Orbitals Showcases 2-Player Puzzle Adventure Ahead of September Switch 2 Launch

Q: Why is a flagship Switch 2 exclusive intentionally capped at a retro 30 FPS?

It is capped at 30 FPS by design, not because the Switch 2 cannot run it faster. Shapefarm says the frame-rate limit serves two goals. The main one is artistic: “Orbitals” is built as a playable 1980s-90s anime, with character animation often running at 12 or 24 FPS to mimic hand-drawn Japanese animation. Developers said internal tests found 60 FPS looked too clean and created a sense of distance from that retro style, while 24 FPS for the whole game felt too choppy for play. A 30 FPS cap was the compromise that best preserved the illusion of “being inside an animation.” The second reason is technical. “Orbitals” is an exclusive two-player co-op game built around constant split-screen play, simultaneous actions, and detailed environments in Unreal Engine 5. Rendering two active viewpoints at once increases processing demands, so 30 FPS also helps stabilize performance during puzzle-solving, ship piloting, and action-heavy sequences. That makes the decision unusual for a flagship Switch 2 exclusive, especially on hardware marketed around much higher performance targets. But in this case, the studio is prioritizing consistency and a specific visual identity over raw smoothness. The developers have been explicit that 60 FPS support is not planned, because a higher frame rate would work against the game’s intended retro-anime presentation.

3 articles · Updated · Game Informer · Jul 7

Summer Game Fest hands-on sessions showed Orbitals as a split-screen co-op puzzle adventure built around two players controlling Maki and Omura aboard a floating ship.
Shapefarm’s debut leans on tool-based teamwork: items such as the Scrap Hook and Beam Cannon unlock paths, power machinery and force both players to stay active through tightly timed puzzles.
Jakob Lundgren, a former designer on A Way Out, It Takes Two and Split Fiction at Hazelight, brings a familiar couch co-op structure to the project.
Anime-styled visuals, expressive character interactions and a soundtrack ranging from synth drones to funky bass gave the demo a strong identity, with the preview pointing to a September release on Switch 2.