It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since the last Star Wars racing game. Unbelievably, that’s longer than the wait between Return of the Jedi and The Phantom Menace.
But at long last, a new vehicle-based game set in the galaxy fara, far away is here, with Star Wars: Galactic Racer.
Helmed by a new studio with plenty of arcade racing pedigree, can it live up to the hype, or is it as underwhelming as Episode 1 after the long wait?
Very fast, very dangerous
Aside from the climactic lightsaber duel with Darth Maul, most Star Wars fans will agree that the podrace is the standout scene in The Phantom Menace. It inspired the fan-favourite Episode 1 Racer in 1999 and its often-forgotten sequel, 2002’s Racer Revenge, but Star Wars racing games have vanished since then.
Fans of the original games will rejoice over the return of podracing in Galactic Racer, and they are as exhilarating and terrifying to control as you would imagine. To quote the wise jedi Qui-Gon Jinn, they are “very fast, very dangerous.”
As you thunder through the Tatooine desert weaving through narrow canyons barely wider than your vehicle, the sense of speed is intoxicating. Piloting these ferocious machines requires skill and lightning-quick reactions: scraping a wall usually results in a spectacular crash as your vehicle disintegrates in a slick, Burnout-style camera pan.
Recognisable pilots seen in the film’s podrace like Sebulba, Gasgano and Teemto Pagalies feature as playable characters, and the faithfully recreated Mos Espa circuit will make fans giddy with glee. In a nod to a deleted scene from The Phantom Menace, the sinister Sebulba can even fry opponents with a flamethrower attached to his incredibly detailed podracer.
This isn’t the main focus, however. Arcade mode lets you jump straight into a podrace, but they don’t appear in the story until later in the campaign. With small grids limited to only six vehicles on-screen in single-player and eight in multiplayer, it doesn’t capture the grand scale of the film’s set piece.
If you were hoping for another podracing-centric game, you might be disappointed. With a limited selection of playable characters and vehicles, their inclusion feels like a DLC add-on. However, Galactic Racer is more than a modern reimagining of the classic Star Wars Racer games.
Set between the events of Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens during the fall of the Empire, Galactic Racer tells an original story set during the fall of an Empire in an era where podracing is outlawed. You play as Shade, a reluctant racer who joins an unsanctioned tournament known as the Galactic League to defeat its reigning champion, the arrogant Kestar Bool.
As the story unfolds, you learn that Shade has a personal grudge against Kestar influenced by past events. It’s not the most engrossing tale ever told in the Star Wars universe, but it’s well executed, with an eclectic voice cast giving the supporting characters strong personalities.
Hibi, your trusty four-armed mechanic, is a particular standout with their Scouse accent. Shade, on the other hand, is calm and collected, with a stoic personality similar to The Mandalorian’s Din Djarin.
Podracers are used sparingly in the campaign as side missions hosted by Sebulba, who is now a grizzled racing veteran in Galactic Racer’s timeline, but we won’t spoil the context. Since they are so overpowered, these vehicles are restricted to single-class races. Instead, most of your time is spent racing landspeeders, speeder bikes and skim speeders in multi-class events.
Each vehicle class has distinct handling characteristics that balance the roster. Landspeeders are the closest equivalent to cars, and can slide around corners like a majestic ice skater. Being the heaviest class, they are ideal for bullying opponents out of the way. Speeder Bikes are more nimble and can gain temporary speed boosts known as Kinetic Bursts, but are more vulnerable.
Skim Speeders, meanwhile, are new to Galactic Racer, and can tilt sideways to avoid obstacles, but are tricky to master. Any vehicle you choose feels satisfyingly weighty, fluid and predictable to control, which isn’t surprising given the team’s arcade racing lineage.
That is why you fail
What is surprising, however, is that Galactic Racer’s campaign follows a roguelite structure, which will no doubt be divisive.
Split across four planets, each of the three story acts features a branching path of events. These range from standard races to eliminators where competitors are knocked out at checkpoints, culminating in a final knockout stage.
Some paths let you avoid the tougher eliminator events, but easier routes earn you less lucrative rewards. Between the main events, Field Tests provide a more casual experience, from taking vehicles for a test run to set the fastest time, to cathartic Burnout Road Rage-style challenges where you take out a target number of opponents.
The catch is that each story act requires a League Token to enter. Wreck too many times in a race or get eliminated, and you lose one. Lose them all, and you must restart from the beginning of the current act, working your way back up in a new set of randomised events.
Refreshingly, standard races don’t require a podium finish progress. You must simply survive, which is no easy feat. It makes even a mid-place finish feel like an achievement.
There’s an aggressive, scrappy feel to the racing as AI rivals have no qualms ramming you into the nearest wall. You can take them out too, which triggers a satisfying, Burnout-style takedown showcased in slow-motion, but this risks damaging your vehicle.
Take too much damage, and your vehicle will develop faults in later campaign events that can cripple your performance or handling. There’s an element of resource management here, as they can be repaired at a cost, forcing you to prioritise where to spend your race winnings.
With limited lives in each race, there’s a tangible feeling of danger and stakes you don’t often see in modern arcade racers. Every race feels like a hard-fought fight to the finish line.
Such is the punishing nature of roguelites, restarting runs several times in a row can get painfully frustrating. Repeatedly revisiting the same planets only amplifies the repetition.
The final knockout challenges are particularly aggravating too, thanks to rubber-banding AI that’s as egregious as resurrecting Emperor Palpatine in The Rise of Skywalker. One run saw the rival snatch the lead moments before the finish line in the final lap, forcing a restart. It’s infuriating.
If you need some respite from the roguelite campaign, the Arcade mode adopts a more traditional structure, with curated events featuring pre-selected vehicles and locations. They even compare your lap times to your friends list. It’s effectively a mini campaign to supplement the main tour, but there is no option to set up a custom event, bewilderingly.
The fastest ship in the fleet
Fortunately, Galactic Racer’s surprisingly comprehensive upgrade system helps alleviate the frustration of losing a tour to keep you coming back.
Upgrades earned from the previous run can be spent increasing vehicle stats such as boost, cornering and drifting. There’s an enormous amount of scope to experiment and create custom builds, whether you want to prioritise maximising your boost to create the fastest ship in the galaxy, or focus on handling to outmanoeuvre opponents.
On top of this, parts purchased at paddocks on each planet, which can be explored on foot before the first event of each planet, unlock additional upgrades that modify your vehicle’s behaviour, such as cooling your boost faster.
Speaking of which, there are two independent boost systems, which are essential to stay competitive. The standard Afterburner provides short bursts of speed, but must recharge. Ramjets, meanwhile, activate a more powerful boost, but overheat if you overuse them, causing your vehicle to explode. It’s a similar mechanic to MotorStorm.
That’s not the only aspect Galactic Racer seemingly borrows from Evolution Studio’s dormant series, either, as environmental elements influence how you manage your boost.
Dipping your vehicle in water cools it down. Conversely, driving through lava or acid heats it up. Snow planets, meanwhile, freeze your vehicle, impairing its performance and handling unless you drive through designated heat zones. Combined with its multi-class racing and alternative track routes, Galactic Racer recaptures the spirit of MotorStorm Pacific Rift.
Vehicle parts can also be combined with special abilities, from defensive shields protecting you from attacks to ion blasts you can shoot at rivals, causing them to crash if timed right. A separate Scenario mode is an effective starting point by showcasing possible combinations and racing styles. These events focus on specific characters and objectives, with preinstalled parts and abilities.
Everything is activated at the start of the race in a quick-time mini game, making you feel like you’re toggling the controls. There’s even a Mario Kart-style rev timer at the start of each event that provides an extra speed boost if timed right.
It sounds like a lot to manage, but to the developer’s credit, it feels cohesive rather than overwhelming. When everything comes together, the core racing is utterly sublime and surprisingly deep.
Upgrades are also neatly integrated into the online multiplayer. Alongside standard quick races, the Multiplayer Tour mode is effectively a condensed version of the single-player campaign, with a betting system unlocking parts and upgrades at a faster rate. Win a bet, and you’ll unlock rarer parts.
Joining online matches is swift and we experienced no lag, despite the ensuing chaos of 12 players battling each other. Active matches can be spectated when joining and a ranking system provides further incentive to return with unlockable characters and liveries. Reaching rank five unlocks a separate podracing tour supporting up to eight players, and crossplay on other platforms is supported via Epic Games.
These flourishes elevate what could have otherwise been a barebones multiplayer mode. However, while you can create parties of up to three players and join public lobbies together, it’s a shame you can’t organise private matches. Local split-screen multiplayer is also absent, sadly.
Size matters not
While the upgrade system is impressively extensive, Galactic Racer’s scope feels small overall, with only four vehicle types and six locations, including Jakku and Crait from the prequel trilogy alongside new planets. Lantaana is a particular highlight, with its lush forests and an active volcano. DLC can hopefully expand the vehicle and location roster, as Fuse Games is planning post-launch support.
It also feels like the roguelite structure stretches out the otherwise relatively short campaign, though the abundance of Arcade and Scenario events will at least keep you occupied after completing it.
Galactic Racer is cheaper than some triple-a games, however, retailing for around £50 / $60. A more expensive Deluxe Edition offers additional perks including liveries and exclusive Arcade events, but no extra story missions, so it isn’t necessary.
The developers clearly have a reverence for George Lucas’s space saga, from the earthy visual style to the obscure background creatures and droids roaming the environments that only die-hard fans can name.
Seen in The Force Awakens, the scrap planet of Jakku is faithfully recreated, with its fallen At-At Walkers and sections where you race along the remains of a Star Destroyer. A cinematic orchestral score also accentuates the drama, kicking in during the final lap. Other audio details, like the menacing engine sound of Sebulba’s podracer, are perfectly captured, fully immersing you into the Star Wars universe.
In short, this is the Star Wars racing game you’re looking for. But regardless of your fandom for the sci-fi saga, Galactic Racer is a brilliant arcade racer in its own right, boasting a level of depth and replayability rarely seen in the genre.
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