Memories in Orbit, The Hollow Knight-like Game Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass?

The metroidvania genre has been on a bit of a tear ever since Hollow Knightprobably becoming as oversaturated as the ever-bustling soul-like market but MIO: Memories in Orbit it might just break the mold. The flashy, dramatic and visually arresting side-scroller is slated for a release date of January 20, 2026, with a day-and-date launch on Xbox Game Pass.

Hollow Knight is an easy comparison to draw upon in discussion MIO: Memories in Orbitbut the upcoming game could also be compared to something similar The Ori and the Blind Forest due to its emphasis on audiovisual ingenuity, semi-3D environments, and smooth platforming. Like the last project of her studies, Shady Part of Me, MIO stands out through hand-drawn visuals and comic-book-style animations that are both inspired by Moebius' work and original. In short, the game's aesthetic is complex and unique, combining a pastel color palette with smooth animation, strong black lines, and inventive, unusual character designs. But MIO: Memories in Orbit wants to be more than just a pretty face, and hopes to achieve that through compelling storytelling, combat, and metroidvania principles.

What is the book MIO: Memories in Orbit about?

MIO: Memories in Orbit's Story

Players take on the role of MIO, a robot who woke up on a huge spaceship called the Vessel, without any memories. As it turned out, the Vessel was suffering from a mysterious power outage that caused many of its basic systems to stop working. MIO must make his way through the bizarre and often inexplicable craft, powering his machine inhabitants and ultimately uncovering the truth behind everyone's past.

To be completely honest, the plot itself doesn't seem too groundbreaking at first glance. MIO: Memories in Orbit follows the pervasive amnesia of a major trope that has long been something of a clutch for video game storytellers: it's easy to implement unnatural expository dialogue or make players bond with a player character by simply giving them amnesia. Amnesia can also add tension or surprise to relatively mundane scenarios, as all revelations are significant to the protagonist.

That doesn't mean MIO it won't have a good story, of course. Developer Douze Diximes described MIO's past as “tragic”, suggesting that the story's reveal will have real weight and impact, and the fact that the protagonist's history is seemingly mixed with the game's setting could lead to some interesting world-building. to say the least MIO: Memories in Orbit could use the unique virtues of a versatile robot, a far-future cast for valuable commentary, philosophizing, and subversive rhythms of tradition. in any case MIO looks like there's going to be a lot more than his story.

Of course, the vague, abstract and interpretable narrative is often the same as metroidvania, so MIOThe cliche assumption of amnesia may not be a big deal.

MIO: Memories in Orbit boasts smooth and smooth playthrough

First impressions of MIO: Memories in Orbit all without a doubt focus on one corner of the gaming sandbox: crawling. The game features a low-gravity environment with various layered obstacles, creating a locomotion sandbox that is both forgiving and disorienting. Douze Diximes aims to facilitate a kind of state of flow through its movement mechanics, pushing players to intertwine abilities such as gliding, wall running, and grappling to get from A to B quickly and efficiently.

The game's movement sandbox certainly looks appealing, and previews have been mostly favorable, but there's also been some conflicting chatter. Pain points in the previews include MIO's uncomfortably slow movement speed, as well as various grappling quirks such as inconsistent grapple point recognition. Nevertheless, the passage inside MIO it looks sleek and stylish and could be one of its biggest strengths.

MIO: Memories in Orbit's Touchstones will hopefully be balanced with originality and innovation

Douze Diximes expressly named Hollow Knight, Celesteand Dead cells as a comparison to MIO: Memories in Orbitand it's not hard to see why. In addition to being almost universally praised for their combat, traversal, or both, these games are also all notoriously difficult—something MIOSo far, the company's marketing has certainly not been afraid to boast. Really, MIO: Memories in Orbit He seems to lean heavily on his quasi-soul-like influences, with Douze Diximes repeatedly describing it as satisfyingly challenging. According to the developer, MIO players can expect death to be a regular part of the experience.

But MIO it promises to include other unique quirks that could set it apart from the competition. For example, it will contain a number of modifiers that have been compared to Nier: AutomataPlug-In Chips from multiple browsers: players will be able to sacrifice essential features such as enemy health data to gain more ability bandwidth through this system. Douze Diximes promises that this Modifiers feature, along with mechanically interesting bosses, tailor-made action backdrops, and an ever-inspiring art style, will create MIO: Memories in Orbit a game worth a bite, even for those who have had their fill of metroidvania over the years.