November 20, 2025 Orbyss is a calm, yet brain-bending 3D puzzle game developed by solo developer Misty Whale and launched on Steam on October 29, 2025. Set in an ominous glowing sci-fi world, you play as a spark of energy that can inhabit and command multiple orbs to navigate complex levels. It is a physics-led puzzler where patience, logic and careful planning beat out twitch reflexes. The game successfully combines the spatial reasoning of games like Portal with mechanics of a co-op game, only you are going it alone. At its core, Orbyss is its multi-orb control system which immediately stands out amongst other similar rolling ball games. You often need multiple orbs, effectively playing co-op by yourself using one orb to sit on a pressure plate to activate a bridge or platform. You take control of a second orb by giving it commands, tethering it to follow you, or by switching positions to cross that bridge and activate another switch. It’s all very clever when it comes together and you learn that next trick. The game steadily introduces an impressive variety of mechanics across its multiple chapters including: Time Manipulation: The ability to freeze orbs in mid-air to hold positions or maintain a necessary state. Drone Piloting: Temporarily taking control of flying drones to navigate large 3D spaces or reach distant platforms. Sound Puzzles: Logic sequences that rely on sound cues (with excellent visual accessibility options to ensure playability for all). The controls are smooth and forgiving with mouse and keyboard. The orbs have just the right amount of weight such that inertia isn’t too big a factor. The game removes frustration by offering frequent checkpoints and quick respawns, encouraging you to experiment freely rather than fear failure. The puzzles are often self-contained within single zones, keeping the mental load focused and manageable. While the main explorable path has a decent learning and difficulty curve, optional achievements tied to solving puzzles under specific constraints are present. One early example is where you need to try complete an area without switching orbs. Or when I inadvertently earned an achievement for skipping a tutorial (and similarly one for doing it), which provides excellent replay value for completionists and achievement hunters. Visually, Orbyss utilised a minimal sci-fi aesthetic but it is by no mean dull, in fact I was often intrigued at looking at what challenges I could spot way ahead of the current area I was in. The zones are dark but warmly lit by the gentle, bioluminescent glow of the orbs and the various mechanisms you interact with. This visual contrast creates a great sense of mystery, focus and intrigue at what’s to come. The atmosphere is further enhanced by the subtle, meditative soundtrack and ambient sounds. The audio is never intrusive; instead, it acts as a calming backdrop, turning the puzzle-solving process into a tranquil, late night session ritual. The blend of clever mechanics and mellow presentation makes Orbyss a fantastic wind down game, and it did test my brain a few times. Some puzzle areas require you to solve puzzles with audible cues, having to hit certain things in a certain order. Thankfully, there’s an option to enable visual cues to match the audio ones, another nod to accessibility. Overall, Orbyss is an impressively smart and satisfying puzzle game that excels at delivering that rewarding “Ah-ha!” moment without too many frustrations. The quality of the puzzle design is a huge allure and kept me wanting to find out what happens next, and what new puzzles I will face. If you are looking for a highly polished, logic-driven 3D puzzler that will engage your brain without raising your stress levels, Orbyss is an easy recommended. This review utilised a key provided by the developer and Orbyss is out now on Steam . #roundtablecoop Tagged Orbyss , PC , puzzle , steam About the Author: Chris Inglis Chris began gaming in the 80’s with Nintendo Gameboy and playing on his friend’s consoles such as NES/Famicom and Sega Master System. His first PC games were Dangerous Dave, Alley Cat and Secret of Monkey Island. An avid PC gamer through the 90’s and 00’s until finally joining the console crowd with the Xbox 360. A collector of all genres of games, his favourites are MMORPGs, space flight sims and good story-driven RPGs. Source: https://roundtablecoop.com/reviews/orbyss-review-a-sci-fi-world-of-multi-tasking-puzzles/