(Credit: Nintendo)
One of the highlights of the Switch 2 is GameChat, which lets you easily talk to and see your friends while playing online. The upcoming Star Fox 64 remake for Nintendo's console adds a new feature that uses your face to power an avatar based on the game's iconic characters.
The camera will use GameChat to mimic your facial movements on a 3D avatar in the live video shared with your friends. It means your character will follow your mouth movements as you speak, as well as your head, eyes, and even eyebrows.
The character avatars are confirmed for eight Star Fox characters, including Fox McCloud, Peppy Hare, Falco Lombardi, and Slippy Toad, and the game trailer suggests there may be even more to unlock. If you don’t want to replace your entire face, you can also activate augmented reality filters to add Star Fox-like ears or a Falco-like beak to your own mouth.
This is the first time a Nintendo Switch 2 title has used GameChat integration to transform your video into a character. Might it do the same in a future Super Smash Bros. or Mario Kart game?
This new Star Fox, meanwhile, is a “modernized adventure” based on the original Nintendo 64 title, which was first released in 1997 and remade twice before for the Nintendo 3DS and then Wii U. “Star Fox is a cinematic take on the Star Fox 64 game, featuring newly overhauled character designs, freshly revamped looks for each stage, plus detailed cutscenes, fully voiced dialogue and a sweeping orchestral soundtrack," Nintendo says.
The game is set to be released on Switch 2 on June 25. You’ll need a Switch Online membership to play with others, and you’ll need a compatible USB camera to use GameChat. Many third-party cameras work with the console, but compatibility can be hit-or-miss.