There is a better game inside "Orbitals" than the one I was able to play
As an anime kid of the 90s, I immediately fell in love with "Orbitals". The hand-drawn look, a soundtrack like something out of "Cowboy Bebop", puzzles for two. Unfortunately, that love quickly crumbled.
It just feels good when a game like «Orbitals» lands on my Switch 2. While the industry struggles with AI debates and DLSS comparisons, the co-op puzzle game from Shapefarm relies on a hand-drawn retro aesthetic. Within the first few minutes, I feel transported into a 90s anime.
Added to this is a soundtrack that perfectly captures the science fiction era – a bow to «Cowboy Bebop», «Sailor Moon», and Studio Ghibli. The level of detail is also spot on. A light film grain lies over everything. The animations intentionally run at 12 and 24 frames per second respectively – the backgrounds slower, the characters more fluid – to replicate the charm of traditional animated films. I want to dive in immediately. Unfortunately, pacing issues and clunky controls dampen my enthusiasm early on.
Hazelight formula in anime guise
Behind «Orbitals» is, among others, Jakob Lundgren, a former level designer at Hazelight Studios. They have made games like «A Way Out», «It Takes Two», and «Split Fiction». I recognize this signature immediately. Gameplay and story are based on cooperation and solving environmental puzzles as a pair. «Orbitals» is the studio's debut.
Practical: Only the person hosting the game needs to buy it. I start a gameshare session for online co-op and invite someone. Alternatively, I play «Orbitals» as a classic couch co-op title on the same screen. I cannot play it alone.
Two characters with character
I can choose to control either Maki, a risk-taking researcher, or Omura, her phlegmatic alien partner. In an elaborately animated opening sequence, I first experience the two as children on a space station that is about to explode. What happens next is harsh: the two are put into a machine that saves their consciousness and transfers their memories into two fresh clone bodies. Fifteen years later, Maki and Omura run giggling through the same spaceship and tease each other as if nothing had happened. Trauma processing looks different. But their good-natured optimism makes them likable.
This good-naturedness also shows in the small things. If I say goodbye to a tool I no longer need – such as the stomp backpack I use to break open floors, or a hacked microwave – the two say goodbye to it. A trick that tells a lot about the characters.
The different running animations are also great. Maki trots over stairs with small, bouncy steps, while Omura switches butter-smooth from a casual hand-in-pocket pose into a full sprint. Little things, but they hit the mark.
The German and English voice actors do a decent job. However, the constant chatter of the two main characters gets on my nerves over time. Less would have been more here.
Changing abilities with tricky puzzles
Unlike in the games from Hazelight Studios, where each character has fixed assigned abilities, in «Orbitals» I swap backpacks and gadgets between missions. A clever idea that constantly refreshes the gameplay. The puzzles rely on well-thought-out tools like the recurring grappling hook, lasers, or the water cannon.
With the water sprayer, for example, I rotate and clean oversized mirrors, while colleague Michelle, with whom I am playing the game, uses the laser to control platforms I am standing on. With the grappling hook, in turn, Michelle retrieves plants from the walls and places them skillfully so that I can water them with the water cannon. I do this until they burst and roots that block our path are destroyed.
Then there are also gadgets that only appear once or twice. I find the microwave particularly great: the everyday machine suddenly becomes a tool with which I transfer my mind into slimes and then control them. Unfortunately, the gadget remains below its potential. The gameplay possibilities would be huge, but are only touched upon.
The puzzles require analytical thinking, precise timing, and a delicate touch. They are more demanding than they look, and solutions are rarely obvious. I initially thought «Orbitals» would be more accessible than «Split Fiction». Wrong thought.
Missed details and clunky controls
In space as on the space stations, I only control Maki and Omura horizontally, i.e., left and right – apart from a few platforms I jump onto. Because a vertical axis is missing, getting started is easy even for newcomers. Nevertheless, the level design requires constant attention. Michelle and I don't always discover relevant things right away.
The whole adventure runs in split-screen. A large screen is worth it so that both keep an overview. In handheld mode, I have to look even closer until I recognize a crucial detail. The game runs equally well docked and in handheld mode.
I struggle with the controls. Because «Orbitals» noticeably runs at a low frame rate, my inputs feel imprecise. I land off-target more often than I would like and blame it on spongy controls. Over time, I realize that I have to adjust my timing. That makes it run better. Nevertheless, I jump to my death more often than I am used to from other games.
Michelle feels the same way. At one point, she has to plant seeds at certain intervals. For a long time, this doesn't want to work because her character Omura either doesn't move at all when she tilts the stick, or moves too much and the distance becomes too great. These are annoying parts that unnecessarily dampen the fun of the game.
Story and gameplay waste potential
With a playtime of under ten hours, «Orbitals» is well-suited for short sessions for two. But the story takes a long time to get going. The first two-thirds just drift along. I run errands and give my ship upgrades. Meanwhile, I wonder if the game even has a story or if I'm just working through one order after another. It only gets exciting in the last act.
I am even more annoyed by the wasted gameplay opportunities. For example, in a scene with a pink, hippo-like alien creature: as soon as Maki and Omura climb onto its back, I look forward to a big riding sequence. But practically at the same moment, the game cuts to the scene where the two get off again. A pity, something could have come of that. It is not the only time I think that.
The sections where Maki and Omura fly their spaceship together work much better. One person takes the helm, the other the weapons. But even here there is a limitation. The ship follows a fixed, invisible flight path through the stars, which is why the two screen halves usually show almost the same thing – just zoomed to different degrees.
Despite these weaknesses, the charm remains, and the fun of the game lasts until the end. It's just that the feeling remains that a significantly better game could have been hidden in «Orbitals».
«Orbitals» has been available for the Switch 2 since September 3, 2026. Kepler Interactive provided me with the game for testing purposes.
In a nutshell
Beautifully drawn, but below its potential
Pro
- great, hand-drawn anime look
- fitting soundtrack
- loving character details
- varied puzzles
- only one person needs to buy the game
Contra
- the story only really takes off in the final act
- promising ideas
- clunky controls
From big data to big brother, Cyborgs to Sci-Fi. All aspects of technology and society fascinate me.
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