MIO: Memories in Orbit Review (Switch 2)

Team Cherry set a new genre standard with Hollow Knight. That legacy has recently been reaffirmed by the long-awaited Silksong, a release that developers and publishers alike are now clamouring to match. These are beautifully animated combat platformers, built around tight controls and striking art direction. Players explore compelling, labyrinthine spaces in search of answers, upgrades, and increasingly brutal challenges.

Douze Dixiemes looks to emulate that success with MIO: Memories in Orbit. The French indie studio's game is sumptuously designed, dripping with atmosphere and built around a compelling central mystery. There is a lot in this complex science fiction fable that feels a little too familiar. Even so, the little robot hero, MIO, is a strong candidate to carry the gauntlet thrown down by The Knight and Hornet.

Awakening on what looks like an operating table as a giant creature skitters away, MIO wanders out into the Vessel. This gigantic collection of biomes is filled with deadly flora and automatons, both hostile and friendly. Picking away at the mystery behind the Vessel’s collapse, she is tasked with finding and reactivating the Pearls, guardian AIs of this strange place.

MIO plays out like a very typical Metroidvania, with MIO (the game’s name matching the protagonist’s may get confusing) exploring areas of the Vessel and gaining abilities that allow her to push further.

The Vessel itself is a gorgeous place to inhabit. Grand architecture is fused with technology and pastel-coloured vegetation. Bio-organic masses weave in and out of stone constructs and metal pipes, while creatures stir in the shadows. Those shadows, and the lights that spread across surfaces, look like charcoal sketches. Each biome is distinct, and discovering a new area frequently inspires awe.

Gorgeous sound design complements the painterly visuals. The enchanting synth score ebbs and flows, transitioning into frantic techno beats during moments of action. The dreamlike background themes emphasise the intimidating size of the Vessel, reinforcing just how small you feel within its vast interior.

Despite the grandeur, the overall tone is one of melancholy. Scattered around the Vessel are robots that pine for their loved ones and lament the downfall of this once thriving home. Helping them will slowly uncover the story behind this world and MIO’s purpose.

Not all the bots wandering around the Vessel are nice, however, and there is some nicely twitchy combat to enjoy alongside the exploration. Enemy types are varied, although the roster leans a bit too heavily toward aerial threats.

MIO has some basic slashing combos that combine with her floaty jump, letting her attack bots from all angles. A dodge is unlocked early on that adds to combat variety. Bosses escalate nicely. Some are punishing, but runbacks are merciful.

Those runbacks, as well as general traversal, require skill and timing to navigate the many hazard-strewn routes of the Vessel. MIO can double jump from the beginning, which gets her through the opening areas with relative ease. Later, she obtains a grapple (here called the hairpin) that allows her to latch onto anchor points and enemies to gain height and reach more of the environment.

When she unlocks the ability to refresh her jump and hairpin, things get a bit more fiddly. Team Cherry veterans can attest that there is nothing more frustrating than whiffing a hit and breaking a long jump chain.

Love it or hate it, this kind of platforming is a staple of the genre now. It can be deeply satisfying to master, but rage-inducing when you just can't get the hang of it. That said, there is an undeniable satisfaction in clearing hazard-filled vertical climbs and being gifted a merciful shortcut back to a hub area or boss encounter.

Alongside a forgiving map structure, MIO’s combat and survival abilities are bolstered by mods. This gameplay-altering upgrade system is not unlike the chip abilities found in Nier Automata. Every aspect of her offence and defence can be buffed by installing mods scattered throughout the Vessel.

These modifications can tweak core elements of the experience. One even strips away the UI entirely, offering a cleaner view of the game’s lovely environmental design. Others focus on more direct boosts to offence and defence. The most powerful upgrades often come with a debuff attached, helping balance out the boon without undercutting its usefulness. Much like with Nier, mods are limited by capacity, so there is a nice juggling act at play. You will be building different versions of MIO to get past specific challenges.

There’s been an emphasis on other titles here, which may have distracted from judging the game on its own merits, but the comparisons are very hard to avoid. Ultimately, MIO wears its influences proudly, and it delivers enough atmosphere and polish to stand on its own. Its ideas and execution do lack originality, but that is not a dealbreaker.

As a Switch 2 title, it ran smooth as butter both docked and undocked, never dipping below 60fps on the larger display. Consistent performance is crucial given how much precision the boss fights and platforming demand. The experience is rounded out nicely by assist options and difficulty tweaks that restore some of MIO’s health when she’s stationary and weaken bosses after each attempt. These options don’t dilute the overall experience, instead offering a more accessible entry point for players who found the game’s contemporaries a bit too unforgiving.