Orb Labs, Inc.

About

Orb Labs, Inc. is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Next Friday Interactive and was released on June 11, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Orb Labs, Inc. is a single-player VR stealth game where you navigate through a secret underground lab, avoiding deadly laser systems. Use Orb Labs' own weapons, orbs, to teleport and outsmart security measures in this 5+ hour story mode experience. Compete against others in challenge mode, with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift compatibility. Cybersickness-free movement ensures a comfortable playthrough.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 25 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game offers a surprisingly challenging and fun puzzle experience that keeps players engaged with its unique throwing mechanics and stealth elements.
The visuals and immersive gameplay create an exciting atmosphere, with players feeling like they are truly navigating a dangerous lab filled with lasers.
The game provides a good amount of content, with a campaign lasting around 5 hours and various challenges that encourage replayability.

The difficulty spikes significantly after the initial levels, leading to frustration and making the game feel unplayable for some players.
The throwing mechanics can be inconsistent, requiring excessive precision that can lead to instant deaths, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.
The level design is repetitive, with many areas looking similar and lacking variety, which can make navigation and orientation challenging.

gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
43%
21%
The gameplay of this title primarily revolves around a throwing mechanic that allows players to teleport, which some find frustrating due to its cumbersome nature and the trial-and-error experience in large environments. However, many players appreciate the physicality and immersion of the VR experience, enjoying the stealth elements and the humor woven into the gameplay. Overall, the game is considered polished and addictive, offering good value for its price with around five hours of engaging content.
- “I enjoy throwing in VR as it is one of the gameplay mechanics that are unique to this medium.”
- “Polished gameplay, nice graphics, innovative ideas... and it's only a few dollars!”
- “I found the gameplay addicting; after getting caught by lasers, I constantly found myself wanting to try 'just one more time.'”
- “This game's only moving mechanic is to throw a ball at a spot you wish to be teleported to, and that is exactly what's broken.”
- “Add to this big open rooms where sometimes you can't even see where all the enemy turrets are located (since every time you try to look around the corner you get killed) and the result is extremely frustrating 'trial and error' core gameplay.”
- “The throwing mechanic is cumbersome.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The game's story is generally seen as light and humorous, featuring an underground lab infiltration to uncover shady experiments, which adds an engaging backdrop to the gameplay. While there is a significant amount of optional text and backstory available for those interested, the core narrative is not particularly deep but is complemented by funny elements and collectible items. Players appreciate the potential for future expansions that could enhance the story with new challenges and content.
- “Beside the cool gameplay, there are also funny elements in the story and items to collect.”
- “It incorporates a nice background story and plenty of jokes.”
- “There is a lot of text to read, but I'm pretty sure that's just optional flavoring for the story.”
- “There's also a backstory, but I skipped that, so I don't know whether it's any good.”
- “You wouldn't expect a deep story in that kind of game, but infiltrating an underground lab to uncover the shady experiments of a company is enough to get me going.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
The music in the game has been criticized for its lack of variety, with players noting that there is only one repetitive royalty-free track used throughout, including in multiple locations like lifts. This limited soundtrack detracts from the overall experience, as players express a desire for more diverse and engaging music to enhance the atmosphere.
- “Even though the visuals and the music are quite dark, it isn't a scary game - more like a mixture of a puzzle and skill-focused game.”
- “On top of that, there only seems to be one song in the entire game (at least as far as I could get).”
- “It's the same royalty-free music you hear in many budget titles.”
- “Why is it the same song in every lift? I have no idea, as it's not like there aren't more free songs that could be used.”
graphics
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics are generally praised for their quality and polish, with impressive lighting and cool map designs. However, some users note that the level layouts can be repetitive, featuring monotonous corridors filled with crates and lockers. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point, especially given the game's low price.
- “The maps are very cool, and the graphics are amazing.”
- “Polished gameplay, nice graphics, innovative ideas... and it's only a few dollars!”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a lighthearted sense of humor, with amusing story elements and collectible items that enhance the experience. Players appreciate the humorous explanations found throughout the game, contributing to its playful tone and self-aware charm.
- “Beside the cool gameplay, there are also funny elements in the story and items to collect.”
- “If you don't know what to do, there are many humorous explanations in the hallways.”
- “It has a good sense of humor and doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game is reported to be somewhat unoptimized for the Valve Index, indicating performance issues that may affect the user experience on this platform.
- “It's quite unoptimized for the Valve Index.”
- “The performance issues make it hard to enjoy the game.”
- “I experienced significant lag and frame drops during gameplay.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious rather than challenging, indicating that while the gameplay may not be difficult, it can become monotonous over time.
- “However, the game is not difficult, but tedious.”
- “The grinding feels endless and often pointless.”
- “I find myself repeating the same tasks over and over without any real reward.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is reminiscent of "Portal," but it features a darker and grittier tone, enhancing the overall experience.
- “The whole game almost feels like Portal, albeit with a slightly darker and grittier atmosphere.”