MIO Memories in Orbit - Switch 2 Review

MIO: Memories in Orbit is a striking metroidvania from French studio Douze Dixièmes. With 2025 ending on a high for the genre with Hollow Knight: Silksong, MIO: Memories in Orbit is the first of a glut of metroidvanias that have to follow in its footsteps – no pressure! Some projects have delayed their release until later in 2026 to increase the separation, but Douze Dixièmes have taken the plunge, and why not! Good luck and Godspeed, I say.

The Good

The first thing I and everyone else have noticed about MIO: Memories in Orbit is the art style. The watercoloured environments are absolutely beautiful, and the camera perspective is, of course, side-scrolling, but the camera is about as dynamic as you can get for a 2D plane. As the titular character MIO moves through the background, the camera weaves its way through various obstructions and pieces of landscape in the foreground. It behaves like the camera in Little Nightmares and gives MIO: Memories in Orbit a similarly positive by-product; the atmosphere and tension are cranked up a notch as you notice things that you wouldn’t necessarily have noticed if the camera were completely fixed. The background itself is also teeming with moving mechanisms and creatures, which also enhances the scale of the ship you’re exploring (The Vessel) and means MIO looks tiny against the backdrop vistas. Douze Dixièmes basically do a masterful job of making what is ostensibly a 2D game feel almost entirely 3D, and it makes them stand out from the crowd as a result.

The general look and feel of MIO: Memories in Orbit is melancholic and ethereal; MIO is exploring The Vessel because its AI operators, the Pearls, have mysteriously stopped operating and the ship is at risk of falling apart as a result. You learn more about how and why this is happening as the game progresses, but my next positive mention is on the soundtrack. Without being too superlative, MIO: Memories in Orbit is certainly the best I’ve heard in a metroidvania for many, many years. When the general exploration of The Vessel takes place, the slow, piano-driven soundtrack enhances the ethereality of the game, and then when a boss fight starts, this kind of Wipeout techno soundtrack takes over. It’s honestly exhilarating to experience. Sometimes you encounter a good soundtrack which is shoehorned into a game, but here the good (well, better than good) soundtrack fits the gameplay experience like a glove. At times I felt like I was in a James Bond opening sequence rather than a metroidvania. 

MIO: Memories in Orbit also strikes a fine balance between exploration and backtracking. I’m a huge fan of intricate metroidvania exploration (those “Ooh, what’s that? I’ll come back later” moments) and I’m pleased to say that MIO: Memories in Orbit certainly sates that particular appetite of mine. Having said that, somehow the backtracking also doesn’t feel laborious like it can do in some metroidvanias; The Vessel is huge but you never get tired of it.

TL;DR

• Dynamic camera greatly enhances the atmosphere
• One of the all-time great metroidvania soundtracks
• The Vessel is fun to explore

The Bad

It’s funny to think; I actually hadn’t heard of the term ‘runback’ until it all kicked off with Hollow Knight: Silksong. I had mentioned a similar issue for my review of Ghost Song back in 2022, but I didn’t call it ‘runback’ as I didn’t really know it was a thing. Anyway, I can understand why it frustrates many people, as it feels like the developers have gone against the ages-old etiquette of meaning a checkpoint exists just before a boss fight. Well, just to forewarn gamers that MIO: Memories in Orbit also does feature runback pretty heavily; however, the boss fights are not quite as punishing as they are in Hollow Knight: Silksong (though they are still quite challenging). If that’s the kind of thing that puts you off, then hey, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.

The remaining negatives can all be grouped under the ‘minor annoyances’ category, such as no key on the map, fast travel being slightly on the stingy side and the build I played having some untranslated text in it. But fortunately none of that will make or break the experience and is easily fixed.

TL;DR

• Not insignificant runback before some bosses
• Various other minor, fixable issues listed above

Final Score: 9/10

The French games industry is obviously on a high after Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and MIO: Memories in Orbit continues to carry the torch for our Gallic friends. MIO: Memories in Orbit is unlikely to win any awards for gameplay originality, but in 2026 it will take some beating on art direction and soundtrack. MIO: Memories in Orbit is a charming, ethereal journey that any adventure fan should embark upon.

Thank you for checking out our MIO: Memories in Orbit Switch review, thank you to Focus Entertainment for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

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