- Publisher: Focus Entertainment
- Release Date: Jan 20, 2026
- Also On: Nintendo Switch 2, PC, Xbox Series X
- Summary: Play as android MIO in this mesmerizing metroidvania where you explore the Vessel, an enormous technological ark overgrown with machines gone rogue. Uncover its secrets, enhance MIO's abilities, and save the spaceship and its residents from oblivion.
- Developer: Douze Dixiemes
- Genre(s): 2D, Action, Platformer, Metroidvania
- # of players: No Online Multiplayer
- Cheats: On GameFAQs
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 22 out of 24
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Mixed: 2 out of 24
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Negative: 0 out of 24
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Jan 19, 2026Search action, as it’s known in Japan, is a crowded field. For a game to break through it has to be not just good, but unique. It has to marry smart, proficient design with a legitimately interesting and distinctive story and aesthetic. It’s a high bar and MIO: Memories In Orbit sails right over it. There are no humans in its sci-fi, but sci-fi is rarely this human—the hands of its designers rarely this evident in a game.
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Jan 19, 2026There's not much bad to say about Mio: Memories in Orbit, because it works really well, it plays well, it feels good, and it seems really well thought out too. It does a lot of things right and ticks all the important Metroidvania boxes, while at the same time adding something new to how such a game should be put together. If I had to point out one thing, I would have liked to see a few more enemy types but that's really the only thing of significance, because I think the rest fits together really well. If we were to give it the highest score, we would probably have liked to see a little more innovation in the gameplay that could have really moved the genre forward, but that said, I would like to emphasise that Mio: Memories in Orbit is a really successful game.
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Jan 21, 2026MIO: Memories In Orbit is a thoughtful, artistically driven Metroidvania that pairs elegant movement and purposeful exploration with a striking audiovisual identity. The game excels in its cohesive world design, meaningful customization systems, and a steady sense of discovery that rewards curiosity. The result is a confident, memorable experience that stands comfortably among the genre’s strongest modern entries.
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Jan 19, 2026MIO: Memories In Orbit is abstract, quirky, brutally hard, and stunning all at once, and outside of those awful tremors, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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Jan 20, 2026Mio: Memories in Orbit is a largely brilliantly designed Metroidvania. The setting and central mystery are intriguing, the watercolor art style is beautiful, and Mio feels great to control. Her powers, and the way you use them, are cleverly conceived. When Mio is at its best, it can comfortably stand alongside the genre’s greats. Unfortunately, a significant portion in the game’s second half makes it linear and needlessly frustrating.
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Jan 19, 2026MIO: Memories in Orbit is yet another challenging but rewarding Metroidvania for genre fans to sink their teeth into. It suffers from many of the frustrations typical of the genre, such as difficulty spikes and troublesome backtracking, but its unique visual style and intriguing world make up for it.
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Jan 19, 2026Desolate but beautiful metroidvania MIO: Memories In Orbit nails the fundamentals of a lot of inspiration. Whether its precision platforming, finding shortcuts, soulslike bosses or wonderful evocative soundscapes, this one is well worth your time if you are a fan of the genre.