If you cast your mind back to February, Nintendo held a special third-party Direct conference that was focused entirely on upcoming games from companies such as Square Enix, Bethesda and Capcom. With so many high-profile announcements during the show, you’d be forgiven for forgetting the opening moments of the Direct, which featured the announcement of co-op anime game Orbitals. With Orbitals gearing up for a summer launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2, developer Shapefarm has released a brand new trailer showcasing the co-operative gameplay, which you can check out below.
As you can see from the trailer, Orbitals looks like it could be this year’s answer to co-op classics like It Takes Two and Split Fiction.
Hosted by creative director Marcos Ramos and game director Jakob Lundgren, the video opens up with a mission in which lead characters Maki and Omura explore a derelict space vessel.
In order to progress through the vessel, one player must recharge a drone’s battery using a Beam Cannon, while the other player uses a Scrap Hook to open up the path ahead.
With certain obstacles only visible to one player, communication is key to making progress – so expect raised voices and the ocassional good gestured argument.
In another scenario, players must guide a hoverboard through the core of an asteroid, using the weight of each character to steer the craft left and right.
There’s also a side-scrolling platforming section in which one player is in the foreground and the other in the background.
According to the developer, the section plays with gravity and trust, as each player uses various tools to create a path forward for the other.
Not only do the puzzles look like fun, but I really love the anime aesthetic, making Orbitals one to watch if you have a Switch 2 and are looking for something to play this summer.
The game can be played in local split-screen or online with the Nintendo Switch 2 GameShare feature. While the price is yet to be revealed, fans can Wishlist Orbitals now.
