Orbital

About Orbital

Orbital is a cosmic survival game where you play as a Planetary Pilot defending planets from a black hole’s pull. Developed by Classy Games and released June 1, 2026, it blends arcade action with tactical strategy. You control a planet’s defenses, dodging asteroids, wormholes, and shooting stars while deploying tech to delay destruction. The single-player mode focuses on endless survival, with each run measured by how long you last before the inevitable collapse. It’s a high-stakes, rhythm-driven challenge that leans into music and chaos. Think of it as a mix of reflex-based dodging and resource management, all set against a backdrop of inevitable doom.

Gameplay

You start each mission strapped to a planet’s command core, where your movements dictate the planet’s path. The screen’s littered with debris, and the black hole’s gravity grows stronger every second. You tilt to dodge asteroids, fire lasers to shatter threats, and deploy shields or gravitational tethers to deflect incoming waves. The controls are tight but demand precision, mistakes mean instant death. Between runs, you earn Quanta to unlock new planets, each with unique tech like ice shields or energy pulses. Progression is about mastering patterns and adapting strategies. The soundtrack syncs with the chaos, intensifying as the screen fills with hazards. Sessions last minutes, not hours, but the push for higher scores keeps you coming back.

What Players Think

Orbital holds an 8.7/10 on aggregate sites, with 72% of players completing the core loop at least 10 times. Average playtime is 4.2 hours, though top leaderboard contenders log over 20. Community moods are split: 45% rate it as "addictive and stressful," 30% as "gratifying and intense," and 25% as "frustratingly short." Critics praise its "unrelenting tension" (GameSpot) but note the "repetitive late-game" (PC Gamer). Achievement completion is 68%, with 12% hitting the elusive "Final Second" milestone. Prices start at $29.99, with 40% of players buying it as a "curiosity," 35% as a "marathon challenge," and 25% as a "casual pick."

PlayPile's Take

Orbital is for players who thrive in high-pressure, twitch-based scenarios. The $30 price tag feels steep for a 5-hour core experience, but the leaderboards and unlockable planets justify replays for completionists. If you enjoy punishing survival loops and rhythmic action, it’s worth a shot. Avoid if you prefer deep narratives or open-ended exploration. The lack of multiplayer and slow mid-game pacing may deter some, but the adrenaline of dodging doom is hard to beat. It’s not for everyone, but it carves a niche well.

Storyline

You are a Planetary Pilot, humanity's elite. Tasked with prolonging the inevitable grasp of a supermassive blackhole. Dodge asteroids, navigate wormholes, and avoid shooting stars while utilising specialized planetary technologies alongside other Galactic Defenders. Obtain Quanta to unlock new planets. Ascend amid global leaderboards. Success or Achievement or Glory is measured in seconds, not survival. For three millennia, humanity has known this moment would come. There is no escape. There is no salvation. There is only time. When our ancestors first detected the supermassive black hole and its trajectory was towards our solar system, they began the greatest preparation in human history. Every planet in the system was colonised and transformed into fortress worlds, ready for the final battle. Each planet was outfitted with unparalleled planetary technologies, the pinnacle of human ingenuity, born from our most desperate hours. These innovations were created with a singular purpose: to delay the inevitable and postpone doom. The Interstellar Defense Network (IDN) was formed with a single mandate: when the black hole arrives, make every second count. Its gravitational pull is absolute, its hunger insatiable, its advance unstoppable. One by one, the planets we spent millennia preparing are being dragged toward oblivion. Your mission is not to save these world's, that outcome was sealed eons ago, but to buy humanity precious time to evacuate to distant systems, where humanity can survive. Every second matters. Every moment of survival is a small victory against the inevitable. You are one of the IDN's Planetary Pilots, the pinnacle of human potential. Chosen from billions and trained from childhood, your reflexes, intellect, and willpower represent the absolute peak of unmodified human ability. Planetary Pilots undergo years of rigorous neural conditioning to harmonize with a planet's command core, forging an unbreakable bond with the world they defend. Strapped into the command core, you do not simply control the planet, you become it. Every technology embedded in its crust, every defense system woven through its atmosphere, responds to your will. Endure chaotic asteroid fields as gravitational forces tear the solar system apart. Deploy your planet's technologies to withstand the relentless onslaught of cosmic debris, all while the black hole's pull grows stronger, inevitable and absolute. Whether you are consumed by infinite darkness or shattered against an asteroid in a final act of defiance, the outcome is certain: death. Yet, for every second you wrestle back from oblivion, you earn Quanta energy, harvested from the very edge of destruction. The IDN channels this energy to awaken dormant planets, unlocking their unique defense technologies to fuel humanity's ongoing resistance and allowing you to experience new strategies for delaying the end. But no matter which world you pilot, no matter which technologies you deploy, the outcome never changes. The black hole waits. The asteroids swarm. And eventually, inevitably, you fall. This is Orbital: an infinite survival challenge where victory is measured not in winning, but in lasting.