We go hands on with Shapefarm's incredibly promising co-op only Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, which hopes to harness the magic of 90s and 80s space anime.14:00, 07 Jul 2026Updated 14:18, 07 Jul 2026After getting to play Orbitals' opening hour or so, it's already clear that there's plenty here for fans of Hazelight games to enjoy.‌Even prior to sitting down to play Orbitals on Nintendo Switch 2 at a recent preview event, it seemed like the type of game that appeared too good to be true. I mean, a vintage-looking split-screen co-op adventure set in space where you and a friend must work together using various tools and gadgets, really? Such a premise is inherently an ambitious one, no doubt - and that’s even before you take into account the retro anime visuals and stop-motion framerate required to truly sell you on the game evoking the era when the likes of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Cowboy Bebop, and of course, Akira, ruled the TV landscape.‌Imagine my surprise, then, to learn after navigating asteroid fields, solving ship-based puzzles, and braving cosmic storms as heroes Maki and Omura myself with another player that Orbitals not only does all this, but does so extremely well. In fact, whether you’re a fan of classic anime or not, I’d say developer Shapeform’s upcoming co-op only title is already shaping up to be one of the standout titles of the year. Certainly pulling from Hazelight’s other recent co-op classics such as Split Fiction and It Takes Two, yes, but doing so with its own heartfelt ideas and distinctly anime-infused spin.‌My Orbitals demo started me off right at the beginning of the game. And speaking honestly, it really didn’t take me long to recognise the genius of the art style. Despite running on a Nintendo Switch 2, which, it’s no secret, doesn’t boast the technical heft of other platforms, the look, feel, and vibe of 80s and 90s anime classics is successfully brought to life in the intro cutscene focussing on Maki and Omura’s origins. Rescued as children after a catastrophic accident, the two are forever bonded before we jump ahead to their time of being full-fledged space explorers as adults.If you told me that I was watching a recently unearthed anime movie imported from Japan, I would have believed you. And yet, all of it plays out incredibly convincingly to anyone that grew up on a diet of retro anime classics. Equally as important as the film grain filter and reduced framerate Orbitals implements, however, is the tale itself that the game is spinning. And despite the intro sequence being fairly short, I already care about Maki and Omura as space adventurers trying to fix their crumbling space station home that's trapped in orbit. A fact that proved doubly the case once I got into the game proper.‌Much like the Hazelight titles game directors Marcos Ramos and Jakob Lundgren have experience working on, Orbitals takes place entirely in split-screen co-op. With me taking on the role of Maki and my partner the blue-skinned Omura, it wasn’t long before we got to work fixing the ship using a range of tools like the Scrap Hook and the rather self-explanatory Liquid Launcher.A key difference between Orbitals and, say, It Takes Two is that picking one character doesn’t immediately lock you into having a certain role or being committed to simply one half of the story. Maki and Omura, at least from the hour or so I played, really serve more as skins, with your role in completing certain puzzles tied to the tool/gadget you choose to grab, rather than a specific character. It's a subtle creative choice, sure, but one I found to be refreshing and instantly appreciative of.Into orbitOne of our first objectives as a pair was to put out three fires that had sprung up around the ship - a task we could only complete together. For me, having picked up the Scrap Hook, this meant latching onto the vents and then pulling them open from afar, while my partner put the fires out by, ahem, launching liquid into the vents accordingly.‌Other tasks we had to perform using these tools included pushing and turning around giant rods using the pressure of the Liquid Launcher, and at one point I had to switch to what was called the Beam Cannon in order to blast part of this ship back online by timing my shots at the exact perfect time. Such objectives sound simple to pull off, but all required good communication and co-ordination (as all the best co-op games do).Completing tasks in and around the ship is all well and good, but the true scope of Orbitals was made known to me as soon as we stepped outside of it. With Maki and Omura on the constant lookout for resources needed for repairs, navigating asteroid fields and piloting a subship appears to play an equally an important role, with you and a partner being regularly required to assume the roles of the pilot and gunner when charting a course through wider space’s unknown mysteries.In my preview we docked on a derelict vessel that further pushed the concept of split-screen co-op, with me needing to guide a chibi robot from one side of the room to the other while my partner was required to keep lifting up any numbered wall panels I’d call out to them in order to regularly keep the robot powered next to me from afar. It’s ‘rub your head, pat your belly’ puzzle design 101 at its finest, but it was still fun to pull off with a friend.‌Luckily, even though my time playing Orbitals was short, very rarely were my partner and I ever stumped when trying to find a practical puzzle solution, and so far there seems like there'll be a good sense of pacing to be found in the sheer variety that comes from completing objectives both in and out of the ship. Not to mention that, at least at certain moments, players will be able to choose the order of derelict vessels they'll visit when completing specific tasks.By the time my Switch 2 Pro controller was ripped away from me and I’d delved into what the first hour of Orbitals had to offer, I came away immensely impressed at what Shapefarm has been cooking up. As a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive I initially went in worried about whether Orbitals would be able to achieve all its visual ambitions from a technical level. Well, it turns out I needn’t have worried.Article continues belowFrom a presentation standpoint I was instantly warped back to the time when I watched all kinds of odd anime during my childhood, while Maki and Omura’s story of survival is already proving to be engrossing. Providing the co-op puzzles continue to grow in their ambition and complexity in a similar fashion to A Way Out, It Takes Two and Split Fiction, there's every reason to believe that Orbitals will be a Nintendo Switch 2 must-play when it releases. Co-op fans, in particualr, won't want to miss it.Orbitals is set to launch exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2 this September 3, 2026 .