MIO: Memories in Orbit has a really striking art direction. What were the biggest influences behind the game’s visual style, and how did you translate those inspirations into a cohesive look?

We mostly took inspiration from European comics and comics artists such as Marc-Antoine Mathieu, Christophe Chabouté, Alberto Varanda or Milo Manara in the early research, but also from animation movies such as Ernest & Célestine. We then tried to identify what we could technically do with our in-house renderers. The results come from this fragile equilibrium between technical feasibility and personal tastes.

"The use of pastel tones lends a more serene and antique feel to the overall scene."

We then used several tools and strategies to reach the mood and art direction of the game.

The use of limited palettes, often a primary color and one or two secondary colors, prevents visual information overload. Similarly, the deeper the elements are, the more monochromatic and uniform they tend to be. The use of pastel tones lends a more serene and antique feel to the overall scene.

The depiction of vastness is achieved through frequent contrasts between cramped and expansive areas, and occasionally by zooming out of the camera to reinforce the sense that the setting overwhelms Mio.

When it comes to storytelling, should players expect a more traditional approach (cutscenes, dialogue, scripted moments), or something closer to Souls-style storytelling with lore pieces and interpretation?

It’s definitely something closer to Souls-style storytelling with lore pieces and interpretation. We started by writing a deep and cohesive lore and world building and your journey is almost a pretext to discover what happened here. In the end, less than a fourth of the world building that was made is clearly told in the game but it fed the artists, the level designers and animations everywhere. It’s what made the mood unique.

"It’s definitely something closer to Souls-style storytelling with lore pieces and interpretation."

How important was environmental storytelling in shaping the world and level layout?

It was very important for us and had huge impacts on level design and art.

In the end, we’re a bit sad that we couldn’t put more of that in the game. The scenes with deep environmental storytelling are our favorite.

What kinds of optional/side content can players look forward to, side quests, hidden bosses, optional regions, collectibles, challenge rooms, or NPC storylines?

Almost a third of the entire game surface is optional. It involves several high difficulty challenges, hidden new areas, side quests, optional bosses and a bit of a puzzle to understand how to reach some parts of the vessel 🙂

Roughly how long is a typical first playthrough, and how much longer should a completionist run take?

It’s a tough question. From playtests, we estimate that the main path should take around 20 hours while reaching the second ending should take around 30 hours. Unfortunately these are average times since it can vary a lot depending on the players.

"Reaching the second ending should take around 30 hours. "

How customizable is MIO’s combat moveset through tools and upgrades?

There is a trinket system that allows you to change some elements of your combat strategy but your moveset is built around a three hit combo during the whole game. There are of course several subtleties in the ways you decide to equip your trinkets and the goal was to get a simple to learn but hard to master system.

Will there be weapon options or loadouts that significantly change how combat feels, like different ranges, tempos, or playstyles?

No, there are not.

Beyond the usual loop (new abilities unlocking new paths), what other progression systems can we expect, build crafting, skill trees, gear modifiers, upgrades, or something more narrative-driven?

You will have upgrades and narrative driven progression systems.

As a developer, what are your thoughts on the PS5 Pro? How does boost in GPU help in developing your game compared to the base PS5?

Thankfully, we were able to optimize the game sufficiently for it to run in max quality, in 4K and at 60 fps on the base PS5.

"There is a trinket system that allows you to change some elements of your combat strategy"

What are your thoughts on PSSR? What kind of opportunities will this open for the game?

We didn’t feel the need to use it for the game yet but we might explore the opportunity for our next project!

What resolution and frame rates will the game target on Switch 2 (docked/undocked) PS5, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, and PS5 Pro?

• PS5 & PS5 Pro: 60fps, 4k
• Xbox Series X : 60fps, 4k
• Xbox Series S: 60fps, 1080p
• Switch 1: 30fps (720p handheld, 920p docked)
• Switch 2: 60fps (1080p handheld, 1440p docked)

On Switch 1 & 2, the graphics quality is equivalent to the ‘medium’ preset on PC.

If you’re hankering for a gorgeous aesthetic, challenging and unique boss fights, and a great soundtrack, then Memories in Orbit may very well fill that Silksong-sized hole in your life, caveats aside. However, taken on its own, it’s a solid effort bogged down by a few questionable design choices.

The Vessel is the setting – a massive space-faring ship filled with sentient robots, led by the Heart and five different Voices – The Breath, The Spine, The Hand, The Blood and The Eye. Upon awakening, however, Mio finds the ship in ruins and the Voices unresponsive. By reconnecting with the Keepers, she eventually learns that The Vessel is on the road to destruction, unless she can kickstart the Heart by what else but gathering the different Voices.

"It’s a good thing, then, that the gameplay holds up. Those familiar with the genre will know the drill: Melee strikes, double-jumping (which is unlocked from the get-go), gliding, grappling – all of it feels responsive enough, and the rate at which Mio learns new abilities is pretty brisk."

It’s a decent set-up, even if the characters feel underdeveloped. The Voices are chief among them – ironic, given that they have voice-acting – but it’s also an issue affecting Mio. You’ll see her cryptic thoughts while traversing inner self stages, which are far, few, and ill-timed since I’m too busy trying to master the new ability. Otherwise, it feels like the story belongs more to Tomo, who’s investigating the Vessel and revealing all sorts of revelations through datapads they’ve left behind.

The environments, especially the stunning backgrounds, have stories to tell, even if they can be boiled down to, “Well, it used to look nice, until so and so.” Occasionally, you’ll come across these robot husks that are beyond repair. What stories could they have told? Why don’t they get their own datapads? The additional context beyond their names could have made for some great world-building.

You’ll encounter other random bots throughout The Vessel who offer their own takes on situations, like telling you about the status of each Voice. Occasionally, some will require help, and it’s about as eventful as it sounds. Then there’s Ati, Mio’s sister, who doesn’t want you to obtain all the Voices, though her appearances are so sporadic that I’m hard-pressed to really care. The plot isn’t completely throwaway, and there can be some decent moments and revelations. Still, the resolution to almost every Voice’s story feels lackluster, save for, perhaps, The Hand, who probably has the most involved “arc”, if you could call it that.

It’s a good thing, then, that the gameplay holds up. Those familiar with the genre will know the drill: Melee strikes, double-jumping (which is unlocked from the get-go), gliding, grappling – all of it feels responsive enough, and the rate at which Mio learns new abilities is pretty brisk. Several of these fall outside the norm, such as the spider-like striding. It not only offers the ability to hang off walls, but also navigate ceilings. Mid-air combat is also notable because hitting a target grants another jump, letting you stay off the ground, consistently chaining hits together.

"And as responsive as the actual hits can feel, there isn’t much variety to your tactics. You don’t receive sub-weapons or anything like that. The closest thing to damage upgrades is manipulating Mio’s internal memory to slot in new Modules."

However, there are some elements that…I wouldn’t call them bad per se, but they take getting used to, and really curtail any creativity in your traversal. First is the energy system. Gliding, grappling…er, arachnid locomotion all require energy. Think of it as the game’s stamina system – when it’s empty, you can’t perform any of those actions. While bouncing off certain enemies can return a bit, and landing on the ground speeds up the process, striking other environmental objects will fully restore energy, allowing one to chain movement abilities together. So, of course, Memories in Orbit leverages this to introduce several twisted platforming sections where you need to bounce off of an object to grapple to another point, using the remaining jump left to hit another object so you can stride on some grates, and so on.

The problem with this is that a single mistake can result in resetting yourself to a point several meters away. Oh, you survived navigating the Blightwater away from the death wall to a platform, but didn’t get that one grapple afterwards? Do it again. It thus becomes an exercise to execute all these motions and memorize the placements of everything you need to keep the energy flowing. And suffice it to say that grappling, sometimes falling short when it feels like it shouldn’t, or the lackluster bounce from a downward strike, can feel all the more annoying in those circumstances.

There’s also the problem with the dash, the first being that it’s not really a dash. It’s more like a deflect, except it’s not. So what is it? I suppose it’s more like a perfect dodge mechanic without many of the benefits (like time briefly slowing down, counter-attacking, and so on). The fact that its cooldown can feel so long if you mess up, and that it’s not exactly reliable when trying to chain dodges together, results in a slightly awkward feel.

And as responsive as the actual hits can feel, there isn’t much variety to your tactics. You don’t receive sub-weapons or anything like that. The closest thing to damage upgrades is manipulating Mio’s internal memory to slot in new Modules. Being able to remove HUD elements like an enemy’s health bar or Mio’s status to free up space for, say, increased damage as health lowers, or a stronger third hit on your combo is pretty neat. But that’s pretty much all you get in terms of unique combat options.

"A solid experience with some quirky mechanics, some that work better than others, combined with an above-average story and strong presentation, is enough, given its pricing. Yet I couldn’t help expecting something more."

Other bizarre elements include the lack of any healing option, at least that I was able to discover during the main story path. Fast travel requires finding specific entities named Overseers. Otherwise, look forward to some lengthy back-and-forth when trying to get from one area to another. And while the map feels pretty well-paced given its general size, some of the runbacks can be downright brutal at times. That said, the boss fights are quite good, each offering unique challenges and fitting with their locations.

It certainly contrasts MIO’s gorgeous art style. Between the detailed shading in the environments and characters, alongside the excellent array colors. Striking a fine balance between sci-fi, nature, and the industrial, it’s a strong aesthetic, and likely what draws most to the game in the first place. However, the music is even better. Certain tracks carry a, for lack of a better word, Risk of Rain vibe; others offer an electronic vibe that channels Daft Punk, of all things, and it’s pretty great.

Even after completing the story and having more left to discover, I wasn’t exactly pining to return to Memories in Orbit. A solid experience with some quirky mechanics, some that work better than others, combined with an above-average story and strong presentation, is enough, given its pricing. Yet I couldn’t help expecting something more.

This game was reviewed on PC.

The real meat is in the rest of the month, however. Star Wars Outlaws, which has undergone numerous revamps and improvements since launch, will be added to the service for Ultimate and PC subscribers on January 13th. If you need to catch up on Resident Evil before Requiem’s launch next month, then why not play Resident Evil Village? It’s coming to the Ultimate, Premium and PC tiers on January 20th.

Premium subscribers are also eating very well this month with Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, Rematch, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition arriving on January 7th. Final Fantasy – yes, the first one – makes its debut on January 8th for all three tiers, followed by My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery on January 15th.

If you’re itching for a new Metroidvania, MIO: Memories in Orbit from the creator of Shady Part of Me will arrive on January 20th for Ultimate and PC subscribers.

Of course, to ring in the new, Microsoft is also doing away with the old. Starting January 15th, the following titles will exit Game Pass:

• Flintlock The Siege of Dawn (Cloud, Handheld, PC, and Xbox Series X|S)
• Neon White (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC)
• Road 96 (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC)
• The Ascent (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC)
• The Grinch Christmas Adventures (Cloud, Console, Handheld, and PC)