Star Fox review

In 1993 Nintendo released 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 Foxs story i Star Fox 64. In 2011, Nintendo changed 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 yet another Star Fox which actually tells the same story, but this time on 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 FoxIn its campaign, players bounce between different planets in the Lylat system in pursuit of the villainous Dr. Andross, completing a variety of mission objectives along the way using the titular Star Fox team's Arwing ship.

The Classic Star Fox Campaign Returns (Again)

A short but sweet experience, on all levels Star Fox offers something different. One level will have players battling enemy forces in dogfights in outer space, while another has them withstand the extreme temperatures of a lava planet, complete with a boss fight against a giant magma monster. Most missions have Fox and crew piloting their Arwings, but there's also a submarine and a tank level occasionally to spice things up.

Star Fox is a game meant to be played over and over again, with alternate paths and secrets to discover. To meet the conditions required to find Star Foxs alternate routes and unlocking new levels is a thrill and means replaying the campaign multiple times never gets old. It helps that the core game is very action-packed and a lot of fun, of course.

Star Fox on the Switch 2 isn't much different from the Nintendo 64 game in terms of gameplay. In fact, they are almost identical. Players have standard lasers and powerful bombs at their disposal to destroy any enemies unlucky enough to 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 barrel rolls to deflect enemy attacks, and the tank can briefly hover to get past obstacles and collect power-ups that are otherwise out of reach.

Something new that the Switch 2 version introduces are mouse controls, which work very well and offer a fresh way to experience classic Star Fox action. I think most fans will want to stick with a more traditional control scheme, though Star Fox offers perhaps the best use of Switch 2 mouse controllers to date. They don't take long to adjust to, and they help an almost 30-year-old gaming experience feel at least a little fresh.

The fresh coat of paint also goes a long way Star Fox on the Switch 2 stands out from its predecessors. Nintendo chose to go for a more photorealistic version Star Foxs characters and worlds, with vastly improved graphics that make it unrecognizable compared to the older games. The new one Star Fox Character designs aren't for everyone, but they're undeniably detailed and everything looks sharp, with top-notch performance. New and extended cutscenes are also in Star Fox on Switch 2, although I was disappointed that the much talked about prologue mission with Fox's father, James McCloud, is only a cutscene and not playable.

Just as the graphics are miles ahead of the older games, the voice acting is just as good (though not exactly perfect), and while some of the campy charm is lost, it's an improvement overall. Of all the times Nintendo has retold Star Fox story, the Switch 2 version is easily the best-looking and best-looking. Star Foxs campaign on Switch 2 is an improvement over previous iterations of it thanks to these upgrades, but those who have already played the older versions extensively may have a hard time justifying spending $59.99 on what is essentially an experience already available on Nintendo Switch 2 through the Switch Online Expansion Pack's N64 game library.

Star Fox Multiplayer is a Mixed Bag

Others are likely to take issue with Star Foxs co-op implementation. Instead of making a proper co-op mode for the campaign, Star Fox on Switch 2 selects one of Nintendo's co-op co-op modes, which is simply a much worse way to play the game. IN Star FoxIn Nintendo's case, Nintendo basically splits functionality between the two players, so one person controls the Arwing's movements and the other controls the weapons. It is not an ideal way to experience Star Foxand it's hard to shake the feeling that the mode was put on to say 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 total lack of split screen multiplayer. Star Fox 64 split screen was a blast back in the day, but that has been removed with the Switch 2 version. Star Fox supports GameShare so that's at least one small easier to still have local multiplayer matches, but the lack of split screen is by far the game's biggest mistake.

If you can get past 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 only has three multiplayer maps at launch, and so it gets repetitive pretty quickly, but the multiplayer-specific power-ups and competitive tension keep it at least somewhat engaging.

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

While multiplayer is fun, for the most part, if you've been playing Star Fox on Nintendo 64 or 3DS you've actually already played 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 before then, you'll probably get a lot more mileage out of the Switch 2 remake.