Star Fox Review

In 1993 Nintendo came out Star Fox for the SNES, a highly innovative rail shooter that told the story of anthropomorphic animals battling it out in spaceships. In 1997, Nintendo retold and reimagined Star Foxstory in Star Fox 64. In 2011, Nintendo redesigned Star Fox 64 for 3DS as Star Fox 64 3D. The Star Fox the story was retold again Star Fox Zero on the Wii U in 2016. And now, in 2026, Nintendo has released another one Star Fox which effectively tells the same story, but this time on the Switch 2.

Star Fox on the Switch 2 is a remake of the Nintendo 64 game with almost identical level design and core gameplay, but with significantly improved graphics. Like the N64 game before it, Star FoxThe campaign sees players hop between different planets of the Lylat system in pursuit of the villainous Dr. Andross and complete a variety of different mission tasks using Arwing ships from the titular Star Fox team.

The Classic Star Fox Campaign Returns (Again)

A short but sweet experience on every level Star Fox offers something different. In one level, players will battle enemy forces in space dogfights, while in another they will brave the extreme temperatures of a lava planet, complete with a boss fight against a giant magma monster. Most of the missions have Fox and crew piloting their Arwings, but there's also the occasional submarine and tank level to help spice things up.

Star Fox is a game to be played again and again, with alternate paths and secrets to discover. Fulfillment of conditions necessary to find Star FoxThe alternate paths and unlocking of new levels are exciting and keep replaying the campaign never getting old. It helps that the core of the game is a lot of action and of course a lot of fun.

Star Fox on the Switch 2, the gameplay is not very different from the Nintendo 64 game. In fact, they are practically identical. Players have the standard lasers and power bombs to destroy enemies that don't get in their way, and the vehicles have gimmicks that make things a little more engaging than many other rail shooters. For example, the Arwing can perform a barrel roll to deflect enemy attacks, and the tank can hover briefly to get over obstacles and collect otherwise unobtainable power-ups.

Something new that the Switch 2 version introduces is mouse control, which works very well and offers a new way to experience the classic Star Fox action. I think most fans will want to stick with the more traditional control scheme, but Star Fox it offers perhaps the best use of the Switch 2's mouse controls to date. It doesn't take long to get used to them, and they help make what is a nearly 30-year-old gaming experience at least a little bit fresh.

A fresh coat of paint also helps a lot Star Fox on Switch 2 differs from its predecessors. Nintendo opted for a more photorealistic concept Star FoxCharacters and worlds with significantly improved graphics that make it unrecognizable compared to older games. New Star Fox the character designs aren't for everyone, but they're undeniably detailed and everything looks sharp, with top-notch performance. In are also new and expanded cutscenes Star Fox on Switch 2, though I was disappointed that the much-hyped prologue mission featuring Fox's father, James McCloud, is only a cutscene and not playable.

Just as the graphics are leaps and bounds ahead of the older games, so is the voice acting (though not quite perfect), and while some of the camp charm is lost, it's an overall improvement. Of all the times Nintendo retold Star Fox story, the Switch 2 version is easily the best looking and best played. Star FoxThe Switch 2 campaign is an improvement over previous iterations thanks to these upgrades, but for those who already played the older versions a lot, it may be hard to justify spending $59.99 for what is, at its core, an experience already available on the Nintendo Switch 2 via the N64 Switch Online Expansion Pack game library.

Star Fox Multiplayer is a Mixed Bag

Others will probably have a problem with it Star Foxcooperative implementation. Instead of a proper co-op mode for the campaign, Star Fox on the Switch 2 it opts for one of Nintendo's co-op modes, which is just a much worse way to play the game. IN Star FoxIn this case, Nintendo is essentially splitting the functionality between two players, with one person controlling the Arwing's movements and the other controlling the weapons. Not an ideal way to experience Star Foxand it's hard to shake the feeling that the mode was tacked on because the game has a co-op campaign. It's not true co-op, and if you go into this expecting true co-op, you're going to be sorely disappointed.

But when it comes to the biggest disappointment in Star Fox remake on Switch 2, it's complete lack of split screen multiplayer. Star Fox 64 Split screen was a blast in the past, but that was removed with the Switch 2 version. Star Fox it supports GameShare, so at least it's a little easier to still have local multiplayer matches, but the lack of split screen is by far the game's biggest flaw.

If you can get over the lack of split screen, Star Fox's PvP multiplayer is fun but light on content. Star Fox multiplayer battles are 4v4 battles where players can compete against local friends on other Switch consoles, bots or online players. Star Fox it only has three multiplayer maps at launch, so it gets repetitive pretty quickly, but the multiplayer-specific tweaks and competitive thrills make it at least somewhat engaging.

“Slaughter” Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 it takes 1.5 – 2 hours depending on skill level, but there are alternate routes, a Challenge mode to tackle, and multiplayer to consider.

While the multiplayer is fun, for the most part, if you've been playing Star Fox you've effectively already played on the Nintendo 64 or 3DS Star Fox on the Nintendo Switch 2. That makes the $59.99 price tag hard to swallow, but if you're someone who's never played Star Fox sooner, you'll probably get a lot more mileage out of the Switch 2 remake.