Star Fox Delivers Switch 2’s Best Visual Showcase Yet

The Switch 2 has already showcased some massive titles, from the sprawling open world of Mario Kart World to the destructible environments of Donkey Kong Bananza and the expansive creative sandbox of Pokopia. But Star Fox takes a different approach. As a remake of the classic Nintendo 64 title, this is an on-rails shooter built around tightly choreographed action and jaw-dropping set pieces. That linear structure gives the developers a chance to craft what might be the best-looking game on the Switch 2 so far. For a series that thrives on making you feel like you’re piloting through a gorgeous sci-fi film, that visual polish makes all the difference.

At its core, Star Fox follows the same blueprint as Star Fox 64. You play as Fox McCloud, an anthropomorphic fox pilot who leads a squad of mercenaries fighting for justice and profit. The story is thin, sending Fox and his team on a series of missions across the galaxy to stop the evil scientist Andross. The general plot, level layout, and overall structure remain largely unchanged from the N64 version.

But the differences are immediate. Each mission now includes voiced cutscenes that flesh out the narrative and give you a clearer reason for each objective. These scenes also let you spend more time with the characters outside their ships. I never knew I needed to see Fox sipping an energy drink between battles, but now I can’t imagine the game without it.

This approach makes the game feel far more cinematic, like a modern action blockbuster, and that feeling carries into the gameplay. The visuals are stunning. Ships streak across oceans, leaving trails in the water. Giant enemies fill the screen while waves of lava crash around them. Firefights erupt among massive fields of space debris. If you removed the talking animals and cheesy dialogue, you could easily mistake this for Star Wars or No Man’s Sky.

The graphics and cutscenes go a long way toward making this nearly three-decade-old game feel fresh. So do the controls, which feel much more responsive, though that might just be because I’m not stuck using an N64 controller. A side-by-side comparison of an early iconic scene between the Switch 2 version and the N64 original available via Switch Online shows just how far the remake has come.

But Star Fox also shows its age. This is an old-school arcade shooter built on repetition. The initial playthrough takes only about an hour, but to see everything, you must replay levels to find new paths that unlock additional missions and the true ending. That takes serious time, especially since some levels remain brutally difficult. I love the concept of the train mission where you pilot a tank, but after struggling through it for hours, I have no desire to hunt down every required target ever again.

There’s nothing wrong with that structure, and I do enjoy revisiting levels for a high score. But it feels out of step with the modern presentation, which promises a movie-like story. The barebones narrative feels even thinner now that the visuals are so epic. The cutscenes look great, but you’ll see them over and over. They’re impressive at first, but eventually you’ll rely heavily on the skip button.

The remake also adds a new challenge mode with extra goals per level, expanded online multiplayer, and some quirky virtual avatars I couldn’t test. These are nice additions, but the campaign and its unlockable missions remain the core experience.

Star Fox highlights both the strengths and weaknesses of this trend. The visual overhaul elevates the experience, making it feel like a sci-fi movie you control. But it also reveals how awkward it can be when old-school gameplay meets modern graphics. In this case, the balance mostly works in the game’s favor. Still, it makes me even more curious to see how Nintendo handles remaking one of the most iconic and influential Zelda games.

Star Fox launches on the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 25th.