Star Fox 64 returns on the Nintendo Switch 2 in a fully enhanced remake
Classic level design meets new furry graphics
🎮 Nintendo has remastered Star Fox 64 into an “all-new” Star Fox game for the Nintendo Switch 2
🦊 Characters have been fully revamped with new animalistic designs
🎬New, fully voiced and detailed cutscenes
👾 Classic level design and progression return with a new easy mode for beginners
🖱️ Joy-Con 2 mouse mode for campaign, challenge mode, and couch co-op
📅 Launches on June 25 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2
💰 Available for a $49 digital and $59 physical preorder now
Fans of the original Star Fox 64 can rejoice as the characters and game are being revamped for a new Star Fox title for the Nintendo Switch 2, launching on June 25.
Hot on the heels of Fox McCloud appearing in the new, potentially record-breaking, Super Mario Galaxy movie, Nintendo has announced Star Fox, a new “cinematic take on the Star Fox 64 game” that features new furry, feathery, and scaly character designs that look more like animals. Classic stages have also been revamped with high-quality graphics, detailed cutscenes, fully voiced dialogue, and a sweeping orchestral soundtrack.
What hasn’t changed is all the classic level design; you can still take the fork through the waterfall on Corneria or “fail” to save Slippy during the Sector X level.
The classic campaign returns with a new easy mode that gives players extended health and the hyper lasers from the start. Expert difficulty also returns and is now unlocked after earning medals on Easy or Normal. This mode adds challenging modifiers, such as instant wing damage from collisions and no continues.
Alongside the Campaign mode, there’s a Challenge mode where you can replay stages with new and unique objectives and challenges. There’s also multiplayer Battle Mode, where you can compete in 4-vs-4 dogfights with friends using GameShare, either locally or online.
The jump from N64 to Switch 2 graphics – including Nvidia’s DLSS and RT cores - is huge, and this new Star Fox game also incorporates the Switch 2 Joy-Cons’ clever mouse mode. The game’s Joy-Con 2 mouse controls can be used for more precise aiming in Campaign or Challenge mode. Alternatively, playing with a friend via GameShare lets you pilot while they act as the gunner.
GameChat also opens up the possibility for character avatars and AR filters, so you can appear as Fox McCloud or any of his crew while chatting with friends. This uses an interactive avatar that mirrors your expressions and movements in GameChat. Alternatively, you can add AR filters to have a pair of Star Fox-like ears or a Falco-inspired beak that moves when you talk.
Star Fox will launch exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2 on June 25, and it’s available as a $49 digital and $59 physical preorder now.
Up next: Splatoon Raiders is Nintendo Switch 2’s big summer game, as its release date is finally revealed
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.