A Canadian who has worked in the gaming industry for over two decades, Beck grew up on games such as Final Fantasy and Super Mario Bros. He specalizes in roleplaying games, but covers titles in almost all genres. His dream is to one day be involved in the development of a video game, but until that day comes, he will continue to cover the industry he's so passionate about.

It was apparent that Nintendo was at the forefront of indie support during Summer Game Fest last month. While some of the big games were shown at the event, it was Nintendo who elected not to bring their first-party lineup but instead focus on their third-party support of smaller developers, such as Order of the Sinking Star and Armatus. It was a refreshing change from games like Tomb Raider or Phantom Blade Zero, as these titles reminded us that a big event such as this wasn’t just for AAA titles.

Sitting down on some rather comfy bean bag chairs at the Nintendo booth at Summer Game Fest, we were able to get a short hands-on session with the upcoming Orbitals from Japanese developer Shapefarm and publisher Kepler Interactive, and we were absolutely blown away at what we saw. Orbitals was the best thing we saw at Summer Game Fest, and that's saying a lot considering there were some incredible games at the event.

Golden Age of Anime in Video Game Form

The first thing we noticed when picking up Orbitals was just how distinctly ‘80s and ‘90s anime it looked. While many other games try to replicate the beloved aesthetic to varying degrees of success, Orbitals absolutely nails it. This not only looks like it was an old school anime, but it plays like one too. Meaning, it’s not just the cutscenes, but when getting our hands on it, it nails the style perfectly as something we’ve been wanting for the past twenty plus years.

This isn’t your typical cel-shaded look, but something that blends the two different dimensions together magically. The characters themselves are more anime-inspired, while the environments look a little more 3D with varying layers of 2D style built in. Really anything that isn’t nailed down and static retains the animation art style a lot more, along with still images of characters resembling works such as Gundam and Ghibli constantly guiding the player through the story.

A lot of the aesthetic has to do with the animation itself. Both main characters, Maki and Omura, have overly exaggerated animation even when running around, with a high level of detail to every stride. It looks smooth but, at the same time, feels like every animation was hand drawn.

Cooperative Puzzle Solving

In terms of gameplay, there’s a much stronger focus on puzzle solving and working together than anything else. There’s a little bit of action in the earlier portions of the demo, but for the most part, the core gameplay loop is working together with another person and overcoming puzzles.

The comparison between Hazelight Studios games such as It Takes Two and Split Fiction is apt. This is very much a cooperative adventure game that requires teamwork to overcome each puzzle. Best yet, while those games essentially lock players into specific roles upon picking them, the player has the option to swap between them in Orbitals. No one is necessarily locked into a specific role until they’re actually split up and deep into the puzzles themselves.

For the most part, this is a 3D adventure, taking place in a beautifully crafted space setting with a lot of machinery. There are definitely sections where the perspective will shift to 2D, but this seems a little rarer. The gadgets we got to experience worked in tandem with one another, such as one carrying a heat beam while another had a grapple hook. Heat up metal so it’s able to bend and use the grappling hook to move it out of place.

Maybe you need to use that heat beam to break down the environment to create a path for the opposite party while that person opens up gates for you to actually shoot in their direction. There are a lot of possibilities and this is only a small taste of what we can expect when it comes to gadgets. That’s on top of gaining control of our little space vessel, as one player is in the gunner's seat and another behind the wheel.

We came into Orbitals with very little knowledge about the game but came out as believers. There’s nothing better than a good cooperative game, and even though we only got around twenty to thirty minutes worth of playtime, it scratched an itch perfectly. Blending together thought-provoking puzzle solving with a beautifully crafted ‘80s and ‘90s anime style, Orbitals is shaping up to be one of 2026’s biggest hits when it launches on Nintendo Switch 2 September 3.

Released 2026

ESRB T For Teen

Developer(s) Shapefarm KK

Publisher(s) Kepler Interactive

Multiplayer Online Co-Op, Local Co-Op

Number of Players 2

Nintendo Switch 2 Release Date 2026