Orbitals arrives as one of the most compelling couch co-op experiences you can play on the Switch 2, blending a high-concept sci-fi story with a heartfelt tribute to vintage anime. The debut release from developer Shapefarm wears its inspirations openly, pulling visual and narrative cues from classics like Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion and Sailor Moon, all wrapped in lovingly crafted animated cutscenes.
While the game never fully steps out from under those influences to become a stand-alone masterpiece, it borrows from so many near-perfect hits that the nostalgic charm carries it through its relatively short playtime. For anyone hunting a fresh reason to play together on the couch, Orbitals delivers.
How Orbitals Compares to the Genre’s Biggest Names
Any new couch co-op game inevitably invites comparison to Hazelight Studios, the developer behind award winners like It Takes Two and Split Fiction that have defined the genre over the past decade. Orbitals holds its own against those benchmarks, due in no small part to a development team led by former Hazelight talent.
Game Director Jakob Lundgren has said the project would integrate much of the Hazelight DNA, and in practice it iterates on that proven formula in meaningful ways. Where the Hazelight titles often left one player standing around holding a single button to assist a partner, Orbitals keeps both players constantly in motion. Each participant contributes to platforming sections and puzzles without lingering in any one spot, making the cooperative flow feel more balanced and engaged.
The Story and Anime-Inspired Style
Players take on the roles of young space colonists Maki and Omura, who have spent their entire lives aboard a stranded colony ravaged by a mysterious radiation storm. High-tech respawn machines called IMs are all that keep the station’s residents alive, but the danger keeps closing in. To save their found family and possibly escape the wreckage, Maki and Omura venture into the far reaches of space to scavenge what they need to survive.
The narrative itself is fairly by-the-numbers, but the ’80s anime style does the heavy lifting. The IM respawn machines echo the existential horror of Evangelion, though the game doesn’t dig deeply into those implications. The spaceships are grimy and industrial, straight out of Cowboy Bebop. Maki looks and acts like a magical girl, while Omura reads as an endearing mix of Ranma and Spike Spiegel: smart, a bit nerdy and far too prideful.
These character archetypes never quite evolve beyond their sources, instead assembling familiar pieces from beloved stories into a new setting. Animated cutscenes from Studio Massket give Orbitals more charm than much of the genre, reinforcing its role as a fond reminiscence of animation’s past.
