I die again. I’ve become accustomed to it, though. This comes once more at the quite literal hands of a cybernetic furnace, its quadruple arms causing my tiny protagonist a series of untimely and abrupt deaths. MIO: Memories in Orbit is not a game that’s afraid to be difficult, though the developers assure me that the section we’re playing is about four hours into the game. Players will have developed the skills they need – unlike this particular hapless journalists on his twentieth attempt. I swear I would have got it on the next go.
The fact that I wanted to keep trying shows you how fair and engrossing MIO: Memories in Orbit actually is. It boasts the kind of precision platforming that initially feels like your fingers and thumbs have never got to know each other, with double jumps and an elegant grappling device bringing immediate difficulty with the added need to slash at crystals to recharge them mid-leap. However, what felt like finger sudoku at first gradually became flowing, beautiful and timely movement through the level by the end of our hands-on. The swift defeat waiting for me at the end certainly gave me a lot of practice.
It wasn’t the end though, as just like the best Metroidvanias, new areas and abilities needed to reach them still lay waiting for me. An incredibly polite robot was trapped on a ceiling, searching for a thoughtful passerby to turn off the fan that was holding them there. Sadly, I didn’t have the ability needed to make it through the powerful gusts to help him out, and it’s still playing on my mind days later. The world opens up as you acquire either the needed ability, item, or actual player skill to progress, and even during our short time with it I was intrigued by what had befallen this civilisation of robotic beings.
Part of that lies in the delightful and playful characters and pointedly gorgeous visual design. Metropolis is a city in decline, its arches and elegant columns covered in dirt, dust and the decaying remains of robotic citizens that are too far gone to be revived. Some of the robots are still active though, and while a little barrel-shaped chap will joyfully follow you around until you accidentally swipe him with your sword, you can decide to use your collected crystals to revive him. He’s so cheerful, it only seems fair.
Fans of the Ori games will find much to love here, sharing in swift and precise platforming and the similarly exacting and potentially lethal combat. It feels as though it has the same emotional core as well, though perhaps I’ll make it to the end of MIO without crying. That might depend on how many times I die, mind you.
There’s still so many unknowns about MIO at this point, and that sense of mystery makes it even more alluring. You’re exploring the Vessel, an enormous technological ark, full of robotic citizens, and it’s up to you as MIO to save them, discovering and unlocking the secrets of this immense station as you go. It’s already a stunning visual experience – exquisite sketch-like strokes added to every alien surface – you’ll just need the physical skills to appreciate them all.
