// KOTAKU — GAMING
Star Fox Reviews Say The Remake Of An N64 Classic Sticks The Landing, But Just Barely
Star Fox makes its visually overhauled debut on Switch 2 on June 25. Does the remake of Star Fox 64 do enough to elevate an old classic or does it feel like an easy cash grab that’s depriving fans of a fresh sci-fi adventure instead? Early reviews suggest the core experience, established in the N64 game, is as good as ever, even if all of the new bells and whistles don’t quite add up to a completely new-feeling experience. For anyone still on the fence about whether to pick up the latest Switch 2 exclusive, I’m not sure the initial reactions will do much to sway you one way or the other.
Star Fox (2026) is basically the sixth time Nintendo has remade the same basic on-rails shooter adventure. This time around, however, Fox McCloud, Falco, Peppy, and Slippy have received Unreal Engine–like hyper-realistic make-overs. There are new story cutscenes, multiplayer modes, and other features this time around as well. Plus, if you have a camera and GameChat, you can do some Zoom-call karaoke as members of the Star Fox Team.
All of this has netted the game a surprisingly decent 81 on Metacritic, though not everyone has been equally impressed. “Under the (gorgeous) surface, the shooting doesn’t quite match the satisfaction of 1997, while some odd story, voice and cut-scene changes feel like downgrades,” wrote VGC‘s Andy Robinson. Jeux Video‘s Charlanmhg was particularly harsh in his assessment, criticizing the game for what he saw as poorly thought-out features, including local co-op that has one person pilot the ship while the other aims.
Star Fox is a short game, one you can complete in a single sitting in as little as 90 minutes, though there are alternate pathways to discover and explore as well. The remake doesn’t change that, and it doesn’t sound like it adds many new layers to keep players coming back to its arcade action if they’ve already experienced it nearly half a dozen times before across several older Nintendo consoles. Game Informer found the new multiplayer modes to be more robust than expected, while Eurogamer accused them off feeling like a tacked-on afterthought.
Here’s what else early reviews are saying about Star Fox for the Switch 2:
Despite knowing nearly all Star Fox 64’s shortcuts and secrets for close to 30 years now, this remake’s impressive coat of paint and compelling new cutscenes made me smile like I just did my very first barrel roll. Finding hidden routes to unlock different stages or small optimizations to push my score sky high is still much deeper than it first appears, keeping the brief campaign runs fun across multiple playthroughs. And while the new Challenge mode and revamped multiplayer don’t go quite as far as I’d like in terms of content or creativity, they are still amusing ways to shake things up once you’ve exhausted every alternate route. Given the decade-long drought since the disappointment that was Star Fox Zero in 2016, Nintendo was wise to return to Star Fox’s best game in order to revitalize this 33-year-old series, and has reached a new peak for it in doing so. Hopefully this is just the beginning for Fox McCloud, because Nintendo has proven the Arwing isn’t out of style quite yet. – Jada Griffin
While the updated visuals are often gorgeous, they do come with some trade-offs that take getting used to. For one thing, your targets are a lot less obvious with much more happening on-screen, visually, so it’s easier to miss a flyer who gets away. In boss battles, weak points are less obvious than the glowing vulnerabilities of the original, and they don’t flash as brightly when you land a successful hit to let you know that you’re doing damage. And with the higher fidelity making everything look much more like it has weight and bulk, it’s a little strange when a capital warship in Area 6 explodes like an empty cardboard box. – Steve Watts
Nintendo did find a good way to add some extra value to the package, though. Star Fox 64 had a pretty basic multiplayer offering with its four-pla