Orbit.industries is a management game developed by LAB1132, published by Klabater and released on April 21, 2022 on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
The game puts us in control of a space station that will have to be managed.
As a manager, you must therefore develop it, while managing to maintain a balance among the different elements.
Indeed, the station requires many resources to operate, as well as money. However, to generate money, it will be necessary to develop the station, requiring resources which themselves require money, and so on?
Thus, in addition to the usual "water" and "energy" necessary for the proper functioning of each section, it will also be necessary to manage the oxygen, the biomatter, the atmosphere, the computing power, the environmental control system, as well than the workforce.
In addition to these "basic" elements, it will also be necessary to place work environments to be able to advance science and carry out missions that will bring in money, such as laboratories, control centers, conference rooms, new technology, etc.
However, do not place all this anyhow on the station and optimize the location, both physically and with regard to the wiring! Thus, you will have to manage the installation and distribution of the various networks, such as the electricity network, oxygen distribution, water, etc.
The placement not only has a great importance on the quality of the distribution of resources: indeed the further an element is from a system, or the greater the number of systems connected to the same element, and the less the distribution will be done correctly and efficiently, although physical positioning helps prevent cascading issues. Because, indeed, the station can encounter many problems: fires, computer bugs, and even more "extra-terrestrial" problems!
As stated earlier, all of this obviously requires money. Indeed, each of these modules makes it possible to carry out contracts for scientific projects which will make it possible to earn money, as well as research unlocking new elements and, of course, the objectives of missions. All of this taking more or less time depending on the type of project, the number of services required, and varying according to the performance of the sections (depending on whether they are correctly supplied or not).
Without going into details so as not to spoil the surprise of the scenario, the story places you at the controls of a space station which picks up a strange signal, and you will be in charge of the investigation in order to obtain more information. and answers. Apart from the story mode, the game also offers a sandbox mode if you just want to build, without worrying about the story, as well as a creative mode where you can build the space station of your dreams without worrying about finances or other stuff !
Visually, the game is very clean. The 3D view of the station is really impressive. Contemplating its station composed from only a few modules to become a huge sprawling station is very satisfying. The view to manage the distribution of energy, water, etc. on the different modules is also very well done and allows you to configure perfectly as you see fit.
The small downside is that, on the PC version, the game is only in QWERTY, with the impossibility of modifying the keys. The simple ALT + SHIFT allows you to switch the keyboard to EN and everything "gets back to normal", but it's a shame that it's not possible to modify the default keys. The game also recommends playing with the controller. Which may seem strange for a management game, but the interface is perfectly adapted to this mode (the game is also available on console, fortunately!). I also had the unfortunate surprise of experiencing a few crashes. I would like to point out that this happened before the game was released, and that several updates have been applied in the meantime, including several causes of crashes resolved!
Conclusion
Orbit.industries is a good management game for anyone who loves space. Certainly, the game will not revolutionize the genre, but it is really fun to play! The game would just benefit from being a little more clear on certain points, but it's really nitpicking.
A game that I recommend for lovers of management games that can be tied up in 2 hours as well as in 20 minutes!
