Orbitals: The Anime-Inspired Switch 2 Exclusive Stealing the Show

Nintendo's latest Direct delivered a delightful surprise when indie studio Shapefarm announced that the Switch 2 exclusive, Orbitals, was launching on Sept 3rd. Orbitals stars two explorers, Maki and Omura, navigating a cosmic storm in a hand-crafted retro anime world with full voice acting. It's the most exciting original IP on Switch 2 this year, and it feels like playing a 90s anime movie with a friend. You can't beat that.

A Playable Anime Movie

Here's the thing about Orbitals: it doesn't look like anything else coming out this year.

The art style is the first thing that hits you. Orbitals captures the warmth and style of classic Japanese anime, not the modern hyper-polished look, but the hand-painted, slightly textured feel of 90s OVA productions. Studio Massket is handling the cinematic cutscenes, and they look gorgeous: hand-crafted animation with the kind of warmth and personality that CGI studios spend millions trying and failing to replicate.

It reminds me of the feeling you got watching late-night anime on VHS, the kind with actual artistic vision behind every frame. But this isn't just cutscene dressing. The in-game visuals carry that same sensibility. Bold outlines, rich color, environments that look like painted backdrops come to life. It's the most distinctive visual identity I've seen on Switch 2.

Co-op Through and Through

The core of Orbitals is asymmetric 2-player co-op. You play as Maki and Omura, two explorers trying to save their space station from a supernatural cosmic storm. Each character has unique tools, and the puzzles are built so that neither player can progress alone. You need to communicate, coordinate, and actually work together.

This is the design philosophy that made games like It Takes Two and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons so memorable, but Orbitals is going even further. The split-screen local play, online co-op via GameShare, and the Global Friend's Pass (which lets someone play with you even if they don't own the game) all signal that Shapefarm is serious about making this accessible. No half-measures.

Too many co-op games treat the second player as an afterthought. Orbitals is building its entire identity around the idea that two people playing together is the experience, not a bonus mode.

The World Beyond the Storm

The setup is classic sci-fi adventure: your space station is crumbling, trapped inside a cosmic storm called the Storm Wall, and the only way out is through. Maki and Omura pilot their ship through asteroid fields, explore abandoned stations, and encounter creatures and characters that sound like they belong in a Studio Ghibli space opera.

The "explore beyond the storm" framing gives the game a natural sense of progression and discovery. Each new station is a self-contained puzzle box, and the variety in the environments suggests Shapefarm isn't just recycling the same corridor with different textures. This is a world worth exploring.

What I'm Most Excited About

The art style is clearly the most striking aspect of Orbitals.

I've been playing games for decades, and I've seen a lot of studios attempt the "anime aesthetic." Most of them end up looking like someone ran a cel-shader over a 3D model and called it a day. Orbitals doesn't do that. It looks like a 90s anime you can play. The cutscenes, the character designs, the environments, they all carry the same hand-crafted sensibility. Studio Massket's involvement gives it a level of animation quality that most games can't match.

The co-op design is a close second. I'm planning to play this with my wife, and the fact that the entire game is built around two players working together, not just trying to outrun each other, makes it something I'm genuinely looking forward to sharing. Plus the Friend's Pass means I don't have to buy two copies to play with someone else, which is a nice touch. It's also not the only way Orbitals is leaning into the hardware strengths of the Switch 2: split-screen local play on the built-in screen, GameShare for online co-op without requiring both players to own the game, and GameChat integration for voice communication. These aren't gimmick features bolted on after the fact, they're fundamental to how the game is played.

And finally: original IP. Brand new world, brand new characters, brand new story. In a year full of remakes and sequels (and I say this as someone who is very excited about several of them), Orbitals is the game that's doing something genuinely new.

If you want more details about Orbitals, you can check out all of our coverage at the Orbitals game page.. And, as always, stay locked in with Gameminr for all the latest gaming news on Orbitals and everything else.

See ya Space Cowboy.