Something core to Orbitals stuck out to me as I played the Switch 2 exclusive. Compared to the similar co-op games from Hazelight Studios, the major difference in Shapefarm’s two-player 3D platformer was that the two main characters, Maki and Omura, actually seemed to enjoy each other’s company.
While that might seem like an inconsequential detail, it was actually a breath of fresh air after sitting through Hazelight’s co-op hits A Way Out, It Takes Two, and Split Fiction, which all centered on troubled, angsty, and often-combative protagonists. Hazelight’s games blazed a path for Orbitals, refining a template of required two-player cooperative play, forced split-screen, and puzzles and action sequences that emphasize teamwork. While the Hazelight inspiration was clear in Orbitals (the game director is even a Hazelight alumnus), Shapefarm’s contribution to the genre contains a warmth and affability that better represent the spirit of what a cooperative game can be.
For better or worse, Orbitals doesn’t bog you down with the backstories of Maki and Omura. It’s clear from the game’s opening that they’ve known one another since they were children, living together on a space station ravaged by a cosmic storm. The dual protagonists are basically blank slates with little motivation outside of their drive to save themselves and everyone on the station. And while that left a little to be desired in terms of history and lore, that minimalist approach ultimately served the gameplay experience.
Maki and Omura’s positive dynamic proves that teamwork truly makes the dream work.
Maki and Omura may appear shallow on the surface, compared to the likes of escaped prisoners Vincent and Leo from A Way Out or soon-to-be divorcees Cody and May in It Takes Two, but the magic of Orbitals shows in dialogue. Through the 6-7 hours of the game, the duo imbues the story with infectious positive energy, bantering the same way long-time childhood friends would. They trade jabs, and players can actively spray water or shoot a metal claw at one another, with the characters reacting with playful mock-threats.
They go back and forth with cheesy puns (“Our teamwork is getting… rock solid,” Maki exclaims as they lift rocks to use as platforms. “Even though we had a… rocky start,” Omura responds.) and tease one another about the state of their bedrooms. Most importantly, they explicitly trust one another through the entire story.
Hazelight’s story formula uses a markedly different approach, taking cues from buddy films in which the two protagonists are far apart in personality. Naturally, that leads to heads butting, constant bickering, and downright hostility–until the story takes them through an arc in which they’re able to gain respect for one another and solidify their teamwork. It’s a sound way of crafting a story for a movie or a book, but featuring characters who aren’t in sync is far less effective in a co-op game.
If you’re going to invest hours in a game’s story, I imagine you would play something like It Takes Two with a close friend or a romantic partner. Chances are, your relationship with your gaming partner is healthier than the one in It Takes Two. The persistent negativity from a story like that starts to turn into background noise to skip when you’re just trying to play a fun video game together.
The absence of artificial conflict makes Orbitals a lot more palatable for co-op partners.
We take on many different roles when we play video games; while some games allow us to craft a character’s personality and background, more often than not, we play as characters who are different from who we are as people–sometimes drastically so. The escapism of living fantasies and inhabiting different worlds is a prime attraction of video gaming. The main goal of a cooperative game is to have a joyful and mentally stimulating experience, working together to gain fulfillment from successful teamwork–and when the game’s story has discord as a foundation for its characters’ relationship, that makes it hard to get invested in the game as a whole.
That isn’t to say that Hazelight’s output lacks any positivity. As irritating as Mio and Zoe’s dynamic could get in Split Fiction, there were sequences with fun and whimsy, and seeing the two eventually put aside their (otherwise contrived) differences and bond together created some catharsis. Even though It Takes Two was fraught with conflict and arguments, the minigames allowed for a break from the drama and opportunities for playfulness. Even A Way Out has wholesome moments such as these, with minigames letting Vincent and Leo play Connect Four and competing to balance themselves on wheelchairs–activities that provide fun distractions before the pair brutally guns down the boss of a crime syndicate later in the game.
Hazelight deserves a lot of credit for being a pioneer in modern cooperative game design. Yet, it’s other games that follow that studio’s gameplay structure, like the upbeat Orbitals, that get to the heart of what makes playing a game with someone important in your life so special.
It would be absurd to suggest that every co-op game in this mold has to be exactly like Orbitals and replicate its approach to characterization. Stories traditionally need tension, conflict, and contrast to compel audiences, and any fictional relationship that completely lacks any of those elements would appear insincere. But one thing that I hope Hazelight and other storytellers making co-op games learn from Orbitals is that if you want players to feel good, consider having the characters they play experience that positivity as well.
