Star Fox is back! And by that, of course, I mean the 1997 Nintendo 64 game is literally back. Who knows how long we will be waiting for a proper, new Star Fox, but you know what? The remake, simply titled Star Fox, is pretty dang good. Turns out doing a faithful remake of a great game, even an old one, usually works out pretty well.
That’s the big game release this week, but there is plenty of other stuff happening across the industry. Check out some stories below before diving into our weekend recommendations.
- Grand Theft Auto VI has a price and pre-orders are open
- Bungie is suffering huge layoffs
- The Xbox Series X and S consoles are also getting another price increases in August
- Olivia Rodrigo is coming to Fortnite
- Capcom also shared updates on upcoming games like Dragon’s Dogma 2: Dark Arisen and Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection
Star Fox (2026)
I proudly proclaimed, “I don’t want another remake of Star Fox 64! We have that at home,” while pointing at my 3DS that has been dead for years and I don’t know where the charger is. But then I got my hands on the 2026 Switch 2 remake of Star Fox 64 from Velan Studios and remembered, “Oh yeah. This game is very important to me. And also this remake is well done.”
I don’t know if this remake, released for the Switch 2 yesterday, will inspire a new generation of Star Fox fans. But for those like me who played the Nintendo 64 game repeatedly, it’s a fun, nostalgic revisitation of a great game. The soundtrack is a particular highlight, but seeing every world with a 2026 coat of paint is also wonderful. And importantly, flying the Arwing feels right.
Also worth noting, a free demo for the game is available if you want to get a taste.
Read Game Informer‘s Star Fox 2026 Review
The Drifter
The Drifter was released on Steam in July of last year and is currently boasting “overwhelmingly positive” reviews; this week, it is available on both Switch and Switch 2. The game follows Mick Carter, who must solve a mystery surrounding his own death as his consciousness is repeatedly placed back into his body moments before he drowned in a reservoir by sci-fi soldiers. It’s a classic point-and-click adventure game with wonderful pixelated visuals, but it is designed to be played with a controller. It has a unique control system that lets you interact with the environment and characters without mousing around the screen with a thumbstick.
I missed the game on Steam, though I thought it looked awesome at the time. Though I have not made it far into the Switch 2 version, I am enjoying its look, the ease of play, and the story. I have been reviewing a lot of twitchy games like Star Fox and others you will see on the site soon, so I am in the mood for something a little slower-paced and thoughtful. Maybe you are, too.
Rhythm Heaven Groove Demo
I am a big fan of the Rhythm Heaven series and reviewed both Fever and Megamix. I remember looking up pre-YouTube videos of the Japan-only Rhythm Heaven for Game Boy Advance (Rhythm Tengoku) on the computers at my college library and pantomiming the button presses to remove the onion’s beard thinking, “Man. I wish I could actually play this.”
Thankfully, you don’t have to suffer like I did because there is a free demo featuring the first collection of rhythm minigames available to download on Switch, and I highly suggest you do. It’s a game that is hard to appreciate in trailer form, as it is all about the feeling of “playing” music. And it’s weird as hell.
Dark Scrolls
The latest joint by Doinksoft, makers of fun, quirky titles like the Metroid 2-inspired Gato Roboto and action platformer Gunbrella, is back at it with this unexpectedly engrossing auto-scrolling action game. As one of three starting characters, you’ll blast through barrages of incoming enemies either as a wizard lobbing magic orbs, an axe-tossing barbarian, or a dagger-throwing rogue. Being forced to constantly move forward due to the auto-scrolling stages while dodging tricky enemy patterns makes survival challenging, especially since the run-based structure means starting from scratch after each failure.
However, unlocking various upgrades, such as imbuing weapons with elemental damage, faster attacks, or even shooting fire from your feet, helps extend runs. I wasn’t hot on Dark Scrolls during my first run; auto-scrollers don’t usually do it for me as a platforming fan. But after the third attempt, the hooks started to dig in. The itch to reach a castle at the end of the game, a path that splits along the way by fulfilling certain conditions, is real. I felt genuine excitement when I lasted longer than a previous run, and avoiding attacks while blowing away foes is satisfying. Thanks to its format, I’ve enjoyed fitting in a run or two of Dark Scrolls between bigger games and look forward to conquering my current roadblock: the second-level boss.
Tabletop Pick – Jungo
For a fast-playing card game that can be slotted in after dinner, or between rounds of a more involved and bigger game, Happy Camper Games Jungo has become one of my go-to options. It’s a hand-building game where you’re trying to get rid of all your cards. The twist is that you can’t rearrange the cards in your hand once they’ve entered it, creating novel challenges for how to get closer to victory. Additionally, you can only play cards that all have the same numerical value, and if the cards played depict a higher number or it’s a larger number of cards than what is currently played onto the table. It’s simple to grasp once you start in, and even inexperienced or younger players can grasp the concept, but more experienced players will love the unique structure and flow of play.
Dead Or Alive 6 Last Round
When it originally launched in 2019, Dead or Alive 6 didn’t exact rise to the top of our franchise ranking. While our 6.75 out of 10 review for the base version of the game was critical of the online suite and absolutely eviscerated the story, the core fighting mechanics remained strong, just as they have for much of the series. Dead or Alive 6 Last Round doesn’t reinvent the story, but it does make this the best place to experience the sixth mainline entry of the long-running franchise, and the mission-driven DOA Quest mode is still as fun today as it was back then. Optimized for current-generation hardware, Dead or Alive 6 Last Round includes 29 characters, including 5 DLC fighters. On top of that, a free-to-play “Core Fighters” edition allows players to sample the package with limited offerings. If you’ve ever been curious about the Dead or Alive series or are just looking for a good excuse to jump back into the fight with Kasumi, Ryu Hayabusa, Ayane, and the rest of the roster, DOA6 Last Round seems like a decent starting point.
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