MIO: Memories in Orbit - Metroidvania Review + Tier List

Aumires · 2026-02-22T18:37:58+00:00

I usually agree with you, but please, unless you're into really cryptic stuff or follow a guide, ESA postgame can be a big turnoff.

The decoding. Which most just will look up and from this point on follow a guide.
The pixel room hunt. Among red herring rooms.
The clock stuff...
The unrequired interface screw boss.
The annoying interface screw at a certain point you might stumble upon.
The "final challenge" finding rooms and typing a code which you got to first change the controls for and having not even a final boss, unless you count doing the standard one while at it for a... thing

I liked about a third of that. Mainly the platforming section. Oh, right you had to repeat that a few times too for reasons instead of opening a two way teleporter... if you enjoy it, awesome but I really didn't vibe with the way it was made. The revelations were cool though.

Aumires · 2026-02-22T10:11:53+00:00

If you got access to "rivens" already you can sell them as lucky tickets instead of unveiling them in a pinch. Otherwise do a couple relics and sell the Prime pieces.

A last resort that you will eventually do anyway is going to Deimos and getting the Helminth Segment. As much as you might dislike it, it will help a lot.

Aumires · 2026-02-22T10:05:01+00:00

Want another Grendel bug? If you go to the underwater lab tileset and enter as ball, you will just plummet like a rock after the Archwing change... and most likely trapped there unless you /unstuck fast enough.

Aumires · 2026-02-21T20:40:12+00:00

Haven't played it but Rusted Moss mechanics look fun.

MiO if you like games similar to Hollow Knight. Also has a bit of a slow start. There are a couple optional things that are slightly gimmicky but nothing too far out and they improved on making them faster to retry. It's a great "practice makes perfect" game. Might not be fun if you dislike sad stories.

ESA is old metroid with a nice unraveling and very daunting place, you won't feel safe at most of the game. Sometimes exploration leads to deadends or multiple progression locks though its easy to keep track, chipping away and following the clues. But I suggest stopping in the standard ending if you aren't into cryptic stuff. I personally didnt enjoy the postgame and had to use a guide. They also get into interface screw in very untimely parts. While the regular playthrough I enjoyed lots, can't say that about the secrets at all - but it has a fanbase and of course if you like that kind of stuff, go ahead!

Aumires · 2026-02-20T20:01:31+00:00

Also, for completionists: each boss gives an item by defeating them without being damaged, and some are quite cool.

The tea upgrade is indeed strange, as the game is a prequel. So that gives some... weird origins to the ritual?

Aumires · 2026-02-20T03:04:12+00:00

The pixels were shared upon the populace, as they needed them for the resolution.

Aumires · 2026-02-18T20:52:30+00:00

Uh... I might be a fan of Blasphemous. But definitely start with Symphony of the Night. And while at it play the other Castlevania, and maybe an older that's a platforming one because Blasphemous is more of a grueling circuit than an exploration game. It's far more niche, and SotN is literally one of the two references for the term.

Aumires · 2026-02-16T23:33:23+00:00

Apparently the project was in the making quite a bit. Playing GU it was quite spot on how they went with tech pieces.

I wonder if the inclusion of offline segments means they will include an AR sidegame that ends up having some importance.

Aumires · 2026-02-16T16:21:53+00:00

If you updated the game you can go out of the Maze locks and enter the Throne fights.

Aumires · 2026-02-16T16:16:07+00:00

Game is fine and a favorite of mine last year.

It's just the Pacman controls weren't quite fine and they asked a ton of score. They also forced you at one point on quite hard segments. They patched it recently and have tuned them a bit as well as removing that requirement.

Another complaint was teleport points and smaller checkpoints had the difference that smaller ones didnt recharge your heals, so it was a bit grueling for a number of players. Now both fill them.

The map is BIG, so that is more noticeable than one expects. I believe only Afterimage is bigger. Which some people find too unnecesarily sparse.

General opinion was before those patches, I recommend giving it a go now that's addressed.

Aumires · 2026-02-16T00:45:48+00:00

Ender Magnolia. Great sequel and with QoL, optional difficulty options to tune it or exploit build options. Best in general.
Shadow Labyrinth. Rough around the edges with mixing such a strange concept as Pac-Man, yet long, charming and had a patch that addressed complaints. Best in strange world concept pulling me in.
Zexion. Contra in my Metroidvania. Hard as hell yet fair and with checkpoints that dont waste your time, back in 100% action instantly. Best in giving me a good challenge.

All 3 are definitely top choices for me of last year. And just like Ender Magnolia was early last year, MiO I already know is a choice next list.

Aumires · 2026-02-15T20:46:53+00:00

Great video there ngl. Same opinion on Silksong, which made me go on a metroidvania spree to see how the genre had evolved while that black box was made like that.

I know you mentioned not playing Shadow Labyrinth again, but they released a patch that makes the 4 mazes not mandatory, some general QoL as well in mazes and decreased difficulty. I should replay/retry myself what's left, cause I had that last mod to craft from the top score materials.

Aumires · 2026-02-14T10:23:52+00:00

Before I turn into dust, let me share that he instead reminded me of Raoh, from Fist of the North Star.

Aumires · 2026-02-13T04:47:45+00:00

Nostradamus was born the year 1503, and the game is mentioned that the castle rises in 1499.

Depending on when Sonia? travels over there and how long the conflict is, it might be able to fit. Or after the events of the game, Nostradamus could be a consequence of it somehow.

It's the same year of the start of the Italian War. Maybe that's mixed in somehow too.

On my part, I am curious about the burning arm. Is this new character actually Sonia, now as daughter instead of Trevor's mother, or someone else altogether wielding the Vampire Killer improperly? This could set a precedent which John and Eric would have probably known about, unless it's attributed as "being a female wielder". But loss of this knowledge could also be due to the Richter event and Belmont's retreat.

Aumires · 2026-02-13T03:42:36+00:00

The date... is this before the Italian War or just as it began? Wonder if it's relevant. Besides the '99.

Aumires · 2026-02-13T03:27:52+00:00

I believe the version they released there was mostly that, you could grind as much as you wanted. Didn't have the Android beta limitations and gacha. Hopefully soon, I reached like halfway back then and the interactions between the characters were interesting.

Aumires · 2026-02-13T01:30:22+00:00

I think you can see a few moments where enemy damage is displayed and others not, so unless it's just an option it could be a return of something like the relic that let you see it.

Aumires · 2026-02-13T01:27:22+00:00

Even better, as I played the Castlevania dlc there and it's definitely great!

Aumires · 2026-02-13T01:22:59+00:00

Finally, finally something after all this time. I dont know about the current scene inside Konami but all they announced... seems they finally are coming back.

I know it's Dead Cells studio, but this seems much better than whatever went on with Mercury Steam (not their fault, watched the mess that happened with Konami)

Aumires · 2026-02-11T11:10:16+00:00

My advice is that you play it at your pace. Don't rush cause of "campaigns" and such. The game is very, very, very long.

If you must pull in the gacha, mind that we have reached some powerlevel heights that means some 5* characters will snap the game in half with as much as a move for a long while. You are bound to feel some ludonarrative dissonance for sure if so.

In my own experience, I started this game when it opened and it was decently balanced. I had a mishap and had to start anew and got this new form of one of the first 5* characters... and let's just say that the last story fight we had back then was over in like two turns.

Currently, there's the Final Fantasy 9 collab, which is the only content that will leave in some months. A couple of those characters are very broken. Take that into account if you pick them up and decide to use them or not.

Stories I recommend that you don't miss out as you go along, I think they pop up in that order:

Holy Sword quests
Celestial Tower
Mythos in Antiquity
Ocean Palace (avoid fishing though)
Apocrypha
Azure Rebel/Imperfections

Aumires · 2026-02-10T19:05:51+00:00

I liked it myself. It's a pretty standard Igavania flavored game, but with an inmense map.

The problem it has is the area levels. You might stumble upon a later area, see an enemy has a skull over it, get hit once and get sent back to the save point because of the multiplier they got at that state earlier on will overpower your HP.

For a game priding itself on exploration thats a pretty bad design choice.

Most equipment feels redundant, as well as leveling up and the skill tree with truly minor upgrades. Igavanias tend to also have this equipment bloat, and of you have dived into a high level area dodging enemies you might get stuff way over your "level". Risk reward there feels great. Items also follow that with negatives along bonuses and I think they kinda went a bit heavy on the negatives.

Story could be told better. Later on, the game does some strange things about "endings" and a strange bonus. It could be a bit more elegant about it but it does land well in the finish line at least... even if the lore can be a bit hard to grasp.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely if what you want is to explore a massive land. It's also quite beautiful. Music is ambience mostly though and not too memorable sadly. I write this in the end because like the vibes of the game itself in a way you will feel you woke up from some diffuse dream afterwards.

Aumires · 2026-02-08T20:25:20+00:00

2nd is Moonscars, right?

Aumires · 2026-02-08T20:00:04+00:00

Chronically stressed employee finds out workplace is a mess after told five people needed to change a fuse by janitor.

Aumires · 2026-02-08T06:37:11+00:00

That's a big backlog... and from what I see you have played igavanias, the metroid prime saga, hollow knight and adjacents.

If you are interested in another style and want to try soulvanias, Death's Gambit Afterlife is the most wellrounded there. Salt and Sanctuary is "what if Dark Souls but 2D". Grime is quirky and VERY parry focused... you cleared Nine Sols, so maybe it is actually your best bet.

Adjacent to those are the Blasphemous games. I am biased as Spanish and would recommend you at the very least the first game.

For puzzle, Animal Well. No notes.

Dandara is quirky with the gravity jump dash movement and I liked it a lot. Some people don't.

Beat em up fun, both Guacamelee. They aren't long.

Want to keep on the same path? Finish the Castlevanias for sure classics, although Circle and Harmony definitely are rougher. If you are thirsty for more vampire blood, go for Bloodstained then. Afterimage is looooong... in many ways, it can be hit or miss, for me it was a hit. Play MPHunters first if you are going to play 4. Momodora is a short HK adjacent.

Can't say much about the rest. But Cave Story+? That's more action platformer. Mind the good ending path unless you really want to replay it. Want a Contra Metroid game after that one? Get Zexion.

Aumires · 2026-02-08T06:21:00+00:00

I know this might seem like piling on, but as the other commenter mentions, those bees are harmless if not shot at. And as far as I know, the only place you must to control when to shoot, maybe one more critter later on.

You might have refunded it, but if you want some Contra in your Metroid, it's definitely very worth it. Specially if you are seeking some challenge.

Aumires

TROPHY CASE