We’ve seen the original Star Fox story so many times. It started with the 1993 SNES release. Then, the tale was retold in Star Fox 64 in 1997. That version was remade in 2011 for the 3DS. After that, PlatinumGames got a shot at it was Star Fox Zero for the Wii U in 2016. 10 years later, we’re back here again with a Switch 2 remake and reimagining. However, I have a good feeling about this one being the possible “ultimate” edition, due to design choices and extensive cooperative and competitive multiplayer. Most importantly, this Star Fox Switch 2 remake feels like it may hold up better than others over time as it remedies the uncomfortable and unintuitive control scheme from Star Fox Zero on the Wii U. Since this is the fifth take on the Star Fox story, the narrative is rather familiar. Scientist exiled to the Lylat system named Dr. Andross is serving time on a planet named Venom, and Corneria’s General Pepper hired James McCloud’s Star Fox team to investigate to see what’s going on when unusual readings come up. Upon their arrival, James and Peppy Hare realize it is a set-up, the third member of their team Pigma Dengar defects to aid Andross, and James sacrifices himself so Peppy can escape. A few years later, Pepper is hiring the new Star Fox mercenary team led by James’ son Fox and consisting of Peppy, Falco Lombardi, and Slippy Toad. Andross is now going on the offensive in the Lylat system, and only this group can stop him and his forces. It’s incredibly familiar. One thing I will say about the narrative in this version of Star Fox is that I feel like the Switch 2 release prioritizes more of the actual team between missions. We see commentary after each one, with Fox, Falco, Peppy, and Toad interacting and hearing reports from Pepper based on the course through the Lylat system and performance in missions completed. The responses from Pepper and other NPCs based on my performance on missions also was welcome due to the variety and way it reacted to my skill. The character models are also quite detailed for everyone in Star Fox. I prefer the designs used in Star Fox Zero, especially for folks like Fox and Falco, but these new ones did grow on me and the realism feels quite cohesive when you factor in other supporting members and antagonists in the cast. Once you get through the tutorial in Star Fox on the Switch 2, the Campaign, Challenge, Battle, and Training modes are open and it’s possible to start looking through things in the HoloViewer. The story mode features Easy and Normal difficulties right off the bat, and it functions a lot like some of the previous entries since Star Fox 64. We always start at Corneria, but then often get choices about which area to visit and mission to undertake as we work our way toward Venom. While this means your story will always consist of a certain number of assignments, how you get there changes and lends replay value to the entire affair due to the variations. The Arwing seemed to be the most common vehicle, with aerial missions that tended to be either on-rail shooters or free-roaming in a defined space. However, the Landmaster on-the-ground vehicle and Blue-Marine sub appear for missions too. The biomes are quite varied, and even in situations where I’d be tackling enemies “in space,” it felt different due to things like meteor fields or layouts of other ships. Even if I did make the choice to go from one on-rails shooter task to another, the nature of level design, opponents, and environmental execution meant these felt distinct and unique. Go Ad-Free With Siliconera+View the site with no ads, be able to provide direct feedback about what we cover, and be automatically entered into our monthly PC game giveaway.Join Siliconera+ Images via Nintendo Challenges are isolated single missions with objectives. These build up and unlock as you reach areas. Think of them as isolated one-shots. It’s really robust, and there are a good amount of them for each location you unlock. Meanwhile, Battle Mode involves up to 4v4 fights pitting Team Star Fox against Team Star Wolf. Both of these tend to build on concepts and missions we see in the Campaign. They can task us with holding an area, collecting energy from meteors, and defeating space pirate to reclaim their cargo to take to our bases, all while also shooting down members of the opposing team. I liked the concept of them a lot, but I do wish there were more maps available for the three types of competitive missions included. (I’m honestly hoping there’ll be a post-launch update that bulks that up!) So it almost feels like they’re what you go to after completing an Easy or Normal run for the first time and earned the skillset necessary to do a bit more. Now, before I get any further, I need to bring up how great Star Fox feels to play on the Switch 2 compared to Star Fox Zero. While I appreciate what PlatinumGames did, I didn’t care for the control scheme at all. Nintendo did better for us all here. Being able to select first or third-person perspective to start is one bonus, since it can make a difference for certain challenges. (I sort of felt it helped a bit when in on-rails situations, though I did prefer and mainly use the third-person perspective during my experiences.) But the important thing here is the base control scheme makes sense and there’s no accidentally using bombs or messing up a barrel roll, somersault, or U-turn when you need it. Tying tilting and barrel rolls to the left and right shoulders is perfect. I loved that I could press up or down on the D-pad for somersaults or U-turns or go with good, old-fashioned muscle memory by enabling optional button combos so the left joystick with X or B would perform those same moves. It’s common-sense, as it should be. Images via Nintendo More importantly, Joy-Con 2 mouse mode in Star Fox on the Switch 2 is fantastic. I mainly used it for the on-rails sorts of missions, since these could involve certain boss encounters or on-the-fly situations involving aiding folks like Falco. It makes shooting so much easier. The controls are incredibly precise and defined enough that, again, you aren’t going to waste bombs or time with hitting specific enemies. It made some tasks less stressful, and I think I might have even done better in some Challenge mode or higher difficulty situations in general later because I did get to learn patterns and pick up techniques with the mouse-based option. I mentioned earlier that the multiplayer elements in Star Fox really feel meaningful here, so much so that I think this could join Mario Kart World, Kirby Air Riders, and the Switch 2 versions of Super Mario Wonder and Super Mario Party Jamboree as a go-to game for a group. Every mode offers the option. Campaign and Challenge offer local or online GameShare co-op , which splits the experience and lets one person focus on shooting and the other on piloting. (It sort of reminded me of Mario Kart: Double Dash’s approach to multiplayer.) Battle Mode lets you practice with bots, if you like, or go with online fights. The fact that GameShare is supported is also a nice perk. The only downside to one of the coolest multiplayer elements is that you don’t really get to enjoy it when you’re playing. There are some character model pilot avatar options if you’re in GameChat, with four people’s headshots showing up in the bottom row. Think of it as being similar to Star Fox Vtuber models, with both the main characters and others unlockable as avatars if you have a camera attached to the Switch 2. This works incredibly well! But the downside is if you are playing, the different missions monopolize a player’s attention and keep you from really being able to notice and appreciate it unless you’re just sitting in and watching. It’s a very cool idea that I hope gets implemented in other games now that Nintendo did so here, but the nature of the title means it’s difficult to appreciate. The Switch 2 version of Star Fox feels designed to both be comfortable and offer a means to get people playing together. The standard and mouse control schemes both work well and are immediately accessible, which is a point in its favor over Star Fox Zero. The Campaign feels like there’s a bit more of a focus on showing the crew between missions, which allows for more characterization. The multiplayer options are pretty robust, and I’d love to see more maps for the Battle mode. This does feel like a robust take on the story, and I’d love to see the series move on to an entirely new title afterthis. The Star Fox Switch 2 remake will come to the Switch 2 on June 25, 2026, and a demo is available. We may earn a commission if you purchase from certain links. Learn more here.