Art Style: ORBIENT

Orbient is an incredibly mellow, relaxing experience, but at the same time can be one of the most challenging games you'll ever play. It's amazing to play a design that can be so much fun and have so much strategy using so few buttons on the controller.

Simple graphics, simple control, complex gameplay; Orbient is nothing less than a masterpiece of minimalist design, and one of the most compelling examples presented for the case that video games are a new medium of art that must be recognized.

Who knew orbiting planets could be so fun? Or difficult for that matter? Art Style: ORBIENT successfully finds the balance of being accessible initially, yet more challenging as you drift further into space.

Revolutionary.

For just 600 Points, you can't go wrong here. [Jan 2009, p.101]

Putting our incessant nitpickings aside for a moment (and to be fair they are really observations as opposed to complaints) this game rocks. Many WiiWare games lack depth, but Orbient nips that stereotypical quality in the bud. The game may be conquerable within a matter of hours but after a few levels the genius of the gameplay really starts to shine through.

It's a weird game, yes, but a quietly brilliant one if you put a little effort in and are prepared to grapple with the physical concepts at its heart. It's certainly the most interesting and rewarding of the three Art Style games on WiiWare, so far.

Unique and addictive. [Apr 2009, p.73]

By the Wii Shop Channel's description, Nintendo believes this game is relaxing, but I found difficult to relax when what I most did was huffing about my planet which didn't go on the direction I wanted. I recommend this game to everyone who wanted a great portion of difficult, but the ones who get mad easily must run away from it.