The "finding $20 bills in pockets" analogy is perfect for what makes Metroidvania-style games addictive. MIO sounds like it nails the exploration loop—dense maps with meaningful secrets beat linear progression every time. Interesting that Battlefield 6 topped yearly charts while CoD slipped to 5th, probaly Game Pass cannibalizing Xbox sales. The 44-hour playtrhough for a 12-14 hour game is the best kind of problem.
Honestly, thank you for including a paragraph on difficulty for MIO! I'm really interested in it and I loved the Prince-of-Persia-Vania from Ubisoft (purchased it right after reading your review), but that was mostly due to its forgiving gameplay loop. As a father of 3 and with a full time job I just don't have time for "challenging" checkpoint placement anymore. 😅 So, I know you do, but please keep including info like that for the timewise challenged among us. 😅
Sure thing! And I don’t really have time for it either, as a father of two with a full-time job. I am very frustrated by games that waste my time. There were a few times, while playing MIO, that I was very frustrated that the developers had spiked the difficulty. I thought: well, maybe there’s a chance that I can explore, gain power upgrades, and be more capable for this challenge (this was before I even tried the accessibility/difficulty options). I then discovered that this game is highly rewarding for those who explore. I do not think I could have beaten the game without the accessibility settings nor the added exploration. With them, I had a magnificent time.
I definitely recognize my privilege in being able to devote 40 hours to this game over the past few weeks. There was one daytime session where, by a fluke of circumstances, I was on my own for a full day. Otherwise, I played at nights and fell way behind on other games and reading. I don’t actually have time to play games during most work days, despite my job.
And I do think there is room for improvement to make the game more user-friendly to players strapped for time. A key improvement would be to let players restart boss encounters immediately and not have to run back to them from save points. Especially for one optional, brutal boss.
So much to relate to there for a fellow gamer dad. Thanks for that! I'll just give it a go sometime, crank accessibility up as far as possible and focus on exploring. You gotta support people whose self-describes 12-14 hour game turns out to be 44 hours, and most of it great. 😄
I only discovered MIO: Memories in Orbit yesterday, but the sci-fi setting and art style immediately grabbed my attention. It feels like one of those games where the world itself could be the hook, not just the mechanics. Definitely on my radar now.
The "finding $20 bills in pockets" analogy is perfect for what makes Metroidvania-style games addictive. MIO sounds like it nails the exploration loop—dense maps with meaningful secrets beat linear progression every time. Interesting that Battlefield 6 topped yearly charts while CoD slipped to 5th, probaly Game Pass cannibalizing Xbox sales. The 44-hour playtrhough for a 12-14 hour game is the best kind of problem.
Honestly, thank you for including a paragraph on difficulty for MIO! I'm really interested in it and I loved the Prince-of-Persia-Vania from Ubisoft (purchased it right after reading your review), but that was mostly due to its forgiving gameplay loop. As a father of 3 and with a full time job I just don't have time for "challenging" checkpoint placement anymore. 😅 So, I know you do, but please keep including info like that for the timewise challenged among us. 😅
Sure thing! And I don’t really have time for it either, as a father of two with a full-time job. I am very frustrated by games that waste my time. There were a few times, while playing MIO, that I was very frustrated that the developers had spiked the difficulty. I thought: well, maybe there’s a chance that I can explore, gain power upgrades, and be more capable for this challenge (this was before I even tried the accessibility/difficulty options). I then discovered that this game is highly rewarding for those who explore. I do not think I could have beaten the game without the accessibility settings nor the added exploration. With them, I had a magnificent time.
I definitely recognize my privilege in being able to devote 40 hours to this game over the past few weeks. There was one daytime session where, by a fluke of circumstances, I was on my own for a full day. Otherwise, I played at nights and fell way behind on other games and reading. I don’t actually have time to play games during most work days, despite my job.
And I do think there is room for improvement to make the game more user-friendly to players strapped for time. A key improvement would be to let players restart boss encounters immediately and not have to run back to them from save points. Especially for one optional, brutal boss.
So much to relate to there for a fellow gamer dad. Thanks for that! I'll just give it a go sometime, crank accessibility up as far as possible and focus on exploring. You gotta support people whose self-describes 12-14 hour game turns out to be 44 hours, and most of it great. 😄
Just saw MIO pop up from in the PS shop and was really impressee by the game art. Sounds quite enjoyable!
I only discovered MIO: Memories in Orbit yesterday, but the sci-fi setting and art style immediately grabbed my attention. It feels like one of those games where the world itself could be the hook, not just the mechanics. Definitely on my radar now.