Overview
- Critics published first reviews on Tuesday and placed Orbitals in the generally favorable range with aggregate scores around an 81 on Metacritic and an 84 on OpenCritic.
- Reviewers consistently praised the game's visual and audio presentation, highlighting Studio Massket's anime cinematics and a purposeful low‑frame aesthetic that makes in‑game action feel like a classic TV cartoon.
- Gameplay centers on tightly linked two‑player puzzles and ship segments where partners swap pilot/turret roles and use tools such as a grappling hook, beam cannon and liquid launcher to solve challenges.
- Shapefarm and Kepler are supporting accessibility with a Global Friend's Pass that lets a second player join for free plus a couch‑only demo, and they are promoting the Switch 2 exclusive with a music video, web manual, Gamescom presence and a Kyoto pop‑up ahead of the September 3 launch.
- Critics flagged concrete limits: a short 5–7 hour campaign, uneven story pacing and occasional technical issues including occasional bugs and clumsy ship combat that could be fixed in post‑launch patches.