Second Look - Starlink: Battle for Atlas (+ DLC) (Switch)

Back when the Toys-to-Life genre, established by the Skylanders franchise, was at its peak, the genre’s saturation and competition for physical shelf space led to a decline in popularity and eventually the dissolution of the big three brands, those being Skylanders itself, Disney Infinity and LEGO Dimensions. Many new IPs entering the market at the end of its lifespan went largely unnoticed as a result, one of which was Ubisoft’s Starlink: Battle for Atlas (Starlink), which sought to set itself apart with the premise of swappable and customizable ships, inspired by model kits. This announcement went largely ignored, that is until it was revealed that the Switch version would include a special appearance from Nintendo’s Star Fox franchise, complete with a playable Fox McCloud and Arwing. Even with the boost from a fanbase starved for new content after the divisive Wii U entry Star Fox: Zero, Ubisoft would eventually halt production of the physical toys due to poor sales, resulting in deep discounts, though they would still continue to support the game digitally.

When I first played the game out of curiosity, I picked up the Switch version just so I wouldn’t feel like I was missing out on anything, though I lacked the knowledge on Star Fox to truly appreciate the representation. After going through (nearly) all of the Star Fox games up until this writing, I decided to go back and revisit this game, this time putting more focus on the Star Fox content to see how well it was handled. Though a little rough in places, I had more of an appreciation for the content and thought it to be what Star Fox Zero should have been.

Before I go any further, since I have already gone into depth about the base game in my original review, this re-review will largely focus on the Star Fox content of the Switch version in particular.

While on the lookout for Wolf, Star Fox (Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy) come across the Equinox and decide to help them out against a group of Outlaws. Following this, Star Fox are pulled into the Atlas system alongside the Equinox. Although they want to return to the Lylat system, Star Fox stay and team up with Starlink upon detecting Wolf’s presence in the Atlas system.

 

Star Fox (Falco, Fox, Peppy, Slippy) join the Equinox to chase after Wolf.

 

After having played through the Star Fox series before revisiting this game, I actually liked the way the characters were seamlessly integrated into the experience, to the point where it seems like the other versions would be a little less interesting without it. The Star Fox cast are even worked organically into cutscenes, including a rather neat explanation for why they would even be involved in the game’s plot to begin with, as well as dialogue reflecting this. There are even special side quests that advance the Wolf subplot, with special dialogue providing an explanation for those unfamiliar with the Star Fox IP. However, while the rivalry between Fox and Wolf is retained and forms the backbone of the exclusive content, those more familiar with the series will notice that Wolf is mischaracterized as a minion of Andross rather than simply a mercenary.

Right away, it becomes clear to see how the Star Fox IP is a perfect fit for the game, with space combat being largely similar to the more open fights of later games in the series, minus the powerups. There are also a handful of planets to explore while in your ship, but you can go about this at your leisure outside of story missions, a behavior which is actually encouraged both on land and in space due to a number of hidden areas that can provide you with a lot of useful resources. Traveling between these planets, and even on or off them, is surprisingly seamless even on the Switch’s underpowered hardware. Once you can fast travel between planets, travel becomes far less of a hassle, otherwise even the Hyperdrive function can take a while, not helped by enemies being able to spawn in the middle of it and thus make the journey take even longer. On the planet surface itself, among other objectives, you can also pick up items to level up structures and recruit new Starlink members to increase your forces, though some objects must be carried with you in front of your ship, preventing you from doing certain actions at the same time. Among the game’s multiple currencies, Electrum and Nova are the main ones, though the former is so easy to acquire that you’ll almost never run out.

 

Transitions between land and space are seamless.

Your primary enemies are Legion and Outlaws, each of which have their own types of forces, though the frequency of the latter when fighting in space can get rather annoying really fast. As for the former, defeating them planetside is integral to increasing your Alliance rating, and they are more complex than Outlaws in that they operate on a hierarchy, in which you are supposed to attack Legion to weaken Extractors to weaken Primes to weaken Dreadnoughts (alternatively, you can take care of them in reverse order). Extractors are especially troublesome since they can pop up on planets while you’re not looking so long as a Prime and/or Dreadnought is still active. One last thing of note is that Dreadnoughts infinitely respawn in the post-game, since there isn’t any way to actually finish the post-game for some reason, so the only way to prevent this is to simply not battle the final boss.

One of the primary gimmicks of Starlink is the use of swappable weapons, up to two of which can be equipped at any time, that each have various elements and weapon types for any situation, whether it be for combat or interacting with parts of the environment. While the game itself physically comes with two or three of these, you can very easily get away with just using the Fire and Ice weapons for the most part, but having more variety can help with specific situations or changing up your playstyle. You can also collect Mods that change your ship’s attributes or color scheme, plus each Pilot has a unique rechargeable Pilot Skill that carries over regardless of your ship, offering a wide range of options for changing your playstyle on the fly. Should you lose all your health in combat, you have the ability to either respawn elsewhere or swap to another ship, the latter of which I was able to take advantage of a number of times due to owning the entire assortment of physical toys.

In addition to the special story content, there are some unique in-game features to Fox and the Arwing. Should you not have any weapons equipped to the Arwing, you still have access to the lasers from the Star Fox games, complete with sound effects. Plus, Fox’s Pilot Skill allows him to summon a random Star Fox member (Falco, Slippy, Peppy), complete with Star Fox music, for a brief period, the duration of which can be extended through his upgrade tree. His Pilot upgrades, combined with a set of Arwing-exclusive Mods, can essentially allow one to recreate an experience closer to the Star Fox games, while staying within the realms of Starlink (this is similar to how using Crash Bandicoot or Neo Cortex in Skylanders: Imaginators makes the gameplay more like their base series).

 

The Arwing's lasers are accessible in the absence of other weapons.

 

As stated earlier, Starlink stands out from the Toys-to-Life crowd by taking inspiration from model planes, in which the weapons, ships, wings and pilots can all be swapped out in various combinations. Additionally, when not in use, the JoyCon mount included with the Switch version, which is required if using physical toys to play, makes for a surprisingly effective display stand when not in use, giving it some unique replay value. Meanwhile, the mount for the DualShock 4 included with the PS4 version, which I bought when the physical toys went on clearance after the discontinuation announcement, can be used for a similar purpose, but only while still attached to a controller, making it the less ideal option unless you are willing to sacrifice a controller for this purpose (I don’t have the Xbox One version, but this same criticism presumably applies to that version’s mount as well). The Fox and Arwing toys themselves are exclusive to the Switch version, the latter replacing Mason Rama’s ship and one of the Starter Pack weapons from the PS4/XB1 versions, as well as having some mild articulation with the thrusters (I would recommend having them in the closed position during gameplay for the sake of comfort while holding the controller).

Adding to the previous statement about seamless transitions between locations, there is a surprising lack of loading screens, save for situations such as fast travel, and even then, the loading takes mere seconds. Even on the Switch port, the game is visually impressive and runs pretty smoothly even on lower specs, though the level of detail is much better appreciated while the system is docked. However, I did find some areas of space to be a little too dark, though I don’t know if this is something exclusive to the Switch port since it’s the only version I’ve played.

In general, the voice acting for the game is good, though one that quickly stood out to me on this playthrough was Kharl Zeon being voiced by George Buza, who is better known for voicing Beast in the ‘90s X-Men cartoon and its follow-up, X-Men ‘97. As for the Star Fox cast, their voices are reprised from Star Fox Zero, with the exception of Wolf being voiced by Jay Ward as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (and later Ultimate). While these voices are fitting for the characters, Wolf ends up sounding a bit more villainous than usual, which can be blamed more on how he was written, as previously mentioned.

 

 

Since my original review, a free update was added known as the Crimson Moon, which adds a new area to the game as well as a new currency, Cogs, which can be earned by defeating Outlaws and spent at the Crimson Moon’s shops to purchase cosmetic Mods. The Crimson Moon also offers an array of new content, which grant Cogs upon completion. This content includes:

• Racing – Win first in races, against four different Outlaw factions, to earn prizes
• Arena – Defeat waves of enemies with increasingly difficult challenges
• Rounding up Outlaws who broke the contract between Outlaws and Prospectors

Although the racing controls work fine, being slightly reworked versions of the main controls, they are made slightly awkward by the fact that you still have to manually move the camera while steering, whereas most racing games would typically have the camera automatically move with the player. While it is still possible to win in spite of this, it’s still a misstep in what is otherwise good free content that provides some additional replay value for those looking to get more out of the base game.

 

In addition to these extra challenges, the Switch version provides some additional Star Fox missions and cutscenes, but these are locked behind a $12 paywall that also unlocks Falco, Slippy and Peppy as playable pilots. This paywall admittedly stopped me at first when it came out, but prior to this playthrough, I was able to get it for a little less thanks to some My Nintendo Gold Points I had left over from another purchase (prior to the discontinuation of the feature).

While on the Equinox, Star Fox receive a shipment of Puk Puk Eggs native to Corneria. Though Slippy wants to make Corneria Cake with them, these eggs turn out to contain a hidden message from Andrew, Pigma and Leon, the remaining members of Star Wolf who seek revenge following Wolf’s defeat. While this new content does have a good payoff and addresses Wolf acting out of character through offhand dialogue, this DLC feels a little overpriced for its short length, even with getting to play as more Star Fox pilots. I suspect that the price is likely due to licensing fees from Nintendo, but either way it’s helpful to wait for a sale.

Although the genre is no longer as popular as it once was, Starlink: Battle for Atlas is still a game to try out for those looking for a more unique experience from it, especially since the physical toys can be found at low prices. Star Fox fans starving for new content after the failure of Star Fox Zero should especially check out the Switch version for its unique content, as well as the chance to own a physical Arwing figure, though be wary of the Star Fox DLC price.