Every Star Wars racing game, ranked worst to best

Star Wars racing games are making a long-awaited return this October with the release of Galactic Racer.

With former Criterion Games developers at the helm, it promises to be a return to form after a chequered history of vehicular Star Wars titles.

To help ease the wait, we’re looking back at every Star Wars racing game and ranking them from worst to best.

3. Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing

There was a time when seemingly every mascot character was given a kart racing spin-off to capitalise on Mario Kart’s popularity. In 2001, Star Wars: Super Bombad Racing jumped on this bandwagon.

Released in 2001, the PlayStation 2-exclusive racer sees you race as cartoony, big-headed characters from the Phantom Menace, including the likes of Anakin Skywalker, Jar-Jar Binks and Boss Nass.

With its colourful graphics and cute characters, this family-friendly take on George Lucas’s space saga is clearly aimed at younger padawans, but its oversensitive controls and bland environments let it down. It’s not the worst Star Wars game ever made, but it’s hardly the best either.

2. Star Wars Racer Revenge

After the success of Star Wars Episode 1: Racer, a sequel was inevitably greenlit. The result was 2002’s Star Wars Racer Revenge, which, unlike its predecessor, was exclusive to PlayStation 2, despite the original being synonymous with the Nintendo 64.

Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the legacy of the original.

While the core frenetic racing was similar, Racer Revenge shifted the focus to combat, with mixed results. Perhaps in response to Burnout’s popularity in the early 2000s, the sequel emphasises wrecking opponents to earn winnings. This takes the focus from the high-speed racing that made the original so enthralling, and the controls feel less refined.

Seeing an adult Anakin Skywalker from Attack of the Clones piloting a podracer is novel, at least.

Like its predecessor, Star Wars Racer Revenge was re-released for PS4 and is playable on PS5 via backwards compatibility.

1. Star Wars Episode I: Racer

Now this is podracing.

For many fans, the 16-year-long wait for Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace was a bitter disappointment, thanks to its over-reliance on special effects, stilted dialogue and incessantly irritating Jar Jar Binks. However, most fans agree that two standout scenes partially redeem it: the Darth Maul lightsaber duel and the podrace.

With its memorable vehicle designs featuring cockpits attached to two engines, high-speed action and spectacular crashes, it’s enthralling to watch.

It was no surprise, then, that the memorable race sequence was adapted into a video game, with Star Wars Episode 1: Racer speeding onto Nintendo 64 and PC in 1999, followed by a Dreamcast port, often considered the superior version, in 2000. A standalone version also hit arcades in 2000, with the aptly named Star Wars Racer Arcade developed by Sega.

Star Wars Episode 1: Racer captures the blistering speed of podracing as you weave through canyons at hundreds of miles per hour, with a variety of playable characters and upgradeable vehicles.

Alongside the Mos Espa circuit from the film, it also introduces several locations unique to the game that require mastery of the intricate designs and shortcuts. Adding to the challenge is a MotorStorm-style boost mechanic, where overheating your engine causes your vehicle to explode.

The tournament is woefully short by modern standards, and the default AI opponents are too slow. But even ignoring the Star Wars licensing, it’s a fantastic futuristic racer in its own right. If you missed the original or want to revisit it, the classic Star Wars racer is playable on modern platforms with high-definition graphics and updated controls.

Honourable mentions

Star Wars Outlaws

Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws was overlooked at launch, but post-release patches have since improved Ubisoft’s open-world adventure game set in a galaxy far, far away, which mixes shooting, stealth and platforming. For some fans, living the fantasy of exploring Tatooine and visiting landmarks such as the Mos Eisley Cantina or Jabba’s Palace is worth the price of admission alone.

Vehicles are integral to the experience, too. Much of your time is spent exploring the vast environments on a speeder bike, which you can upgrade with special abilities such as boosting and driving over water as the story progresses.

There is also a racing element. Hidden around the open worlds are head-to-head Speeder Race side missions, where you cross through checkpoints and earn credits for crossing the finish line first.

Star Wars Demolition

Star Wars Demolition doesn’t feature any racing, but the arena-based combat game from the developer of Vigilante 8 lets you battle in various Star Wars vehicles, from Land Speeders and Snowspeeders to AT-ST walkers. The action takes place in a deadly contest run by Jabba the Hutt after podracing is outlawed.

Star Wars Demolition is an average vehicular combat game with clunky controls and poor graphics even for the time, but those curious can buy the original PS1 version on PS5.

Kinect Star Wars

While Kinect Star Wars is best known for its infamous Han Solo dance number, it also features a token podracing level.

This was the first time podracing was represented in an HD video game. But instead of using a controller, you controlled the podracer’s engines by pushing your hands forward and backwards. It didn’t catch on.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer

After a nearly 15-year absence, Star Wars racing games are making a triumphant return later this year with the release of Star Wars: Galactic Racer.

This time, it isn’t all about podracing. Set after Return of the Jedi, Galactic Racer centres on an unsanctioned racing league with multi-class events featuring Landspeeders, Speeder Bikes and new Skim Speeders. And yes, you can still pilot podracers in dedicated events.

What makes this so promising is that Galactic Racer is helmed by Fuse Games, a studio made up of former Criterion Games developers who worked on Burnout. Expect aggressive racing with Burnout-style takedowns, extensive vehicle customisation and a roguelite campaign structure with consequences.

Time will tell if it will dethrone Episode 1: Racer as the best Star Wars racing game. But given the team’s strong pedigree in the arcade racing space, the force looks strong with this one when it launches in October.

Until then, you can read our hands-on preview impressions of Star Wars: Galactic Racer.

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