Do you remember, as a kid, sitting down on a Saturday in front of your TV watching Saturday morning cartoons? Then, on Monday, you’d chat with your best friend about all the cool and fun moments in the episode. Well, Orbitals brings that joy to life and lets you play it with a friend, locally and online. Many titles, like Split Fiction and Unravel 2, brought the spirit of co-op play back. Despite some flaws, Orbitals is one of those experiences you and a friend need to play.
For this review, I played Orbitals locally with my twin brother, Matty. As twins, we look for amazing co-op games that we can enjoy together. It’s a rare breed, but It Takes Two and Split Fiction in particular reinvigorated that desire for amazing local play titles. It’s a high bar to surpass those, but Orbitals did come close with its abundant charm and fantastic puzzle-solving.
Orbitals follows Maki and Omura, two teenage space explorers who venture into the unknown in order to save their space colony. Through a variety of exotic locations and numerous puzzles, you’ll work together to find Reactor Cassettes to help power your main ship and keep everyone safe from the impending storm.
The plot is a little more lackluster than other co-op contemporaries. It doesn’t go as deep as it feels like it should, given its themes. Sure, there are some great moments and fun characters sprinkled within, but it mostly feels like the experience is catered more towards the gameplay. That doesn’t mean what’s on display isn’t good, as it does tell a nice story of two friends and their out-of-this-world adventures. It just feels surface-level in certain areas that should have had more spotlight.
In terms of gameplay, it’s your standard two-person fare, just with an emphasis on puzzle-solving. Almost every area has a mechanism or enigma you need to solve with your friend. The game does give some hints, but figuring it out by yourselves is half the fun. It’s a lot of trial and error, but the fun kind. It can get frustrating at times, yet it never dissuades you from continuing.
A majority of the time, you’ll use certain tools, like a water gun or a grappler, to solve the puzzles in the area. All the time, though, you’ll have to work together, so communication is essential. It’s one of those games where your partner does matter if you want to succeed. One can’t venture forth without the other, and vice versa.
For example, in one area, I had to use a water gun while Matty used the laser beam to move a snowball through a series of paths. Using the laser beam shrinks it so it can fit in the hole, while using the water gun makes it bigger. Add to that using both tools to move the paths around, and it made for some fun fails and one epic triumph.
Playing with my brother gave it an edge, since we like to think we have good communication skills. I played as Maki while Matty played as Omura. While Maki did feel more like the main character from my perspective, there was always a good balance between the two. The friendly chemistry between Maki and Omura was charming and felt like two great friends bringing up old memories and coming up with silly jokes or songs to pass the time.
Outside of the story, there are plenty of minigames to enjoy. We didn’t get to go into them as much as we wanted to, but finding one during a level always got us excited to try it out once we returned to the ship. Speaking of, the main hub of Orbitals, the ship, has tons of fun Easter eggs and even a pet-able cat, which is always a good thing.
If you’ve watched any of the trailers, it’s clear the team was inspired by old 90s anime like Neon Genesis Evangelion and Yu Yu Hakusho. The cutscenes looked ripped out of one of those nostalgic shows. Fortunately, that art style bleeds into the graphics. It shifts to 3D graphics instead of 2D, but it keeps that charm and aesthetic. You get sucked into this anime-inspired world, and it’s one that I had a hard time leaving.
Unlike other co-op games, you and your friend can rip through Orbitals in around 6-8 hours. It’s a bit too brief and could definitely have used some more for certain characters and storylines, but it’s short and sweet It can, in many ways, feel like an episode of a television show or anime: we get short intros to characters, a singular plot, and a brief conclusion.
Playing Orbitals on the Nintendo Switch 2 just felt like a match made in heaven. It isn’t a highly demanding game, so it ran quite smoothly. We played in TV Mode, and it looked and played nicely. Using the Pro Controller and the Joy-Cons felt natural and never uncomfortable, even when things got intense.
A highlight for me was the voice acting, as it made the anime aesthetic even more present. You can tell the cast had a blast with the script and characters. Big props to the two protagonists, Maki (voiced by Rebecca Wang) and Omura (voiced by Stephen Fu), as they worked perfectly as two playful friends.
Good
The Final Word
In short, Orbitals is another must-play for co-op lovers and those looking for a good time with a friend or significant other. While a bit too short in many areas, there’s no denying the charm and fun puzzles deliver on all fronts. It keeps you engaged and emphasizes teamwork, leading to great memories. I hope there’s more in store for Maki and Omura, as I (and Matty) are ready to explore space again at a moment’s notice.
