Nintendo made a surprise reveal today, with an unannounced Star Fox Direct showcasing a completely new game for the Switch 2. Fox McCloud and his team return to save the day (and the Lylat system) from the villain Andross… again, but don’t worry, this game adheres to the traditional formula of Star Fox 64, albeit with additional polish to make it shine on modern hardware.
You get to get back behind the stick of the Arwing and blast your way through dangerous on-rails missions complete with laser beams, explosive shoots, rocket bombs, boosters, barrel rolls, and rapid spins. To make things more interesting, different objective clearances alter the mission path and outcome, allowing you to see different worlds – Corneria, Fichina (which is essentially frozen), Solar (which is scorching hot), Zoness (which is simply polluted), and so on – all from the cockpit of the Arwing.
- The next evolution of Nintendo Switch
- One system, three play modes: TV, Tabletop, and Handheld
- Larger, vivid, 7.9” LCD touch screen with support for HDR and up to 120 fps
We also got to see the old group in action, with Falco, Peppy, and Slippy flying behind Fox, offering jokes throughout the ride. They also included some new cut scenes to expand on the existing tale and provide context for the mission briefings. In a beautiful homage to the past, they even went back in time to show Fox’s father, James McCloud, making a final fight against Andross on the deadly planet Venom, which was a crazy notion.
The squad also appears different these days, with sharper details, more lifelike faces, and smoother animations that really bring everything to life. To be honest, it’s far better than the original. It’s not just the main campaign that has some goodies; they’ve also unlocked a challenge mode that allows you to replay all of the stages with specific goals, as well as a battle mode that allows you to fight Star Wolf in 4v4 team battles across a variety of locations such as a sat over Corneria, Fichina’s energy crystals, and even a cargo run in Sector Z. Local play, internet play, private rooms… you name it, it’s available here.
On a related note, Fox recently appeared in the Super Mario Galaxy film as a guy who was thrown into another dimension after a warp accident, which fits right in with how Nintendo keeps him and his world linked across all of its games. This title is exclusive to Switch 2 and will be released on June 25, 2026. As the first true Star Fox entry in nearly a decade, this is a big deal, and it’s also a nice little exclusive for the new platform. From soaring over the branching routes and shifting between vehicles to driving the Landmaster tank or even suiting up in the Blue Marine, this remake preserves what made the original so nostalgic while adding a slew of additional features and polish.
