This Switch 2 exclusive's retro anime style defies visual expectations

Orbitals' anime-style visuals are leaving Nintendo fans stunned

Thursday's Nintendo Switch 2 Partner Showcase kicked off with a bang in the form of Orbitals, an exclusive two-player co-op puzzle adventure game that looks like an episode of a long-lost anime. This is a game with visuals that would wow anyone regardless of platform—and a great example that sometimes power isn't everything.

As devotees know, the Switch 2 is a more capable machine than its predecessor, but the portable still falls short of the high end of what's graphically possible on any of its competitors. Most of us have made peace with the fact that, if we're playing on a Nintendo console, it's not going to be to play games on ultra settings. But every once in a while, Nintendo fans will be treated to a game that defies visual expectations, and it's usually a title with strong art direction, like The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker.

Orbitals is the work of a Tokyo-based studio, Shapefarm, that was announced earlier in 2026. We don't know much about it, other than it comes out sometime in the summer of 2026. So far, based on footage, Orbitals plays like It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios' well-regarded 2021 co-op action game, but it looks like something out of Cowboy Bebop. Gameplay shows a young woman and a blue alien cavorting around space, exploring futuristic landscapes and shooting down enemy ships. All of it happens via split-screen, with each player controlling one of the two characters side-by-side.

Seemingly, no one can believe how good Orbitals' cel-shading looks. I didn't even realize I was looking at a game the first time I saw it. The style is so strong, Orbitals was easily the highlight of Nintendo's entire 30-minute showcase.

"I love the thought of being in control of [an] anime cartoon," one commenter says on the newly-released trailer.

"The fact they perfectly recreated the old-school anime style with 3D models is phenomenal eye candy," reads the top comment on the initial YouTube reveal last month.

"Literally buying this to support the art style more than anything," reads a reply.

Orbitals is a breath of fresh air amid the endless parade of interchangeable Unreal Engine 5 games on other platforms, or modern games that equate visual beauty with the number of particles a game can generate at once. Hopefully, Orbitals will be as fun to play as it is to watch.