Co-op games often bring some of the greatest experiences that the gaming medium has to offer. In recent years, this couldn’t be clearer, with developers like Hazelight leading the charge with It Takes Two and Split Fiction. Co-op gaming is nothing new, but these experiences have truly innovated the genre and shown us new ways to play together and create memories with games.
And considering how much fun I had with both of Hazelight’s recent games, it should be no surprise that I’ve been very keen on watching any new co-op game announcements. Last year at The Game Awards, we got the announcement of Orbitals, a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive co-op platformer. The game instantly drew me in with its beautiful visuals and unique anime aesthetic that reminded me so clearly of 80s anime and 90s anime that I really love.
At Summer Game Fest: Play Days 2026, I had the chance to go hands-on with Orbitals in Nintendo of America’s slice of campus, and let me tell you: I am absolutely stoked for September.
Similar to other games in the genre, Orbitals requires that you play with another partner. In my case, I got paired up with another attendee I’d never met before at Play Days, yet we immediately dove in and had a blast playing through the game. Our 30-minute demo opened up with a gorgeous animated cutscene that feels so authentic to the era. There’s been such attention to detail even in the small effects, and just the character designs overall; it really does feel like anime of that time in the best way possible. Off the top of my head, I can’t really name too many games that have truly tried to attempt this art style and aesthetic, but it is great. I would love to see more of it, to be honest.
Following that really intense intro cutscene, we got to dive into gameplay where, like Split Fiction and others, it’s split down the middle in a co-op style. To touch a little on the story, Orbitals follows Maki and Omura on their adventure across the galaxy. The cutscenes we saw and the interactions we were able to witness kind of gave us a little glimpse as to what goes on and what happens, but at least in the demo we played, we were only really able to get introduced to the characters and see them eventually start and make their way into a ship.
Both of these characters have very different abilities in-game, which required my co-op partner and me to communicate extensively about what was going on and how we could solve the different challenges. One of us had a type of device that was a hook that could hook onto things and lift them, and the other had a laser that was able to shine lights into diodes and things of that nature. There was a really, really neat segment in our preview where we had to melt some metal and pull it away to enter an area of the spaceship that needed repair, and that required me as the player with the laser gun to basically aim it at the metal and heat it enough to where the player with the pulley could pull on it and pull it down.
What I love about Orbitals, at least from what I got to play, is that it really does make you think about all the different pieces in the environment. There are little hints here and there, but yes, it’s not necessarily all in front of your face. You have to use your environment and work around that, thinking about the tools you have at your disposal. Towards the end of our preview, we actually got to enter the ship, and this was really fun, as one of us had to maneuver around and avoid missiles while the other got to fire away at them and act
as defense.
This type of co-op platforming again is very similar to what’s seen in the Hazelight games, but it’s done in such a charming way, especially with the aesthetic and art style, and it really just has me so excited to experience this for myself with the full game. Something I quite
appreciated on gameplay (and something I’m interested in learning more about) is the approach to getting different abilities or weapons. In the demo, we actually just got to go up to a terminal and grab one, and in our case, one of us chose one, and the other chose the other. And for that reason, we didn’t necessarily have predetermined abilities. That’s honestly something a little different than some co-op games, and it’s a change I kind of appreciate, as it allows replays to be different and it also kind of gives you some choice in the matter, which is fun. And for your extra competitive friends, you can fight over different tools, which, hey, have at it, right?
Above all else, though, what I think Orbitals is just killing it on is the aesthetic and presentation. I know I’ve mentioned it a few times already, but what I really want to dive into is what the team has accomplished here visually. Sure, the art style really hits that 90s and 80s
anime aesthetic, but it’s the animation that truly sells it. Traditional Japanese anime is animated at 24 frames per second, and Orbitals very much so respects that in its animation process. The game runs at 30 frames per second on Nintendo Switch 2, but I promise you, you will not be able to tell.
The main character models are animated at 24 frames per second, and other background characters are animated at 12 frames per second.
It gives this wonderful engrossing feeling where you’re just really pulled into this world, and it feels like you’re playing a living anime in the best way possible. I also will give a quick shout to the music, as it was pretty loud in the demo area. We weren’t able to hear everything, but from what we were able to hear, the music sounded really nice, and the voice acting was pretty great as well.
I’m a really big fan of the fact that Shapefarm included both Japanese and English dubs, and for our preview we chose Japanese dub; it was fantastic. Overall, I am incredibly excited to check out Orbitals this September. Personally, it feels like this release is kind of going under the radar a bit, but let me tell you: if my preview is anything to go by, this is going to be a major hit come September. The aesthetics and presentation are legitimately jaw-dropping, the gameplay is very fun with unique systems, and I’m very intrigued to see where the story goes. Not to mention that you just need one copy and can play with a friend for free using GameShare, and there’s even a physical release with the game on cart! Co-op platformers are often among the most memorable experiences in games, and I’m super hopeful that Orbitals will be next on that list.
Orbitals is set to launch exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 on September 3rd, 2026.
