Playing Star Fox on the Switch 2 every day for the past week has effortlessly reminded me how much I miss arcade air combat when it's done right. There's just something about jumping into a mission, trying to get a better score, and realizing halfway through that the game has already talked you into doing it again that still works on me, even though I didn't realize it was happening when I played Star Fox 64 as a child. Star Fox on the Switch 2 might be short if all anyone wants to do is hit the score once and move on, but the more I play it, the more I'm reminded of how addictive this type of game can be once you understand what it wants from you.
Of course it makes me think back Ace Combat 8: Wings of Thevewhich I had the chance to preview more than a month before Star Fox is launched. At the time, I just knew that I had played one of the most exciting arcade air combat games I had touched in years. But now that Star Fox have retreated to that headspace, Ace Combat 8coming on October 2, 2026, feels like the obvious next game to have on the radar. And I'm here to tell you if you're a fan of how Star Fox feels like playing, you should keep an eye on Ace Combat 8 also. Unfortunately, if all you have is a Switch 2, you won't be able to play it at launch, as it will be PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC only. However, Ace Combat 7 was eventually ported to Switch, so I'm sure the next entry will be as well.
Star Fox review
Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 is the best way to experience the classic Star Fox story, but it's a story we've heard too many times before.
Ace Combat 8 is the obvious next step after Star Fox
The thing Star Fox on the Switch 2 gets right is that it understands the value of a repeat run. The campaign is short if all anyone wants to do is beat the campaign and then move on to another game, but Star Fox never really thought about it. Instead, it's about replaying each mission, finding alternate paths, improving your score and collecting medals to do so, realizing that the real game only begins to open up once the credits have rolled.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Start
Guess the games from the emojis.
Light (120s) Medium (90s) Hard (60s)
But that's also what makes Ace Combat 8 such an easy recommendation for me to make. No, it's not an on-rails shooter, and no, it's not trying to be Star Fox with fighter jets, but it's appealing in exactly the same way. Basically, if Star Fox is an apple, Ace Combat 8 is an orange. You start a mission, try to survive the chaos, finish with a score you know could be better, and then feel that annoying little voice in your head telling you to redo it all over again.
I felt that several times during mine Ace Combat 8 preview already in May. I played through seven incredible story missions, and after finishing some of them I still had time to replay them – and I did. The thing is, I didn't need to, and I was totally exhausted from staring at a bright screen in a dark room for hours, but I did it anyway. The reason? Because I was having a great time and just didn't want to stop.
Basically, if Star Fox is an apple, Ace Combat 8 is an orange.
That is probably the clearest connection between Star Fox and Ace Combat 8. Both games understand that replayability doesn't always have to be about a massive checklist. Sometimes it's just a matter of making the game feel good enough that you willingly go back in for a second, third, fourth, and fifty-first try. Star Fox do so with its branching courses, medals, Challenge Mode and Battle Mode. Ace Combat 8 doing so with a score and tons of great stuff to unlock, as well as story missions that feel dangerous, cinematic, and more than worth completing.
The mission variant I saw in Ace Combat 8 is a big reason for that. One mission felt like trying to save a city from Godzilla, but instead of a giant monster, the threat was a massive team ship that tore through everything in its path. Another mission forced me to track enemies by looking at jet trails in the sky instead of relying on radar as I normally would. It's the kind of idea that makes replay missions feel less repetitive in nature, especially as things open up, and you can start choosing those missions at will.
And there it is Ace Combat 8 can be perfect for players coming out Star Fox. If Star Fox on Switch 2 made you remember how much fun it is to learn a mission through repeated runs instead of just clearing it and moving on to something else, Ace Combat 8 is an arcade air combat game that is fundamentally built around the exact same kind of satisfaction. Beating a mission is one thing, but understanding it, surviving it better, and improving your performance is where the game really starts to dig in.
Arcade Combat 8 is ready to keep your Arcade Flight Combat Streak alive
I guess the main point I'm trying to make here is that Star Fox on Switch 2 has put me in a very specific mood, and Ace Combat 8 is the only upcoming game I can think of that seems poised to keep me there. I already liked Theve's wings when I previewed it, but I like the idea of it even more now Star Fox has reminded me how satisfying it is to replay a mission just because I know I can do better. It might sound like a small thing, but it really isn't. Some games make playing content feel like homework, while others like it Star Fox and Ace Combat 8 make it the whole point in as natural and satisfying a way as possible.
Both games understand that replayability doesn't always have to be about a massive checklist.
Based on what I played, Ace Combat 8 feels like it belongs in the second group. It has the speed, spectacle, scoring, mission variety and the kind of pressure that makes every successful run feel like it could have gone wrong at any moment. So, if Star Fox on Switch 2 you want more arcade air combat, Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve should be the next game you start paying attention to. It may not have the Arwing, Fox McCloud or the iconic forks of the Nintendo 64 classic, but it certainly has the ability to make another run sound like the best idea in the world.
- Released
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June 25, 2026
- ESRB
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All 10+ / Fantasy Violence
- Developer
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Nintendo
- Publisher
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Nintendo
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op
