Star Fox is Returning to Switch 2 and We've Tried it For You

It was announced practically out of nowhere, with a late-night tweet followed by an unscheduled Direct: until very recently, Star Fox was not part of our bingo card for Switch 2 in 2026. And not only that. The release is imminent, set for June 25th. The remake of Star Fox 64 for Nintendo Switch 2 is almost ready, and a few days ago we had the chance to try it. 

Star Fox is Still Star Fox

As already made clear by the footage shown during the May Direct, Star Fox for Switch 2 is a remake of Star Fox 64 that reproduces the structure of the original space-based on-rails shooter without substantial changes, updating its graphics, especially in the cutscenes. The epic saga of Fox McCloud and his wingmates, in short, has not changed one iota: war has come to the Lylat System (historical note: not by chance, the PAL version of Star Fox 64 was titled Lylat Wars). In the prologue, we meet James McCloud, Fox's father, on a mission to the planet Venom, where the mad scientist Andross was exiled years earlier. The famous betrayal by his companion, Pigma (sorry for the spoiler, but decades have passed now) marks the mission's failure. Years later, the Star Fox team (with Fox in James's place) is called again to confront the threat of Andross, who has re-emerged from exile and is ready to bring destruction to Lylat. 

Everything, in short, is exactly as it was then, or almost. The graphical leap is obviously evident. The raw polygons and stretched textures that once fired the imagination of gamers into space today have been replaced by animated sequences from animated films and decidedly more detailed and colorful in-game sequences. The difference between the various sections is perceptible: the interlude sequences enjoy particular care, both in the acting and in the reproduction of the fur, feathers, and skin of the anthropomorphic animals protagonist of the adventure. Equal care, but less brute force, has been reserved for the game scenarios. Obviously, the leap from the original is remarkable, as is the attention paid to transforming polygonal suggestions into digital scenarios of 2026, trying not to distort the spirit and imagination of the game. Of course, the margin for maneuver is quite wide, but the result, from what we've seen, seems to respect not only the visual style and spirit of the original but also the standards expected for a modern video game. And it doesn't matter if the polygons drop when the action starts: Star Fox's aerial combat still requires enough attention not to allow many glances at the landscape scrolling alongside the Arwing.

An Arwing for Two

The list of elements that return in Star Fox from Star Fox 64 (which in turn return from Star Fox for SNES, but that's another story) also includes the gameplay, divided between on-rails sections, where you avoid obstacles with both daring maneuvers and precise shots, and open arenas where you take total control of the Arwing in fast-paced aerial battles (all often accompanied by comments from our companions popping up on screen). Similarly, the famous narrative branching points are still present, meaning objectives that can be completed or not, directing the course of the battle in different directions (and thus allowing the campaign to be replayed multiple times to explore all variables). Corneria, Meteo, and Fichina (the planets we were able to visit and can vouch for) await you exactly as you remember them, yet never so beautiful. 

However, there's something you've never tried before (and that we also tried for the first time just a few days ago). Starting with the co-op mode that allows you to split control of the Arwing between the two Joy-Cons, with one dedicated to controlling the vehicle and the other to offensive tools, held in mouse mode. Obviously, if you want, you can also do it alone using both hands, but collaboration makes this mode much more chaotic and consequently fun. More classic, however, is the 4 vs 4 multiplayer, in which two teams clash in different modes: the one we tried required gaining control of specific areas, more easily achieved by shooting down enemy vehicles. This mode appeared to us to be characterized by rapid, but also technical clashes where mastery of the vehicle and communication with the team are crucial. Also very nice, though eerily realistic, is the ability to control the facial movements of your alter ego through the camera. 

That's not all, because the Challenges, which we haven't tried, are missing, as are the different difficulty levels: all details that we will defer to our Star Fox Review, coming in the next few weeks. 

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