Star Fox arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 on June 25 2026 as a ground up remake of the 1997 rail shooter Star Fox 64, developed by Velan Studios and published by Nintendo. It costs 49.99 dollars on the eShop and 59.99 dollars for a physical cartridge, and the first wave of reviews clusters around an 8 out of 10, with IGN at 8, Game Informer at 8.25, and WCCFTech at 8.5.
What exactly is this Star Fox remake?
It is Star Fox 64 rebuilt for modern hardware rather than a brand new adventure. Velan Studios, the team behind Mario Kart Live Home Circuit, kept the original mission structure intact: you lead the Star Fox mercenary squad through the Lylat System against the scientist Andross, choosing branching routes that change which planets you visit. The big additions are a complete visual overhaul, fully voiced cinematic cutscenes between missions, a Challenge Mode, optional Joy Con 2 mouse controls, and a four versus four Battle Mode that splits players between Team Star Fox and Team Star Wolf.
The technical jump is the headline. The Nintendo 64 original frequently chugged at 15 to 20 frames per second, and even the 3DS version capped at 30. The Switch 2 remake runs at a smooth 60fps and renders at roughly 1440p when docked, which transforms stages that used to feel like a slideshow. Reviewers singled out Aquas, the water level long considered the weakest in the game, as finally being fun to play.
Why are the reviews landing around eight out of ten?
Because the remake is gorgeous and plays beautifully, but it is still Star Fox 64 for the fourth time. Critics praised the responsiveness, the orchestral score, and the new cutscenes that give Fox, Falco, and Slippy real personalities, with Fox reframed as a roguish mercenary closer to his Super Mario Galaxy Movie portrayal. The recurring complaint is the lack of genuinely new content. A standard run still lasts around an hour, and players who memorized every secret route since the Nintendo 64 era will not find surprises.
That tension is the whole story. NPR was harsher than most, calling the campaign antiquated and questioning the 50 dollar price for a game that has been reheated three times since the 1990s. The counterargument, which several reviewers made, is that a huge audience never touched the Nintendo 64 cartridge or the 2011 3DS port, and for those players this is effectively a new game with blockbuster production values.
Who should buy Star Fox on Switch 2?
Newcomers and lapsed fans get the most value. If you have never flown an Arwing, this is the definitive version of one of Nintendo's best on rails shooters, and the price covers a campaign worth replaying for the branching paths and the Battle Mode. If you have already cleared Star Fox 64 a hundred times, the visual upgrade and cutscenes may not justify a fourth purchase on their own.
For anyone who wants the sharpest, smoothest way to do a barrel roll, Star Fox on Switch 2 is an easy recommendation despite its familiarity. Shop on Amazon