Star Fox Review

Reading Time: 5 minutes

Fast Facts

Let’s Go Again

Nintendo have a unique ability to catch it’s fans off guard every now and then, and this was never more apparent than in early May 2026, with just 10 mins notice they showcased a surprise Nintendo Direct. To great fanfare it was announced that the heroic adventurer Fox McCloud would be making his long awaited return to Nintendo consoles the world over. This would be in the form of Star Fox, now the global name attached to the series, with Lylat Wars in the PAL region kicked to the curb.

The announcement inevitably divided opinion as it was shared that this would not be a new or even a reimagined story, but a near identical remake of the classic N64 outing Star Fox 64. It looked stunning, but could it offer anything new for those that had already played this on-rails shooter experience 10 times over?

Fresh Paint

Luckily for me, I have before now, never played a Star Fox or Lylat Wars game. I was never a Nintendo child, and I have slowly been dedicating myself in recent years to making up for lost time. Alas Star Fox is all new to me, in fact I only know of Fox McCloud from Smash Bros and the Super Mario Galaxy movie. So objectively I’d like to think I’m well placed to review this outing.

The game opens with a gorgeous cutscene that brings the player right up to speed with what’s been happening in the Lylat System. This group of planets has lived in peace and prosperity for many years, however more recently there has been a disturbance in the force. Erm.. I mean, there is a genius scientist named Dr. Andross who has slowly turned mad and has vengeance and interplanetary domination on his mind. Enter team Star Fox, led by James McCloud and a merry bunch of anthropomorphic farm yard animals dressed as pilots. Their job is to protect the galaxy from threats such as Andross and his loyalists.

A moment of betrayal brings us up to present day where James’ son Fox now leads this mildly dysfunctional team as they endeavour to find Andross and bring an end to his planet consuming reign across the Lylat System.

A Moment In Time

As we open the first Act, you take ownership of Fox McCloud with a tutorial helping you to understand the flight mechanics of his high performance combat aircraft, the Arwing. Flight controls are simple to learn, but challenging to master. From barrel rolls, to redirects and backflips. The way you fly and control your aircraft directly impacts your progress and the safety of your fellow flight crew.

There is a real sense of familiarity around the controls in Star Fox, and once conquered the flight mechanics are super responsive. Once learnt you then have guns and weapon mechanics as well as traversal across multiple terrains and planetary defences.

The gameplay is super moreish, and I was shocked to finish up my first playthrough in under 2 hours. Start to finish, game done. 2 hours. However it’s only once through that first run, that I found out that’s by design and part of the charm. To finish is simple, to master the complexity of different routes and outcomes, and cough cough endings. Takes a lot more time and effort.

The Spice Of Life

My first playthrough included 7 stunningly designed missions. There is real variety of level types throughout. With regular on rails shooting type levels, these are ones that challenge you to survive until the end of the run, destroy as many enemies as possible and defend your fellow flight crew to ensure they make it to the end alongside you. If not they’ll sit out on the next run.

Other level types include, stealth operations where you attempt to make it through undetected. There are big arena like battles that challenge you to manoeuvre 360 degrees to hunt down level bosses and enemies. Then finally there are alternative vehicle control levels with tanks and submarines.

The levels designs are detailed and require precision in your flight path, and the game is graphically gorgeous, as a real show piece for the Switch 2. Character voice work and animations are exceptional, with the right balances of comedy and cheesy moments. Only now have I gone back to draw a comparison to the N64 version I’d never played. Things that stood out for me, were just how significant the visual upgrades on offer here are. Secondly, just how this remake is a scene for scene rebuild of the original, I mean its seriously uncanny.

A Modern Reimagining

So without any of the nostalgia on my part, the big questions has to be, how does the original game concept hold up 29 years later? Well, I’m pleased to share it’s a really good game. A masterpiece it’s not, but by execution of the brief alone they’ve done an excellent job of modernising for a new audience. I think if you’ve played the classic version you’ll appreciate what’s on offer here. If you are brand new to the series you will absolutely feel a sense of gravitas and awe that this game is kind of a big deal. I don’t know if I will go back multiple times, as at 2 or 3 run throughs, I’m certainly content with the experience had. I do feel confident that if this was a test to ensure there was a viable game engine ready for a brand new future Star Fox game that Velan Studios have proven their capability to handle this. At around £40 its priced fairly and accordingly for the Switch 2 experience. I think for anyone new to the world of fox, rabbits and sadistic pigs flying spacecraft across the galaxy you’re in for a good few hours of fun.

Rapid Reviews Rating

4 out of 5

4

Star Fox can be purchased for the Nintendo Switch 2 here