You know those spinning weapons in roguelites? The ones that circle your character, smacking anything unfortunate enough to wander too close? They’re usually just one part of a much bigger arsenal, something you pick up alongside your projectiles, explosions, and other increasingly destructive abilities. Well, somebody has decided those orbiting weapons deserve an entire game of their own.
Orbital Madness is an incremental action roguelite from EagleEye Games launching on Steam today. Every weapon revolves around your character, and your job is to turn that collection of spinning objects into an increasingly dangerous machine for destroying anything that gets too close. There are hordes of enemies to defeat, bosses to overcome, and permanent upgrades to unlock between runs. The longer you survive, the more outrageous your collection of orbitals can become.
Why Have One Spinning Weapon When You Can Have Loads?
The central idea behind Orbital Madness is that every weapon is an orbital. Instead of filling the screen with an assortment of unrelated attacks, you’ll concentrate on building an arsenal that spins around your character, striking enemies as they move into range.
You’ll need to keep moving, avoid incoming attacks, and position yourself so your rotating weapons can do as much damage as possible. Get too close to a dangerous enemy, and you may find yourself taking more punishment than you’re dishing out. Stay too far away, and those lovely spinning weapons aren’t going to accomplish much.
It’s a balancing act that should become increasingly entertaining as your arsenal grows.
Building the Perfect Circle of Destruction
Experimentation is a big part of the appeal here. Orbital Madness encourages players to create different weapon setups on every run, combining upgrades to develop increasingly powerful builds. The aim is to find combinations that can handle the growing hordes of enemies while giving you enough damage to take down the bosses waiting along the way.
What starts as a relatively modest collection of spinning weapons can gradually develop into something far more destructive. As each attempt offers opportunities to build your arsenal differently, there’s a reason to experiment rather than relying on exactly the same approach every time.
Maybe your latest setup works brilliantly against crowds but struggles when a tougher enemy appears. Perhaps another combination makes short work of a boss but leaves you vulnerable when the screen starts filling with smaller creatures.
Finding the right balance is all part of the fun. Its also satisfying watching a build gradually take shape, especially when the weapons you’ve been collecting finally start working together and enemies begin disappearing almost as quickly as they arrive. At that point, the biggest challenge might be resisting the temptation to charge straight into the next horde just to see what happens.
Death Is Temporary, Your Upgrades Aren’t
Naturally, your spinning arsenal won’t keep you alive forever. Eventually, something is going to break through your defenses, catch you in a bad position, or simply overwhelm you with sheer numbers.
Coins and essence collected during your adventures can be spent on permanent upgrades, allowing you to strengthen your character between runs. You might not have defeated the boss you were aiming for, but at least you’ve earned something useful for the next round.
As you progress, you’ll also unlock additional ways to develop your orbital arsenal, expanding the possibilities available in future runs. It’s the incremental side of the experience, where small improvements gradually add up until you’re noticeably more powerful than you were when you first started.
From Mining Rocks to Mowing Down Monsters
Orbital Madness is the latest project from EagleEye Games, the developer behind Keep on Mining! and Just Click The Button. Those games focus on incremental progression, with players gradually improving their abilities and unlocking new ways to make their chosen activity more efficient.
This time, the developer is bringing that progression-focused approach into an action roguelite. According to EagleEye Games, Orbital Madness combines ideas from both earlier projects, taking their incremental systems and applying them to a game built around the orbital weapons commonly found in other roguelikes.
It’s an interesting direction, particularly for players who enjoy the satisfaction of permanent upgrades but also want something a little more active than clicking buttons or mining rocks. Here, your growing power is put to work against enemies that are actively trying to kill you.
Orbital Madness is a single-player experience built around collecting orbiting weapons, experimenting with different setups, defeating enemies, earning upgrades, and returning stronger after every failed attempt. There’s no enormous fantasy world to explore or complicated story to unravel. The attraction is watching your arsenal grow from a few rotating weapons into a destructive collection of spinning chaos.