver quality content throughout, despite a few questionable design choices here and there. Some clever level design, a fantastic soundtrack, and a gorgeous art style make the entire experience worthwhile.

A solid game in its own right with a uniquely gorgeous aesthetic, MIO: Memories in Orbit is marked by bizarre design choices and a lack of variety to combat.

MIO: Memories in Orbit was first announced at an edition of Nintendo Direct way back in 2024, with an initial release window merely slated as “2025”. Despite being picked up by a bigger label, the game took its time to come out, and for a simple reason: it was an artistic-driven metroidvania being released in the same period as, well, the most anticipated metroidvania of all time, Hollow Knight: Silksong. Being one of the first games of the genre to come out after that massive juggernaut,...

The game's visual identity is striking, and the spacecraft's transformation as it comes alive is excellent. There's a great sense of atmosphere that's reinforced as you keep moving forward, that eventually gives out because of uneven and frankly, unnecessary combat.

A strikingly beautiful, sci-fi alternative to Hollow Knight: Silksong, but one which is consistently off the mark when it comes to the balance between difficulty and frustration.

The dichotomy of the Metroidvania as a genre is an interesting one. Its world is always ruined, cruel, hostile, perhaps once beautiful, now broken, but the genre asks you to imagine that it wasn’t always that way. That it was beautiful, once, worthwhile, and that no matter how hostile it is now, it might be something you can survive, something you can conquer. You must hold both of these ideas in your head simultaneously if the genre is to make sense. The Metroidvania is a genre of imitation, of something that reminds of something else. You must be able to imagine that the world of the Metroid...