Star Wars: Galactic Racer Provides High-Octane Thrills to That Galaxy Far, Far Away

While there have certainly been Star Wars racing games after 1999’s high-octane fan-favorite Star Wars Episode I: Racer, none had quite captured the same level of bombastic action in speeding around that galaxy far, far away. Fortunately, that high-speed glory is recaptured and then some with the upcoming racing title Star Wars: Galactic Racer, developed by Fuse Games and published by Secret Mode in association with Lucasfilm Games. As feature-rich as the racing game genre gets, Galactic Racer has enough thrills to excite genre enthusiasts while taking full advantage of its iconic space opera setting.

Fuse Games had been founded by personnel who worked on long-running racing game franchises including Need for Speed and Burnout, so developing top-shelf racing experiences is well within the creative team’s wheelhouse. Those sensibilities are apparent in Star Wars: Galactic Racer with many different modes and features provided to gamers, from a campaign, a scenario mode, an arcade mode, and various multiplayer gameplay options, including different online modes. Each of these modes are available to players right at the start and are each incredibly engrossing in their own right.

There is a selection of vehicle types available to players throughout Star Wars: Galactic Racer – landspeeders, speeder bikes, skimspeeders, and the requisite podracers. Each vehicle offers its own nuance in their handling, with the skimspeeders among the most intriguing due to their ability to tilt laterally on their sides, helping with cornering and moving through narrow shortcuts on the track. In one of the better prologues to a game in recent memory, the campaign mode lets you try three of these types in rapid succession with just enough time to see how distinct the vehicles are from each other while also carrying the story forward.

As for said story, the campaign mode takes place in the years following the events of Return of the Jedi, with the memory of the Galactic Civil War still looming large as the New Republic continues to restore order. At the same time, the game features clear nods to the entire Star Wars canon as it currently stands, including races on Tatooine and sequel trilogy planets like Jakku and Crait, all sumptuously rendered. Just as Star Wars Episode I: Racer did nearly 30 years ago, Galactic Racer also introduces plenty of distinct new worlds while telling the story of a racer joining the galactic circuit, complete with their own allies and rivals in the racing scene.

Star Wars Episode I: Racer was a particularly difficult racing game, or at least harder for fans who were more accustomed to the level of challenge of contemporary racing titles like Mario Kart 64 and Diddy Kong Racing. With that in mind, I’m happy to report that Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a much more accessible experience than Episode I: Racer had been, still bringing the high-speed challenge but with more variety in adjustable difficulty levels for some of its major solo modes. As someone who has historically struggled with more realistic racing games, being able to adjust the difficulty for campaign mode was a godsend and for those racing game aficionados, those higher difficulties will definitely test their skills.

Both the campaign and scenario modes also incorporate RPG elements, which makes them a bit more striking than most contemporary racing games. Between races, players can upgrade their vehicles, emphasizing which individual elements they want to enhance. On the flip side, parts that were damaged in a race can hinder a vehicle for the remainder of a campaign or scenario, adding to the risk/reward aspects of the gameplay. These elements are relatively superficial to the experience, but they do help make those longer circuits feel more engaging while highlighting the need to not go recklessly into every race.

There are some drawbacks to the game, though mostly quibbles rather than big glaring flaws in looking at the whole experience. While I thought the crash cam, a camera feature that cuts to an opposing vehicle that you caused to crash unfolding in slow-motion, was cool at first, I ultimately found it distracting and ran the risk of affecting me staying the course when the camera abruptly returned to follow me. Finally, the RPG elements feel like something that could’ve been developed even more than the version that appears in the final game, though the game deserves some praise for introducing these mechanics in the first place.

Between Star Wars: Galactic Racer and the recent squad-based strategy game Star Wars Zero Company, this year has proved that the future of Star Wars may be brightest in the franchise’s current crop of video games rather than movies like The Mandalorian and Grogu. Galactic Racer is a reminder of how malleable the franchise can be in its various multimedia depictions and, more importantly, just how much fun Star Wars is whenever it’s done right. Star Wars: Galactic Racer offers loads of fun in its grand prix tour of that galaxy far, far away and is accessible enough for more casual racing game fans.

Developed by Fuse Games and published by Secret Mode, Star Wars: Galactic Racer releases October 6 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.