Nintendo's Partner Showcase opened with a surprise that felt more like a carefully preserved cartoon episode than a modern trailer: Orbitals, an exclusive two-player co-op puzzle-adventure from Tokyo indie Shapefarm and publisher Kepler Interactive, is coming to Switch 2 this summer.
The hook is obvious the moment you press play on the reveal — cel-shaded characters, a lived-in, analogue sci-fi palette and cutscenes that could pass for recovered clips of a long-lost TV anime. Studio Massket, whose animation work has popped up in projects like Edgerunners and One Piece, handled those cinematic beats, lending the game a warmth and authenticity that few indie titles attempt.
Art direction over raw power
You can make a convincing argument, as some outlets did after the showcase, that Orbitals proves art direction can matter more than raw graphical horsepower. The Switch 2 is more capable than its predecessor, but it’s not chasing PC-level fidelity. Orbitals sidesteps that arms race by leaning into a specific aesthetic — 3D environments and models that read like 2D animation — and the result is striking. If you responded to the trailer with a reflexive “that looks like Cowboy Bebop,” you weren’t alone.
That visual boldness is also the reason the game stuck out near the top of Nintendo’s Partner Showcase, a useful reminder that style can be a selling point even as the platform sees increasing third-party support and strong hardware momentum (Nintendo's recent forecast boost and booming Switch 2 sales speak to that larger context) Nintendo Raises Switch 2 Forecast as Console Sales Soar.
Co-op designed to be played together
Orbitals is built around two characters: Maki and Omura, survivors of a research station destroyed years earlier. Fifteen years after that catastrophe, another cosmic storm threatens their orbital home and they must work together to survive. Gameplay looks very much like a modern co-op puzzle platformer — think It Takes Two or Split Fiction — but with its own toolkit and a spaceborne personality.
Each player controls one character, using complementary tools to alter the environment. The trailer showcased gadgets with real puzzle potential: the Scraphook moves platforms and reconfigures paths, the Liquid Launcher activates switches or cools hot surfaces, and the Beam Cannon clears obstacles and opens heat-gated doors. Those mechanics suggest moments where physics, timing and creative cooperation will be necessary — and, ideally, genuinely surprising when two tools interact.
Nintendo confirmed both local split-screen and online play, and the Switch 2’s GameShare feature means only one person needs to own the game if you’re playing together online. For people who travel or split couch/handheld sessions, that’s a meaningful convenience; Nintendo’s launch lineup and partner windows have leaned on features like this as third-party support ramps up Nintendo Reconfirms Big Switch 2 Release Schedule as Third‑Party Support Surges.
Little moments and worldbuilding
Beyond puzzles and co-op gimmicks, Orbitals also showed quieter content: base activities like tinkering with instruments, befriending odd lifeforms, and even an arcade cabinet that unlocks a top-down shooter you can play with a friend. Those touches make the station feel like a home, not just a set of hub menus — and they helped sell the idea that Shapefarm is building a small, lived-in universe rather than a string of puzzles.
The narrative framing — survivors navigating a damaged research outpost and a looming storm — gives the game stakes without promising an overly grim tone. The trailer mixes danger with tenderness: the protagonists joke, explore, and hang out between missions. It’s the sort of character-first approach that pairs well with co-op designs where communication and empathy are part of the fun.
Why some players are already excited
Reaction to the trailer focused on the visuals first, and the co-op design second. That’s telling: when an indie team can create a distinct visual identity that sparks nostalgia and genuine curiosity, it lifts every other element. Orbitals doesn't have to be the most technically ambitious title to feel special; it just needs to deliver on promising mechanics and a tone the trailers have hinted at.
If everything clicks — inventive tool interactions, satisfying puzzle pacing, and the occasional slice-of-life around the base — Orbitals could join a recent wave of co-op-first games that make playing together the headline feature, not an afterthought.
For now, we have a summer 2026 window and a strong trailer. Expect to hear more as Shapefarm and Kepler flesh out release details and share deeper looks at gameplay. In the meantime, that trailer is worth a dozen rewatches.