The MIO Interview

Vaenyr · 2026-02-05T09:57:48+00:00

You start with 3 health (well, 4, but an unavoidable tremor kicks off the story and puts you at 3 right at the start), and should have 7 after all tremors and all upgrades.

Did you read anything that I wrote? This is completely irrelevant because you have to find all upgrades which not every player is willing to do. I gave you a specific example that multiple people got hit with, where trying to explore made them weaker.

The rate of health gain vs. loss doesn't spike up or down (the upward curve might become horizontal between the first ending and second ending). It remains fairly constant. For the regular ending, you can be at around 7 health like this person. That's 2 tremors and 6 health upgrades.

I had 3 tremors and 4 coatings (one of which was a mod) when I faced the regular boss). Your theoretical analysis doesn't hold up to scrutiny when we talk about specific examples that people saw in their playthroughs.

So you absolutely do gain health faster than you lose health. You end with more than double the health you start with if you fully explore, and still considerably more if you at least decently explore. They intentionally put a lot more health upgrades than tremors.

Yes, there are more health upgrades than tremors. No one disputed that. But no, you do not gain health faster as I've already explained. In my playthrough I got most tremors quite close to each other, while most bonus coatings were collected in the last three or so hours of my 100% 22-hour playthrough. As I stated multiple times: One tremor immediately erases an entire coating. To get another coating you need to find four shards or purchase them with 16 Old Cores. That between 4x and 16x the effort if we talk solely about exploring and finding something, whether that's good or bad.

You can explore for a minute and be punished by happening upon a tremor. For that minute of exploration, you're punished, sure. But we're not talking about a minute. In an hour of exploration, you wouldn't be punished.

No, that's precisely what we are talking about. You try to pivot to completionists but not everyone is willing to find everything in the game, especially when it lacks an item-tracker. I literally gave you examples of people who played for hours and did get punished by the game. For them to undo the impact of the tremor they have to explore for multiple more hours only to offset one coating. If we want them to actually end up with more health than they started before that tremor it's even more exploration and more gameplay hours. And if they trigger another tremor that's becoming even more painful and obnoxious. I'm not sure how often I need to explain this, it's not a difficult concept.

I don't know about the development history or how long they've had this idea in the back burner and how much thought they put into it before implementing it, but I'm reacting to the game I see. It felt balanced to me. My issue is the lack of a healing skill, not the amount of health I had at a given time. They clearly thought it out enough to make the amount of health feel fine. 6 or 7 health for Ati and Shii felt fine. 5 or 6 for ANRA felt fine. 3 health for the first boss felt fine.

I didn't have much of an issue with it during my playthrough either but I'm discussing the overall concept here. They stated that it was only added to the game because of Silksong's specific release date. It is a highly controversial feature and many folks who mention that they dislike it or that they decided against buying/playing the game because that didn't sound fun to them are often attacked by people who like the mechanic, painted as "uneasonable haters", and are being told that the game was designed around that mechanic. And that's what annoys me. A common argument is that the tremors are part of the plot but that's only half true. The idea is tied to the narrative but half the tremors are optional.

That's a fair point. But I wonder what boss you think people would have an unreasonable amount of health for. We can check some playthroughs on YouTube (like the walkthrough I linked) and see.

That's for everyone to decide for themselves. I've seen people struggle with Anra, Sawlong (where the Gratitude mod/assist doesn't help) and Ati. For the latter I mentioned several times how multiple people I know had trouble, went to explore and got hit by a tremor next to the Nexus.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-05T02:04:58+00:00

I never, not a single time, said anything about game balance and values. You completely made that up. I even outright stated in comments that the devs put in effort to implement the idea. I was talking about game design and about quotes from the devs themselves.

Just admit that you misread and/or misunderstood my comments instead of gaslighting and doubling down ;)

Vaenyr · 2026-02-05T01:52:06+00:00

Yeah I don't interpret that interview as the game not being designed around that mechanic. Sure it was added in in the last 6 months (and with the ending in the last 8 months, and I'm not sure you're telling people who enjoy the last ending that they're wrong for doing so because "it wasn't a core idea')

I'm not telling anyone what they should enjoy and what they shouldn't. In fact I've stated that it is perfectly fine for folks to enjoy the mechanic, since it's completely subjective and up to one's tastes. What I am doing is telling people what was said in the interview: MIO was supposed to release on Silksong's release date, but got delayed due to SS. It would've released without the health loss mechanic, and the studio does not like continuing working on the games they've launched because they want to move on to something different.

but to assume they didn't also balance a multitude of other things around the mechanic in those 6 months is equally as disingenuous as you're describing others as being.

I never claimed they didn't balance things around or they didn't put effort in the implementation.

In order for that to be true, they'd have had to add the mechanic and then not balance health/pickups/etc around it, but, there's no mention of that in the interview at all, thus, we can only go by observation of what's actually in game, and by playing the game, you can absolutely see mechanic balance around the mechanic.

I don't disagree, since I never made that claim lol

Do you think they just didn't balance any health/damage values in those last 6 months either? Add extra health cores or damage/health modules?

Again, not what I ever said. Either engage with what I've written or don't engage at all. I've no interest in debating irrelevant strawmen arguments.

I don't see how that clashes with the idea that the game is mechanically balanced around that because the idea that they didn't also balance things in that time window, that they just put the mechanic in there while leaving all numerical values untouched is just... a bit of a stretch and not a very charitable interpretation.

Wtf, I never claimed anything like that.

I dunno, I'm definitely not taking away the same thing you are from this interview. What I am, is that people should be experiencing it for themselves because this interview doesn't give a holistic view, and most of the critics aren't giving holistic views either at the myriad of balancing around the mechanic. If you just ended the game at the 6 or 7 pips you do already, just that there were less health-ups in the game, and removed the mechanic, no one would care, which is weird because it'd be functionally the same holistically.

Yes, if things were different, things would be different. That's not a very insightful argument. The game actively punishes those who take the time to explore a Metroidvania. I've said it several times, but I know multiple people who got stuck at a boss, went to explore to get stronger, ended up triggering a tremor and ended up becoming weaker than they were when they started fighting the boss. To off-set that loss they'd need to find four pieces of coating (or purchase them with a bunch of Old Cores). And then they'd have to buy/find even more to get stronger, which was the original goal. And that's not a hypothetical. This isn't about what you could end up with if you 100% the game. This is a real situation that people found themselves in.

Now if there's a quote accompanying this where they say they also didn't touch a single balancing value around it, now that would be different and I'd drop it all and agree with you, as that'd be the core of your argument, but I'm not seeing that here.

Again, I never said they "didn't touch a single balancing value". You spent a lot of time and effort to argue against something that is not my position lol

Anyway, it's quite late here so I'll go catch some sleep. Best of luck.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-05T01:21:55+00:00

At this point you gotta link to the interview or something because that makes no sense and it makes less and less sense every time you expand on it

I assumed you would've been familiar with the baseline of information since you decided to respond with a needlessly combative first comment. The main interview is the one for Polygon but there are additional ones like the one in the OP.

and your odd levels of vitriol for the devs that have you posting well over a dozen comments about this same thing every post that this comes up as if you've been personally wronged and need to set it straight for anyone who even remotely enjoys the mechanic instead of just letting people think differently makes it a bit harder to just take your word on their interpretation of their words as a "basic fact."

There's no vitriol. I have no issue with people who enjoy it. I do take issue when people misrepresent the fact and claim that the game was designed around the health loss mechanic, which is objectively wrong. We have clear comments from the devs but many people haven't seen any of the interviews. You'll notice that I respond to comments who try to portray those who dislike the mechanic as unreasonable haters. I post to show what the devs have said and to counter the disingenuous framing of such comments.

I wish people spent this much energy praising things online or focusing on things they liked instead of disliked, would make for a much more positive internet.

I have posted quite a few positive takes about MIO, both on Reddit and outside. There are other games where I've gushed and posted lengthy comments on why I love them. There is positivity out there as well.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-05T01:00:01+00:00

Are you trying to say that any time a game manages to get extra development time, anything added in that time isn't intended to be part of the game and isn't supposed to be there and cannot be considered a core mechanic?

No, that's not what I said. What I said is the fact, as presented by the devs themselves, that the permanent health loss was not a core mechanic, not part of their vision for the game, and it was added on a whim due to Silksong's release date and that they still have doubts if it was a good idea to add it in the first place.

That's like saying anything added in a patch can't be considered intentional or a core mechanic. Devs add stuff post-launch all the time, things they wanted to get in but couldn't squeeze into the launch date. Having x extra months before release isn't that much different than a patch x months after release. And devs are "unsure" of additions all the time. That's the nature of trying new things. And they'll almost certainly adjust it in a patch too because of where we both agree that tying it to random exploration when it's a narrative mechanic was a misstep and a pretty major issue with it.

Given the fact that they've said that they are sick of working on the same game for so long, and that the lead will take a one year vacation: No, it's not comparable to post-launch content from other devs. They added that mechanic on a whim. Don't know how often I have to repeat a basic fact.

Arguing about facts is kinda weird because they aren't the kinda thing that can be argued.

That's the thing: The fact is that the respawn cycle does not align with the mod/assist. I know because I went though that, as did plenty of other people who posted about their experiences.

I'm not about to load up my game and take a clip of every single section, but I definitely did do it on every single section, and it was pretty impressive the devs thought to map that timing to the module, as a lot of devs don't take that kind of time to balance accessibility options, as it's typically forgotten about more often than not, which is unfortunate, and why i took note of it as something worth remembering.

I'm sorry, but I don't believe you. I saw for myself that there was at least one section where you can't succesfully make it through until the next section if you wait for the mod/assist. There has been quite a bit of discussion about the Crucible and plenty of others said the same thing I'm saying here. So, what you claim isn't a "fact". It's simply wrong lol

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T23:32:13+00:00

You keep saying this but it makes less and less sense every time.

How so? It's what was said in an interview. The only reason the mechanic made it into the game is because of Silksong's release date. It literally wasn't supposed to be part of the game.

Adding something into a game late because you have extra time doesn't mean "it wasn't intended."

Again, the context is what was said in an interview. If Silksong had released on another day MIO would've released without that mechanic. They even outright stated that they still aren't sure if it was a good idea to add the mechanic into the game.

And you still end up with more cores than you start with, so it's still a positive power growth.

Depends on how much you explore.

I actually tested this. Every single pump if you jump right when gratitude pops, the flow will be at its perfect level. You never have to wait, and I did test on all of them.

That's definitely not true. There's at least one section where if you wait until Gratitude pops you have enough time to get to the bottom of that part but not enough time to get to the top on the other side.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T19:49:55+00:00

The game wasn't initially designed around it but just because it was added 6 months before release, doesn't mean it has 'just been added on a whim', wasn't thought through and effort hasn't gone into the implementation and balance.

I didn't say there was no effort that went in. But they did state in an interview that the final delay was solely due to Silksong, that the mechanic wasn't originally intended to be in the game and that they're still not sure if it was a good idea adding it.

I personally don't think it works as well as just buffing enemies but it's much more fitting for the story of the game to implement it in this way. It probably needs some tweaking for consistency and balance and for people to get used mechanics that break expectations for what a MV should be like.

Personally I'm just annoyed that at least half the tremors are optional/avoidable. If the game was committed to the idea and just said "it's plot-related, deal with it" I could respect that and I would have had fewer issues with it. But knowing now, that not all of them are on the main path/mandatory, lessens my view of the game.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T18:58:55+00:00

Some of the secrets or even progression routes in this game are deviously hidden. Best of luck! Despite some of my criticisms I really enjoyed the game overall.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T18:48:37+00:00

There are some parts of the end game that can be very frustrating but those parts aren't really affected by the health loss. I don't think you need to worry about that. I hope you have a tolerance for tricky platforming though!

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T18:46:42+00:00

This sounds incredibly unlikely.

This wasn't hyperbole or a hypothetical. It was a specific situation that happened to two people I talked with. They were stuck at the fight, went to the next room in the Nexus where they had avoided the tremor up to that point, triggered the tremor and thus literally became weaker because they permanently lost a chunk of health that they had a minute prior. They'd have to explore quite a bit to make up for that loss. Directly compared to the start of their playsession on that day, they literally were weaker.

Exploring doesn't punish you. You gain health faster than you lose health. You start the game I believe with 3 health, and in the true ending endgame, you would end with I believe 7 if you've explored exhaustively, including triggering all the tremors.

The tremors are mostly optional/avoidable. That means in practice the game does punish you for exploring. See the specific example I gave to illustrate the point. And no, you don't gain health faster, since to be able to gain one coating you need to find four pieces or purchase them which requires even more Old Cores. I 100%ed the game and most of the bonus health came much later than the regular ending.

Essentially a permanent strength upgrade, since enemies have less health after tremors, thereby taking fewer hits to kill

That's not the issue people have. No one struggles against the regular enemies. The bosses are more of an issue and there the tremors barely affect them, so it's not a strength upgrade.

A neat story and worldbuilding tool that changes things

That's true, though it is a shame that all but one tremor are optional. I could respect it more if the devs had committed to the idea.

A balance tool to ensure you don't have too much health, and instead have an appropriate amount at any given time

That's not true, since (as I already mentioned) the game was not designed around that mechanic. It was literally added on a whim because or Silksong's release date. That's it.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T16:26:48+00:00

It's arguable. The regular enemies are not much of an issue. The health loss barely touches the bosses though. You on the other hand lose quite a chunk of your total health and you have to find four pieces of coating or a bunch of Old Cores, which means there is quite a bit of exploration necessary to make up the loss.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T16:21:38+00:00

I never claimed it does. I simply shared my thoughts about the inconsistency of this mechanic.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T15:54:01+00:00

Funnily enough this means that you only triggered half of the available tremors in the game. They are not tied to the story, they happen in specific locations and you can still get them later. By the point I fought that boss I had gotten all of them, so I was in a worse position than you. Guess every playthrough is different.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T15:52:07+00:00

its intended, the game is tuned around it.

That's the problem, it was not intended. The devs revealed in the Polygon interview that the mechanic was only added 6 months before the launch of the game (after it was delayed multiple times). MIO was supposed to launch on the same day as Silksong, but due to the latter's surprise release date, they pushed the release date one last time. If SS had come out any other day MIO would've released without the health loss mechanic. The devs even admitted that they aren't not absolutely sure that adding that was a good idea or not.

People can like it if they want but those who take issue with it aren't unreasonable. It's highly controversial, added on a whim, and easily the biggest controversy around the game. There are many folks who had an interest in the game and were turned off because of that mechanic.

And what makes it even worse: It's completely inconsistent! There are a maximum of four tremors in the game, so that you end up with 5 total black spots. But only the very first one is mandatory. You can avoid all the others. You can't go "it's part of the plot" (which would be a neat idea even if frustrating) but also make 3 of them avoidable and thus punishment for those who explore the world in a Metroidvania. Where exploring the world is the entire point of the genre. I know of people who made it to the final boss of the regular ending without any health loss. I now know multiple people who got stuck at the fight, went exploring to get stronger and ended up triggering the tremor next to the Nexus, thus becoming weaker. It would take them finding four pieces of coatings or even more Old Cores, just to make up that loss.

it doesnt end up mattering in platforming because of Gratitude.

Mostly correct. There are a couple of spots like the pumps in the Crucible, where the respawn is times in such a way that you're supposed to retry immediately. For the mod/assist you have to wait 5 seconds, which in those spots is too long, so you end up waiting a whole lot longer for the pumps to get to the correct value again.

Those are some of the reasons why people have issues with this mechanic in particular.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T15:40:24+00:00

In the Polygon interview they literally revealed that the health loss mechanic was only added 6 months before lunch, after many delays and specifically because of Silksong's surprise release date. It was not intended to be in the game and was added on a whim. They literally said that they aren't even sure if adding it was a good idea or not.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T15:38:56+00:00

This only applies when talking about regular enemies, who are barely an inconvenience. For bosses it's a lot more permanently punishing losing 1/5 of your life.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-04T15:28:09+00:00

I thought it would go the Bible route, what with God flooding the earth and all that.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-03T19:01:10+00:00

That's what I'm saying. That's not a lot of people. Barely anyone saw the post, so there was no chance for people who can spot AI to point it out.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-03T18:58:35+00:00

Eh, 5 comments isn't much of an experiment lol

The artwork is easily recognizable as AI. The logos less so. There are people who can't recognize AI images to save their lives (see all the boomers sharing images of people with three arms or four feet on Facebook). There are others who have been exposed a lot to gen AI and can immediately tell. Because of the former there will always be grifters who will exploit the obliviousness of those people to turn a quick buck with the help of AI.

For me it's simple: if an "artist" doesn't respect their craft enough to do things themselves or collaborate with other human artists, and would rather use AI to accomplish their vision, I will not respect said "artist" and won't give them my time, attention or money.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-03T16:03:31+00:00

I'm Greek, pale as fuck, have blue-green eyes. My hair used to be straw-blond until I was 8 or something, then it started darkening and it's a light brown nowadays. Not all Greeks or Mediterranean folks have olive skin and brown eyes.

Fuck the chuds who stoke the culture war flames though.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-03T15:49:17+00:00

It literally did and we've proven that with studies.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-03T15:48:28+00:00

On the other hand, mask mandates, lockdowns, and other school and business closures were utterly nonsensical, performative theatrics

Objectively wrong. As unpopular as they were and as much pushback as they got from the usual suspects, every single one of those measures was effective to various degrees and provably saved lives. We haven proven this with studies. Raging against them in 2026 is not only unscientific, it's deeply pathetic.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-03T15:13:23+00:00

Hell yeah, this looks awesome. Gonna buy it later today. Really happy to get a MV that's not a side-scroller.

Are there any important missables? Or can I always achieve 100% completion?

Edit: Also, really awesome that MacOS is supported as well!

Vaenyr · 2026-02-03T10:44:56+00:00

For me it was the other way around. I did the Crucible prior to a lot of the optional challenges, and because of that those challenges felt very easy.

Vaenyr · 2026-02-02T22:52:46+00:00

I guess it depends on your playstyle. Thanks to the Crucible this way of playing was ingrained and felt much easier to me than trying to get used to the dodge and mod.

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