Topic: Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Starlink is a fantastic 'blueprint' from which a new StarFox game could be birthed...

If Nintendo are hesitant to devote time/resources to SF, they should just farm the IP out to a suitable developer (Ubisoft or another?) and keep a degree of creative control... similar to what was achieved with Metroid Dread.

No Mans Sky and Starfield surely show there is an appetite for space exploration, and StarFox 64 remains an all-time classic

Having not yet played Starlink and thus have no opinion of it yet, I don't disagree with the logic.

That being said, I also feel like its annoying that Star Fox would only get another game via another open world Ubisoft (or Ubisoft inspired) game. Like regardless of your opinion of the controls, they perfectly nailed the controls in the sense that it felt exactly like "what if Star Fox 64 also had Wii U gimmicks on top of it", so if they just fixed the biggest problems with it and gave the devs time to make a good multiplayer mode on top of it, you're probably good. Not to mention other space combat games also better than post-64 Star Fox that I'd love to see them take from that aren't open to such a degree.

Like even if the end result works out, saying "but what if giant open game" as the first solution to bringing a series back to prominence is so eye rolling. If it works out, cool, but its not the one, singular choice. Also I assume it'd be far more expensive without much guarantee of success. (considering how Starlink was...not especially successful) Sounds weird considering what I said, but I think I said that largely because I can't imagine Starlink 2 is a successful idea to do (though considering how many people I saw disappointed by the cancellation of an Immortals Phoenix Rising sequel, I guess I could be wrong)

Starlink only failed because toys-to-life was already fading from popularity when it was announced, never mind when it released. The general consensus when it released was pretty positive, but it was greatly overlooked purely based on being toys-to-life. I'm sure that if Ubisoft gave it a second shot it would likely be more successful. Same as if they adapted the core for a Star Fox game.

I feel the best compromise between sequel and Star Fox in this style would be a Switch-exclusive Starlink sequel that saw Star Wolf somehow adapting Legion tech to work in the Lylat system or constructing their own version of it using Lylat tech. However, rather than a uniform set of structures to take out across the system, each would be unique to that particular planet. And following roughly the same story structure of Battle For Atlas, you'd face off against several smaller constructions in a linear order as the game teaches its mechanics before letting you loose on the entire system to end Star Wolf's plans in your own preferred way.

Yes, I've been a fan of this game and wishing for a sequel for five years. I've spent a looong time thinking how such a sequel could be like.