Star Fox Nintendo Switch 2 Preview: 4 things I'm loving and 2 I'm not sure about

Announced to relative surprise not even a month ago, as its existence had leaked before, but nonetheless unveiled without notice and with a shocking graphical style, the new Star Fox for Nintendo Switch 2 will release on June 25.

Before that, as there seems to be some confusion regarding what this is, mostly among those unfamiliar with Nintendo's 3D space shooting arcade, I was able to spend more than one hour with what seemed like a pretty final build, trying out both what I knew and loved (yes, I spent many weekends of my adolescence chasing medals on the Nintendo 64, and then some more in 2011 on the 3DS), but also what is completely new to this version.

Because, yes, this is a remake. A full remake, if you will, of the 1997 classic. The third, the fourth of the same game, you might be wondering? Well, I do get the question, and the memes, as the N64 title already reinterpreted and modernised the SNES original, and it's clear that the most recent entry, Wii U's flawed Zero, also built on the same foundations. But to be absolutely honest, the Switch 2 game is what I would call a total remake, the first one actually, with a complete graphical overhaul, control enhancements, and then a bunch of interesting additions, with the 3DS title acting as just a remaster.

With that out of the way, there are several things here that made me do a barrel roll in joy, while a couple of others didn't land so well so far. Let's rock and roll!

1. I dig the realistic furs and I'm no furry

I think it's bold, and kind of pays homage to the SNES cover's puppets. It also differentiates this game from every other entry in the series and from the recent The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Yes, Fox there is more expressive and fun, but after an hour with these redesigned buddies, it goes with the serious but catchphrase-filled script and what they wanted to convey with the low-poly models back in the day. We're saving the galaxy, but in a badass style. They look better in their cockpits than "in person" during cutscenes given their obvious quadrupedal struggles, but the realistic furry design works well with the Lylat Wars style.

And this also aligns with my second point...

2. It's pretty, but is it pretty smooth flying?

The furry realistic look also goes better with the more realistic environments. Nintendo clearly waited until this moment to fully remake this and other titles (Ocarina of Time, you go next) so that the leap was much more obvious. After three generations of more discreet hardware updates, the time is now to show off some graphical flair.

Most of the time I played on Corneria, Meteo, and Sector Y, it truly looked like the graphics we fantasised about three decades ago. Geometry, reflections, textures, lighting, effects... It's a dream come true for veteran fans, with touches that landed especially well, like entering Corneria City, almost night-dark due to war and smoke, or shooting the trees and seeing fire break out.

However, snowy Fichina didn't impress me that much, and during Battle Mode (both All-range Mode) I got the feeling that the game struggled a bit. It'll be interesting to see if it keeps solid 60 fps in the final build, because the smoother framerate already makes for a more fluid, vertiginous experience.

3. Co-op and plenty of controls, is it a trap?

I spent most of my playtime mistakenly throwing smart bombs as if they were infinite due to the tweaked default control scheme. It adopts the more natural Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Donkey Kong Bananza approach, where X is "up" or "advance", and B is "down" or "backwards", meaning boost and brake respectively. This is okay, understandable, and actually customisable, but it takes a while if you come from the classic mapping and makes homing bombs all the more complicated (because Y is quite unreachable when you're holding A, isn't it?). Besides, Somersault and U-turn now have easy up & down shortcuts on the D-Pad instead of the analogue combinations of yesteryear.

That being said, the real game changer is Mouse Mode. I was only allowed to play it in cooperative play, with another player piloting the Arwing and me taking aim. Co-op was more interesting than I had anticipated, as it felt very Star Wars, with one player controlling the ship and the other the "turret", constant comms needed, like accomplishing what was attempted on the Wii U.

And while I'm looking forward to doing both things on my own, it was enough to see how easy it becomes to take down many more enemies. One welcome new feature is the stats screen post-mission, showing time, enemies taken down, damage, shots etc. My/our accuracy increased from 17% to 28% when we switched from regular stick cursor to mouse controls, and the tangible difference is even higher.

This will impact both competitive multiplayer and hi-score chasing single player, which takes me to...

4. The big question: Medals and challenges

Medals are back, and the same tricks you used to make more enemies appear in the past remain intact here. However, the new aiming method makes things much easier, so my 212 hits in Corneria won't be such a demanding feat any more. Less so if you tackle levels cooperatively with another pro player, right?

Both medals and new challenges are shown once a planet has been completed, so we'll have to check how they've handled this crucial aspect now that there are different control types and player combinations. In my opinion, traditional medals should remain there for the same scores, while added challenges and rewards for either mouse or co-op should be clearly differentiated. The additional objectives and stats are more than welcome anyway for a more complete arcade experience.

5. I admit I'm surprised with the revamped Battle Mode, but will it last?

This, I wasn't expecting to impress me. Whenever we exhausted GoldenEye and Mario Kart, I spent many hours with three classmates dogfighting on a 14-inch CRTV split in four at 15 fps in Star Fox 64's bare-bones multiplayer, but I didn't picture myself coming back online 30 years later, no matter the modern graphics, netcode, and full screen.

However, I honestly enjoyed what they're trying here, with modifiers, power-ups, and modern squad vs. squad objectives. In my multiplayer time I was Wolf O'Donnell from the Star Wolf team, and as Andross' enemy is my enemy, I satisfyingly took down cocky little freaks such as Fox McCloud and Slippy Toad while capturing the zone. I dropped proximity mines, launched homing rockets, beamed a special laser, or stayed safe with an added shield, and this could get competitive shortly after release.

The problem? Only three maps: Corneria (Bay), Fichina, Sector Y. I fully expect Nintendo to release and market more if it gathers interest, but for now it weirdly remains a promise rather than a Day-1 selling point.

6. The Andross is in the details

One general feeling I got that doesn't belong to any specific aspect is the attention to detail and how this will feed both the fan service and interest among newcomers. The choir-infused orchestrated soundtrack making one of Kondo's best move you again. The silly, yet greatly implemented avatar camera feature I can already see in future multiplayer games. The subtle HD Rumble 2 honouring the very first good vibrations in gaming for many. The added lore with the expanded intermission and in-mission cutscenes and the revised script.

This aims directly at the hearts of those of us who played Star Fox in the 90s, but can become the entry point for new generations, all while keeping the soul and personality of the original, without needing to look at the movie. I'll check on my doubts and if all systems go in the complete game, I may very well play this again and again.