Welcome to EXPlay, (Explain & Play) the review series where we care not for scores, but tell it how it is when it comes to every game we get our hands on, all whilst including some lengthy gameplay, to give you, the reader, the chance to form your own impressions and views while reading and watching.
In this explanatory review, we’re covering Star Fox by developer, Velan Studios:
Star Fox: (Nintendo Switch 2)
When Fox McCloud was revealed to appear in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie that hit cinemas back in April 2026, I think we all knew that a new Star Fox game was on the horizon. Nintendo didn’t disappoint as it was revealed soon after that a new Star Fox game was indeed coming to the Nintendo Switch 2. It got long-time series fans hyped, as there hasn’t been a Star Fox game since Star Fox Zero on the Wii U, which didn’t resonate very well with the fans.
Starlink: Battle For Atlus by Ubisoft tried to fill a void by including the Star Fox team in the Switch version of the game, and even some Star Fox-specific missions (that I thought were really good and made Starlink well worth playing), but what the fans really wanted was the opportunity to save the Lylat System once again. Now the time has come with another revisit of a classic title, but this time in an all-new 4K remake.
On the surface, Star Fox on Nintendo Switch 2 is a careful reconstruction of the iconic N64 game, which in turn, was a remake of the SNES version. There is even a 3DS version of Star Fox 64 and the aforementioned Star Fox Zero, all of which, retell the same story of Fox McCloud and his team of mercenary pilots, who risk life and limb to save the Lylat System from the nefarious Dr. Andross. The story is relatively simple and serves purely to give the game some structure between missions. The original games had little in the way of cutscenes as they moved between sequences, but this game has fully animated cutscenes that fill out the story and provide a bit more depth to its characters. Seeing Fox and his team interact with one another and their engagement with General Pepper during cutscenes feels a lot more entertaining than just reading text on a screen.
The gameplay of Star Fox is reasonably straightforward. The player takes control of Fox in his Arwing during the main campaign and must navigate their way through multiple different environments taking place on planets, deep space, and asteroid fields, avoiding obstacles, shooting down enemies, and performing all-important BARREL ROLLS!!! For the most part, it is an on-rails experience, so there is no backtracking while playing through the stages. Sometimes, during Boss Battles, you will disengage from on-rails and activate all-range mode, meaning you can fly freely within an invisible perimeter until you have completed your objective.
The Campaign consists of flying through a series of seven stages. The route you take is not fixed, however, as there are multiple branching paths that can take you during your run, depending on whether you met the requirements of unlocking the alternate path on the previous stage. Sometimes, you will also be given the choice of choosing between two destinations that are recommended by your crew or General Pepper. This could lead to you taking a harder or easier route and can slightly affect the outcome of the endgame. With all of this in mind. A single run can take a little more than an hour or a lot less, if you are a hardened Star Fox Vet. The beauty of Star Fox, though, is that you don’t have to do the same run twice as you have plenty of options to make each run different from the last.
Now, the game is very easy enough to learn, but it will take some trial and error to get the most out of the game. Due to the arcade-style nature of Star Fox, the real challenge is getting a high enough score to earn Medals. This is no easy task, as you have to combine your hits with charged attacks on multiple enemies to rack up the points. It took me a good few tries to get over 150 points just on the first stage alone, and some stages have very little margin for error. For those who enjoy Medal hunting, you’ll want to get used to restarting stages, because to unlock Expert Mode, you will need to earn a medal on every stage at Normal difficulty.
If just obtaining medals is not enough to satiate your appetite, there is also a dedicated challenge mode where you can play through each stage individually to complete set tasks. Bear in mind that you will need to complete each stage in the Campaign first, before they become available in Challenge Mode. All 16 stages have 12 challenges spread across two difficulties: Normal and Expert. You don’t have to complete them all in a single run, and any that you do accomplish will be checked off the list so that on your next attempt, you can focus more on other challenges.
Aside from the Campaign and the Challenge Mode, there is one more game mode in Star Fox that I should touch upon, and that is Battle Mode. This is a multiplayer mode that pits two teams of four against each other to accomplish a series of objectives, like shooting down your opponents and enemy crafts, retrieving precious cargo, and taking it to your goal, and capturing satellite towers to call in reinforcements. Battle Mode can be played on your own with bots, online with up to eight players around the world, and via GameShare. The latter is great for those who want to play with friends who may not own a copy of Star Fox, but would like to join in on the fun from their own Switch or Switch 2 console. You can share with up to three friends using only one copy of the game locally, and even online via a GameChat session. Isn’t that great?
Having played through a lot of the game’s three different game modes, the Battle Mode is where I had the most fun. Granted, both the Challenge Mode and the Campaign offer Co-op play locally and via GameShare, but I found the Battle Mode just had the edge in terms of replayability and overall enjoyment. I had such a blast playing with my friends, even while we got our butts kicked online, but when we just played amongst ourselves in a private lobby, oh, did we have some good times.
As we come to the end of our Star Fox Explain & Play review, I know there were some things that I didn’t address, so I shall cover them briefly, as I have, as always, gone on for far too long. The visuals of this game are absolutely stunning and really do look incredible on a 4K compatible TV. The framerate was consistent at 60 fps, and there are mouse controls for anyone who wants to use them, though I found myself much more comfortable with using the standard control scheme. The Wireless N64 controller is totally compatible and can be a rather novel and nostalgic experience to play Star Fox. There is amiibo functionality, but it is rather limited in that it can unlock so cool banners and icons for you to display next to your username while playing online. The only amiibo that work with this game are the Fox, Falco, and Wolf amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. series and once you have scanned all three, you will never have to scan them again.
I do have to add that the one feature I do really like is the Avatars you can use for GameChat. Be it playing the game on your own or online with your friends, you can set up avatars that will replace your on-screen camera and will emulate your movements. I think it’s a very nifty feature, that while it is probably not the most practical, it certainly makes your GameChat sessions that much more entertaining.
Okay, so to wrap up. Star Fox for the Nintendo Switch 2 is so much more than just a 1:1 remake. I see it as a starting point for Nintendo to reintroduce the world to this iconic series, and that we could very well see a proper sequel coming in the next few years. I will admit that seeing the new character models for the Star Fox team did throw me off a little bit when I saw the game’s announcement, but I eventually found them quite endearing as I actually played the game. The single player campaign is rather on the short side, and I would have some more missions, and I think the Battle Mode should have more than three stages to choose from, as I think that is where the real meat of this game lies. Still, it has taken me years to really resonate with this franchise as I never really got into the SNES and N64 games, but now, I can finally say this remake has achieved what the other entries couldn’t and has successfully made a Star Fox fan out of me. Well Done Velan Studios!
Game Specifications:
Developer: Velan Studios
Publisher: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2 (Physical)
Genre: Shooter
No. of Players: 1-2 (Single System)/ 2-8 Players (Online)
Release Date: June 25, 2026
Price: $49.99
File Size: 15.1 GB
Nintendo.com Listing
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