Jan 20, 2026
3 min read
★★★★★ |MIO: Memories of Orbit is a masterpiece.It's one of the best games ever made, and one of the best games of the year.
A review copy was provided by the distributor
MIO: Memory in Orbit is a MasterpieceOne of the most beautiful games ever and a strong contender for best game of the year
It is set in a happy world that can be described as full of hope and despair.Tragedies continue and once great cities lie in ruins, but there is a possibility that one day everything will be alright.Even if it takes hundreds of years.
You play as Mio, a small robot alone on a ship, a generation ship full of other creatures.There is a sense that the ship itself is also alive.When all aspects of this world work together, now everything is disconnected.The heart of this ship is Spine and the Oracle who promise that one day this will all make sense.But only other Mio units are able to connect.
There isn't much to say here, and most of MIO is told so little that even in a 20-hour story it will be difficult to fully understand.But that's part of the appeal.MIO exists in a world that is more emotional than understanding, and there are so many emotions that permeate MIO's every fiber that it is almost overwhelming.
The gameplay emphasizes this sense of isolation.There's almost nothing to cling to in Mio when you're on a quest.You don't need a map, you don't know who to trust, and you don't need any skills to climb the highest peaks to find the answers.Then, slowly but surely, as nature finds its own parts, the world itself comes alive.transmits.
Every success comes with a feeling of connection.When Mio encounters robots that improve their abilitiesIt happens with a kiss of love that transports our little heroes to an unknown place, then gently pulls them from a deep sleep back to their original place.The remains of past giants are circulated to understand the size of our little players.and touch both their surroundings and their faces with interest.The quality of the animation cannot be overstated. Every inch of MIO is fit for an art gallery.
MIO has elements of Belgian comic books, French cinema, and occasional flashes of the works of Hayao Miyazaki in the ways it marries technology with nature. Yet it never feels derivative or second hand. This is the kind of marvelous inventiveness and artistry that rises beyond its inspirations and stands tall right alongside them.
And then there's the gameplay, which is really good and makes me jump for joy.The world rewards exploration and discovery the way Metroid and Castlevania designed it all those years ago.Every session I had with MIO felt like a little journey, a few more steps into the unknown.When I discover a new talent, I can't wait to go back to old places and see what I can find next.
The map itself is large, but not unwieldy.Complex, but not frustrating.It somehow manages to balance all aspects of sprawl and intricacies without ever getting lost.
The puzzle platforming is fantastic.It never feels unfair or overtly complicated.Instead, it encourages you to try and try again, and even if you die, you're never too far from the final save point.Once you get the hang of it, MIO offers some of the most stunning feats of game design I've seen in years.imagination.
There's a skill that turns Mia into a leggy spider dad, and it always makes me smile.The way the animations and precise controls work together is something you'd think you'd find in a huge budget Nintendo title.But here it is, crafted to perfection by a small indie team.
It's only in combat where I find anything wrong with MIO.Our little robots only have a few moves in their arsenal, and most boss fights go on for far too long.They're always imaginative and fun, don't get me wrong, but they could do with some editing.Especially towards the end, where it feels like the difficulty level jumps a couple of notches without warning.
Fortunately, MIO finds a way to have fun here too.It has one of the most inclusive and accessible designs in the genre when it comes to difficulty.From the settings, you can enable the option to let bosses degrade with each encounter.This means that any damage you do to them before death will remain with the growth in the next encounter.This gradually increases the difficulty, allowing you to still hone your skills with each battle.
You can also pacify enemies, which means if Mio doesn't attack them, they won't attack Mio.Mio also has an extra shield that activates when it's on the ground for a long time, giving you plenty of room to deal with difficult encounters or puzzles.
It's fast-paced, fun and satisfying, without taking anything away from the experience.MIO shows that even the toughest titles can be approached in this landscape, putting all other competitors to shame.
At over 20 hours, MIO is about as long as it should be.It tells a beautiful, painful, linear story, ending just when I was beginning to feel like it had come to an end.This is a game that understands how much it wants to be and delivers a precise, well-crafted experience without an ounce of fat to its name.
On top of that, it's beautiful to look at and features one of the best soundtracks in a game out there.I've been wandering the beautiful landscape for hours listening to the music and the kinds of emotions that come out of movies like Porco Rosso and Nausiica of the Valley of the Wind.
This is the kind of game I can recommend to anyone, anywhere.It set the bar incredibly high for all other games to come this year, and will be a favorite in my heart for years to come.
