In late June, most of July's big games are still under review embargo, so previews are what we have to go on for what critics are already worried about. This roundup covers three games with real critic material behind them. Star Fox already has scores, clustering around a strong but not unanimous reception. Rhythm Heaven Groove and Halo: Campaign Evolved only have hands-on previews, so for those the question is what critics keep noticing before launch.
Once reviews landed, we followed up with full roundups for Star Fox and Halo: Campaign Evolved.
Star Fox review scores: 82 on OpenCritic
Star Fox releases June 25, 2026 on Nintendo Switch 2, developed by Velan Studios and published by Nintendo. It's a modern remake of Star Fox 64, one of Nintendo's cleanest arcade action games.
OpenCritic lists an 82 Top Critic Average with 96% recommending it across 23 reviews. Polygon's roundup put both Metacritic and OpenCritic at about 81 when it was written. That's a healthy score for a rail-shooter remake in 2026, and critics are treating it as one of the Switch 2's main summer releases.
- Shacknews, 10/10: Asif Khan called it "a beautiful masterpiece reborn." After playing Star Fox 64 more than a hundred times, he'd rather play this version from now on.
- Eurogamer, 4/5: Chris Schilling: "I approached Star Fox with a healthy degree of scepticism, and came away thinking: hooray for advanced graphics." He praised Velan as a developer that "fully understands the genre it is working in."
- Game Informer, 8.25/10: Kyle Hilliard called it "a joyful, updated reminder of why that 1997 game is, in fact, very good and fun," which "also casts a spotlight on the fact that we are long overdue for something, frankly, anything, new from Star Fox and team."
- Jeuxvideo, 9/20: according to Polygon's summary, Nintendo and Velan missed the chance to modernize Star Fox or update the rail-shooter structure for a new audience.
Rail shooters depend on rhythm, target priority, clarity and the odd pleasure of replaying a route until it's muscle memory, and reviewers say Velan gets that. The Jeuxvideo review is the real warning. Your reaction may depend less on how well it's made and more on whether you still want this exact game. If you love the series, arcade scoring or tight replayable action, it's a safe pick. If you wanted Nintendo to take Star Fox somewhere new, the scores won't settle that. Critics agree on the polish and disagree about the ambition.
Rhythm Heaven Groove previews: simple inputs, lots of charm
Rhythm Heaven Groove launches July 2, 2026 on Nintendo Switch, published by Nintendo, with Nintendo EPD and TNX credited on development. There are no scores yet, so we're working from hands-on previews by Nintendo Life, CGMagazine and Gamereactor.
The previews say it's still recognizably Rhythm Heaven: simple inputs, strange little scenes, tight timing windows and jokes that work because the game doesn't explain them. From the outside, that simplicity can look thin. The previews mostly argue that's the point.
Nintendo Life's writer came in sceptical, new to the series and finding that some individual minigames looked almost too simple: press one or two buttons for a few minutes. The Remix format changed their mind. Remixes jump between earlier games unpredictably and make you track different timings at once. The sound design, visuals and feeling of nailing a rhythm made the small games hard to get bored of.
CGMagazine went warmer and more social, saying it "embodies everything a fun living room needs for game night, antics and hilarity included." The series can feel like a private conversation between your ears and your thumb, so this entry's push into group play is the part to watch.
Gamereactor was also upbeat after the long gap between entries, saying the writer had a "fantastic time, mostly laughing and feeling cleverly challenged." Rhythm Heaven doesn't need to be big; it needs to keep catching you off guard in a way that still feels fair.
Wait for reviews if you care about content volume, progression or solo variety. The previews are strongest on moment-to-moment play, party energy and Remixes. The open question is staying power: a great hour of Rhythm Heaven isn't the same as a great whole game.
Halo: Campaign Evolved previews: plays well, divisive look
Halo: Campaign Evolved launches July 28, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC and PlayStation 5, developed by Halo Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios. Halo coming to PS5 is a big part of why this feels like more than a routine remake.
There are no scores yet, but plenty of hands-on material. IGN and Polygon played The Silent Cartographer and Assault on the Control Room. Game Informer played the three new prequel missions set before Combat Evolved.
IGN is the most cautious. It "plays great," and the two levels were fun and properly challenging on higher difficulties, but the visual style felt off. The complaint isn't that it looks cheap; it's almost the opposite. Indoor Forerunner spaces are too shiny, with metallic armour, weapons and floors blending together, so dropped weapons needed small waypoints to stay visible. In Halo, especially on Heroic or Legendary, reading the battlefield fast is half the game.
Polygon's headline was that third-person Halo works better than expected. The Perspective skull pulls the camera out from behind Master Chief's visor, and the writer's verdict was "it rules." In third person, Halo's slippery physics and battlefield choreography feel less like acting in an action film and more like directing one.
Game Informer covered the new prequel missions: three missions set in 2551, before Chief meets Cortana, focused on his relationship with Sgt. Johnson. It reads them as an attempt to flesh out the universe rather than just resting on the original campaign, with later-series weapons, enemies and details worked in to make the timeline feel more alive.
Reviews will probably come down to three questions. Does it keep Combat Evolved's pace and readability? Do the prequel missions add something or pad it out? Is third person a novelty or a real way to replay Halo? For now, critics are excited by how it plays and cautious about how it looks.
Before the next review wave
- Star Fox: the clearest signal so far. Strong scores and lots of affection, with a recurring complaint that it may be too faithful. Read the reviews if you're wary of remakes.
- Rhythm Heaven Groove: no scores yet, but previews point to a funny, deceptively demanding return. Wishlist it for the right couch night.
- Halo: Campaign Evolved: the big July question mark. Promising to play, loaded with history, and already arguing about its look. Wait for the full range of reviews.