I was awfully fond of developer Douze Dixieme’s previous game, Shady Part of Me, so seeing that they were working on a Metroidvania immediately piqued my interest. MIO: Memories in Orbit is coming out later this year and I got to take a look at what it has in store for players. The two hours I spent with it left me wanting more, but also greatly surprised me in terms of how oppressive the game’s world is. I saw two biomes and two bosses and barely made it through some tough opposition here and there, but what makes the game so compelling?
You play as the titular character, Mio, as she. . . okay, I’m not sure what the plot is here. To be upfront, MIO: Memories in Orbit is very inspired by the Souls games, albeit in ways that I wasn’t expecting. At first you can take only three hits and have no map. Enemies and piles of scrap drop a currency called Nacre and, if you die, you lose all of it with no way to get it back (at least not early on in the game.) Of course, this isn’t as troublesome as you might expect. Any Nacre on you when you die actually goes into a pool that will grant you more functions as you progress, so this needs to happen. For instance, getting enough actually unlocks the map function, which is something I’ve never seen before.
By default, Mio can only jump, double jump and use a three-hit combo. As such, it’s incredibly dangerous early on, as taking an accidental hit or two can mean going pretty far back. Each area in MIO: Memories in Orbit, in classic Dark Souls fashion, has a single respawn point and you’ll need to unlock shortcuts instead of finding them strewn all over. You’re able to equip modules such as one that lets you take an extra hit, or another that lets you do more damage. You’ll also find upgrades that increase your shield count, as well as more modules, notes, and the like.
In another nod to Dark Souls, you’ll find Nacre that’s been processed in a way that means you can’t lose it on death, plus there are NPCs that will let you do this to your regular Nacre, reducing the stress factor. It’s also worth mentioning that you don’t fill in the map as you go and instead have to either sync at a respawn point or die and arrive at one for you to be able to get your bearings. Even early on, there’s plenty of satisfying exploration that leads me to think the game will really nail this aspect of the genre. The game’s level design is clever and finding little nooks containing items really rewards you for paying attention.
As for the bosses, they’re fairly challenging and feature evolving movesets as you whittle their health down. The slice I played culminates with a second one that took me a few tries. The bosses I saw are fond of teleporting around quickly and require some fast reactions in order to make it through without issue, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the game’s toughest foes fare in comparison. I do hope that there’s an unlockable dodge or dash ability later on, though, as Mio’s kit would very much benefit from a bit of extra mobility.
MIO: Memories in Orbit is really looking like it might be one of the best Metroidvanias of the year. Its cel-shaded, other-worldly art direction really makes for something unique and captivating, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing more biomes and figuring out what exactly is happening in the game’s world. One thing’s for certain, though, the events are definitely not good for Mio and the rest of the game’s cast.
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