Star Fox - Switch 2 Review

Lylat Wars, or Star Fox 64, was the first game I ever played on my Nintendo 64 and, as such, has always held a special place in my heart. Since its release in 1997, it has remained a presence in my gaming life, reappearing in re-releases and re-imaginings on Nintendo consoles all the way to the Nintendo Switch 2, where we now have the simply titled Star Fox, which marks the fourth version of this classic game.

The Good

Let's start with the basics: Star Fox is the team of space mercenaries comprised of Slippy (a toad), Peppy (a hare), Falco (a bird) and their leader Fox McCloud (a fox) – who you play as – piloting his ship and shooting down enemies with your laser guns and bombs in some good old-fashioned on-rails shooting. You’ll plot your course across the Lylat System, from the cityscapes of Corneria to the harsh climes of Venom, where Dr Andross, one of those classic mad scientist ape villains, has been plotting his galaxy-wide invasion for years.

All of these things I’ve described so far were the case in 1997 and remain the same today because this is a beat-for-beat remake of the original: the plot is the same, levels are the same, and even the enemies and their placements are the same, to the extent that I could complete levels through muscle memory alone. Fortunately, this is a beat-for-beat remake of a great game – there's a reason it has been remade so much, after all. The flying and shooting gameplay feels as great as ever, and traversing the Lylat System by air, land and sea remains an addictive delight.

So what is new in the Switch 2 version? The most obvious update is the fully realised visuals. The game looks gorgeous and runs gorgeously, with detail and action aplenty across the diverse levels, be it desert train lines or psychedelic wormholes. The characters have been given a full glow-up too, and whatever you may think of the new look for the Star Fox team (personally, I enjoyed the version briefly shown in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie), there’s no denying there’s much more fun and life to them in the Switch 2 than there has ever been elsewhere. 

Another major addition, in the form of new cutscenes and dialogue, serves to deepen the characters further. Between each mission we get little vignettes of the Star Fox team onboard their base, discussing where to go next and conferencing with General Pepper, the anthropomorphic hound commanding the good-guy army and employing Star Fox. These not only allow a bit more context when deciding your route through the game but also let you spend more time with the team, who many will know of but have had little development outside of broad tropes to date. Star Fox is written younger than before and a bit more brash and cocky as befitting a mercenary squad. You can even unlock more info and bios of various characters and locations as you play, letting you immerse yourself in the Lylat System even more.

So the base campaign is essentially the same but prettier – what's been added? First we have challenge mode, where you must play an individual level and meet specific goals – find a specific type of enemy, fly a specific route, complete the level within a set time, etc. These add a bit more longevity to the game and give you a reason to keep coming back. The challenges themselves, particularly the expert-level ones, will be hard work for even those who fancy themselves experienced veterans, needing to try multiple times to hit each goal (hi, it’s me). 

The presence of expert mode at all (also new; there used to only be 1 difficulty setting) does imply the presence of easy mode, which indeed there is. This is also the most accessible version of the game to date, with easy mode and co-op controls available to help younger / newer gamers enjoy themselves. The co-op control scheme – one of you flies, the other shoots via mouse controls – works well and keeps all parties interested. Mouse controls are available for single-player use too, and – as I find frequently with the Switch 2 – the controls work very well, but you’ll likely end up reverting to regular controls anyway.

Finally, we have a multiplayer mode, with online and local multiplayer dogfights awaiting. These honestly are a lot of fun but a little light on options and, at time of review, were not always the quickest of games to find. Multiplayer with friends, particularly if you’re using the quirky and delightful avatar functionality with a USB camera, is where everything works best.

TL;DR

• The same great game as it ever was…
• Looking and sounding great
• Extra modes deepen and lengthen the experience

The Bad

Ultimately, Star Fox is a remake. A remake of a great game, sure, but it has to be said that outside of the challenges and little cutscenes between missions (which you’ll find yourself skipping after the first few times), there is nothing new here. No new levels or bosses, or even new routes through the game. And it is not a long game – each run through of the campaign will have 8 missions, and veterans will likely make their way through the Lylat System with ease. I had completed every route through the game in a couple of hours – it is very correctly priced below the level of a ‘full’ Switch 2 game like Mario Kart World.

Each campaign starts at the same Corneria level, and as has always been the case, if you want to try and high-score a particular level, you must play through the preceding levels first to get there. This will annoy people to differing extents, but it feels like it’s crying out for a level select screen or similar for bite-sized play on the go.

As alluded to, the multiplayer mode is definitely fun, but also a little on the light side in terms of reasons to stay around unless you’re playing with friends. It has the exact feel of a multiplayer mode that a few people will play endlessly and reminisce about for years to come, but most people will leave it alone after a couple of tries – every match I played had at least one bot filling out the 4v4 gameplay.

TL;DR

• Ultimately a remake with limited new content – crying out for a new game!
• Completing the single-player campaign involves a lot of repetition 
• Limited, if fun, multiplayer

Final Score: 8/10

Star Fox for the Switch 2 is this game in its best form to date. It looks and sounds better than ever, with the most ways to play, and characters get more love and attention than ever before. Whether you’ve played the previous versions or not, you’ll have a great time. I haven’t been this excited for a potential full sequel since 1997 – surely it’s written in the stars by now!

Thank you for checking out our Star Fox Switch review, thank you to Nintendo AU/NZ for providing the review code and thank you to our Patreon Backers for their ongoing support:

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