Orbitals is a cooperative space adventure game that draws heavily on the aesthetics and spirit of Japanese animation from the 1980s and 1990s. Scheduled for release in November, the game evokes the visual style of classic series such as Ulysses 31, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, and Dragon Ball, with highly detailed, hand-drawn frames animated to deliver smooth and fluid motion reminiscent of traditional cartoons.

The gameplay centers on a pair of childhood friends, Maki and Omura, who reside on a space station isolated for 15 years by a cosmic storm. When the station begins to fail, the duo embark on a mission to discover a solution that can save their home. The cooperative experience requires two players, who assume different roles: one pilots their spacecraft while the other mans its weapon systems. Once outside the ship, players don spacesuits and are assigned complementary abilities that must be combined to progress through various challenges.

These tasks emphasize timed coordination and precision. For example, one player might navigate jumping across cosmic stepping stones in an abandoned station while the other opens a sequence of doors at just the right moment. The gameplay echoes modern titles such as It Takes Two and Split Fiction in its reliance on escape room-style collaboration. While Orbitals can be played online, it is designed primarily for two players sharing the same physical space.

Though the gameplay mechanics remain relatively simple, the game’s nostalgic presentation imparts a distinctive charm. Its design choices appear intentional in evoking a slightly dated feel, complementing the handcrafted animation and contributing to a sense of fondness for the era it references. The narrative likewise follows a straightforward and unambitious approach, reinforcing the impression that Orbitals is more an homage to earlier cooperative adventure games than an effort to innovate within the genre.

Overall, Orbitals presents a carefully crafted revival of a bygone style of game and animation, combining thoughtful technical effort with affectionate nostalgia for a past era of visual storytelling and gameplay collaboration.