Orbitals Review

Review code provided with many thanks to Nintendo Europe.

Orbitals – Finally Another Co-op Adventure

We get a lot of deckbuilders. We get a lot of roguelikes. And whenever one particular type of game becomes popular, you can almost guarantee we’re going to see plenty more of them. What we don’t seem to get quite as often are genuinely good co-op adventures. Ever since games such as It Takes Two showed just how brilliant a co-op game can be when it is designed around two players working together, I’ve been waiting for more games to really embrace that idea. Enter Orbitals. This Switch 2 exclusive is a co-op puzzle adventure that immediately caught my attention, and after playing through it, I think it’s one of those games that demonstrates just how much fun gaming can be when you’re working together.

Orbitals squeezing a cat — You can give mega cuddles to the space cat

Two Explorers, One Problem

You play as Maki and Omura, two young explorers who find themselves trying to save their home from a rather serious cosmic problem. Their station has become trapped within a supernatural cosmic storm, leaving the pair to venture beyond the storm in search of help. The story isn’t particularly complicated, but I liked the characters immediately. There’s a playful friendliness to them that makes the adventure enjoyable, even when the situation around them is becoming increasingly dangerous.

The presentation also deserves a mention because Orbitals looks fantastic. It has a strong 1990s anime influence, and if you grew up watching sci-fi anime from that era, there’s a good chance this will tickle the nostalgia glands. For me, it was Dominion Tank Police and Appleseed. The hand-crafted cutscenes genuinely look like they’ve come straight from an old anime, while the 3D gameplay manages to retain that same visual identity. There’s even a slight stylised movement to the characters and environments that helps maintain the feeling that you’re playing through an anime rather than simply watching one. And yes, you can turn that effect off if it isn’t your thing. Personally, I left it on because it worked.

Orbitals character select — Are you team blue hair, or team blue skin

Teamwork

The entire game has been designed around two-player co-op, either locally or online. Each player controls one of the two characters, and for much of the adventure you’ll be working independently on your own side of the screen. Occasionally the two characters come together, but that separation is an important part of the experience. Both characters can use three distinct tools, including a laser, water weapon and grappling hook. The game constantly finds new ways to make you use them despite their simple use. This is probably my favourite part of Orbitals. The game keeps introducing different puzzles without making them feel like they’re simply repeating the same idea with a slightly different coat of paint. For example, one player might need to use the grappling hook to lift something while the other cools a vent with their water gun.

But it’s not just using tools. Elsewhere, you might need to communicate a sequence of symbols to your partner so they can enter the correct code. And then there are the more traditional co-op moments, such as one person piloting the ship while the other operates a cannon. It sounds simple, but the important thing is that Orbitals keeps things ticking along at a pleasant but fun pace. It doesn’t feel like an idea gets run into the ground and repeated to fill the time.

Orbitals flying space ship — Co-oping to the rescue

Failure Isn’t a Disaster

One thing I particularly appreciated is that Orbitals doesn’t punish failure heavily. If you mess up, your character respawns almost immediately. The game even provides a little narrative explanation for this, with your characters’ souls being stored back at the colony. It’s a small detail, but I liked the thought that had gone into explaining something that could easily have just been ignored. It also keeps the whole experience feeling relaxed. There are a few later sections that require quicker reactions and using the correct tool at the right moment, and these did occasionally frustrate me (and my wife). Having some familiarity with a controller certainly helps. Thankfully, a mistake isn’t followed by a ten-minute walk back to where you were.

Plenty of Little Touches

The main adventure takes roughly seven hours, which I thought was about right. It doesn’t feel padded, and the game introduces enough new ideas throughout its journey that I was happy to keep moving forward. There are also little hub areas where you can take a breather, interact with characters and mess around with various activities and mini-games. Some of these even keep scores, giving you a reason to return if you fancy trying to beat your previous attempt. They’re not essential, but they’re the sort of small details that give the world a little more personality.

If you’re playing online, Orbitals has another big advantage: GameShare means only one player needs to own the game. For a co-op game, that is fantastic.

Orbitals engine repair — This is one elaborate engine repair

Conclusion: Co-op Perfection

I really, really liked Orbitals. There’s something slightly strange about how few games we get that are built around this sort of co-op experience. When it works, there’s nothing quite like sitting with someone and solving problems together, laughing when you get something completely wrong and celebrating when everything finally clicks. The puzzles are varied, the characters are lovely, the anime-inspired presentation is beautiful and, most importantly, it consistently gives both players something meaningful to do.

Whether you play locally with a partner, with a friend or online with someone on the other side of the world, I can easily see Orbitals creating some lovely gaming memories. For me, this is a reminder of why co-op games can be so special. An absolute essential Switch 2 purchase if you have someone to play with.

Final Verdict: Two Thumbs Up.

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