Mayday! Without new maps, Star Fox multiplayer is dropping altitude

It's undoubtedly one of the games of the summer. Enthusiastically received by the press and players alike (read our Star Fox review for Switch 2), Velan Studios' modernisation of the Nintendo 64 classic Lylat Wars/Star Fox 64 is one of the best remakes in Nintendo's history and an addictive, replayable arcade experience that's surprisingly refreshing given the age of the original formula. But there was one major drawback, as noted back in our first impressions already: the new multiplayer mode, whilst nailing the more actual concept, seemed a bit light on content. And that's exactly what the game is lacking at the moment.

Last weekend marked one month since Star Fox went on sale for Switch 2. Countless social media posts show that fans are enjoying its Campaign Mode from start to finish, replaying it as many times as it takes to unlock and complete everything. However, the mere three maps in the Battle Mode (the planets Corneria and Fichina, and Sector Y) are already starting to feel a bit limited.

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We don't have any official data - not even sales figures - whilst we await Nintendo's new quarterly report covering the whole of spring and the early days of summer (including the launch of Star Fox), but you only need to look at online activity to be certain of one thing: there are far fewer people online. Granted, it's the peak holiday season, and in the last few days of July, with the fourth heatwave just around the corner, the last thing anyone fancies is sitting on the sofa. But whilst in the first three weeks after the game's release it was very easy and quick to find a match, and whilst the vast majority of matches were 4v4, the picture has been very different for the past few days. Matches packed with CPU-controlled characters (bots) that often boil down to 1v1 human matches, longer wait times and matchmaking, poorer connection quality due to a lack of nearby players... All of this results in a more boring, monotonous, and frustrating experience.

These issues don't usually sort themselves out by magic, because the core community forms during those first few weeks of the game's life and may already be moving on to other activities. However much the game's success may be taken for granted, we do not know whether Nintendo and Velan Studios are preparing a pack of additional maps via DLC for Star Fox on Switch 2, or whether that DLC would be paid or free to download, but as things stand, everything suggests that would be the only way to reignite interest in an online mode that, at its core, was very well conceived.

If that hypothetical planet pack were to arrive in the near future, here at Gamereactor we've prepared the feature "The three things Star Fox is missing (apart from more multiplayer maps)" featuring a series of improvements and fixes that could perfect a game that's already pretty much pretty smooth.

What do your instincts tell you? Will there be an update for Star Fox on Switch 2 before the end of the summer, like a gift from heaven sent by ROB 64?