Star Wars: Galactic Racer Review

Star Wars Galactic Racer Review

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is the new racing adventure title from Fuse Games, Secret Mode, and Lucasfilm Games. Inspired by the underground podracing scene made famous in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, the game expands on that thrilling subculture with an original story set in a galaxy fueled by speed and competition.

At the center of the story is former mechanic Darius Pax, who dreams of turning podracing into a legitimate, respected sport. However, reigning champion Kestar Bool threatens his ambitions, using his influence and control over the racing circuit to turn the competition into little more than a personal empire. With no options left, Pax places his hopes on an unlikely contender named Shade. With a complicated history with Kestar Bool, Shade hesitates at first but eventually agrees to join the fight. As he works to qualify for the prestigious Galactic Races, Shade sets out to challenge the reigning champion, expose corruption within the sport, and restore integrity to Pax’s vision. 

Fire up your podracers and prepare for a high-speed adventure across the galaxy in Star Wars: Galactic Racer!

In A Race Track Far, Far Away…

At first glance, Star Wars: Galactic Racer may seem like a traditional arcade racer, featuring recognizable Star Wars-inspired vehicles such as Landspeeders and Speeder Bikes. However, beneath its familiar premise lies a surprisingly unique structure that blends high-speed racing with a roguelike progression system. Described as a runs-based campaign, each Tour undertaken by Shade unfolds differently. Players navigate branching paths, making decisions that balance risk and reward while adapting to each run’s circumstances.

What makes the format particularly engaging is how each planet functions as a stage within a Tour. Every destination presents four separate activities while introducing environmental hazards that can drastically affect performance. Conditions vary significantly from planet to planet, ranging from the intense volcanic heat of Lantaana to the freezing temperatures of Ando Prime that can damage engine components. Other locations introduce unique obstacles such as corrosive acid rivers on Sentinel I and dense, visibility-limiting gas clouds on Crait.

Each Tour’s path is set the moment a route is selected on the galaxy map, ultimately leading to a climactic showdown on Derven Acos. Along the way, players encounter various event types, including traditional races, Eliminator competitions, test runs, and special encounters. Every choice can either strengthen a championship bid or put a run in jeopardy, forcing players to weigh immediate rewards against long-term survival.

Completing events in Star Wars: Galactic Racer rewards players with credits that can be invested in vehicle upgrades, performance improvements, and additional parts. Better race results naturally result in greater rewards, however, the game constantly asks players to weigh short-term success against long-term preparation. Choosing safer routes may lead to easier advancement, but doing so can limit opportunities to acquire the upgrades needed to remain competitive in later stages of a Tour.

Between races, players can visit Hibi’s Shop, where new parts and upgrades become available. As the campaign progresses, additional facilities such as the Scrap Shop unlock, allowing damaged equipment to be repaired. Players can also interact with rival racers, challenging them to one-on-one competitions or learning more about their histories and motivations. These interactions help flesh out the world and provide additional incentives to engage with the Star Wars: Galactic Racer‘s cast.

Failure in Star Wars: Galactic Racer is also incorporated into the progression system through a participant token mechanic. Each Tour begins with a token supplied by the player’s Backer, effectively serving as an entry permit for the competition. Losing all available crashes during a race, failing critical events such as Eliminator Matches, or narrowly missing victory in the final showdown can result in forfeiting that token and ending the run. Additional tokens can be earned later through specific bonuses, giving experienced players more opportunities to push their luck.

Naturally, this roguelike structure of Star Wars: Galactic Racer also results in permanent upgrades. Even failed runs contribute to future success through unlockable upgrades and customization options. Players earn Tuning Points, which permanently improve vehicle performance and unlock additional racers, while Kit Points can be spent on cosmetic customization.

The game further expands customization through a variety of racing archetypes. Players begin with the Survivor, a balanced style focused on durability and defense, but can later unlock more specialized approaches. The Redliner prioritizes raw speed and aggressive use of the Ramjet Engine, while the Duelist excels at disrupting and eliminating competitors. Each archetype alters available abilities, upgrade priorities, and overall race strategy.

One of Star Wars: Galactic Racer‘s more unexpected features is its relationship system. Players can build connections not only with their Backers and mechanic Hibi, but also with rival racers encountered throughout the campaign. Building rapport can unlock Favors, special bonuses that provide meaningful gameplay advantages such as additional crash allowances, extra participant tokens, or discounts on parts and upgrades, and players can equip up to three Favors at a time.

When it comes to accessibility, Star Wars: Galactic Racer does an admirable job of welcoming newcomers while still offering depth for experienced racing fans. The fundamental controls are straightforward, centering around acceleration, boosting through the Afterburner, and drifting. There are no traditional brakes or reverse gear options because your speeder is always moving forward.

As players become more comfortable behind the controls, they gain access to a growing arsenal of abilities. Early on, racers can deploy defensive shields to protect against attacks, while later builds provide offensive and utility options such as disruptor blasts that interfere with rival racers, slipstream attacks that can knock opponents off course, and abilities that manipulate overcharge mechanics for additional speed boosts.

I highly recommend sticking with the default difficulty for players not completely new to racing games because you can get used to the story difficulty, which affects enemy aggro and AI. Jumping up to the default difficulty after getting used to the story difficulty can prove too steep of a curve especially later in the game when you’ve already gotten used to the lax enemy AI. While staying in story difficulty too long can prove less challenging and will begin to get tedious in the long run.

One of Star Wars: Galactic Racer‘s most distinctive mechanics is the Ramjet Engine, a secondary propulsion system that functions as an advanced form of boost management. While the standard Afterburner offers short bursts of speed, the Ramjet pushes vehicles beyond their normal performance limits, delivering significantly faster acceleration and top-end velocity. Skilled players can even enter the Redline Zone, extracting maximum performance from their engines at considerable risk. Push too hard for too long, however, and the vehicle can overload and explode.

It is this balance of risk and reward, combined with meaningful progression systems and a surprisingly robust roguelike structure, that helps Star Wars: Galactic Racer stand out from more conventional racing games. Rather than simply racing toward the finish line, players are constantly making decisions that shape the outcome of an entire campaign, creating a gameplay loop that remains engaging throughout the playthrough.

Now, This is Podracing!

Once players move past the opening act of Star Wars: Galactic Racer, the game expands into something far more ambitious than a traditional racing experience. The opening chapter serves primarily as a qualifying phase, introducing players to the fundamentals of the sport and its progression systems. It is only upon entering the Galactic League that the game’s full depth begins to reveal itself.

Advancing into the League grants access to more influential Backers, who provide not only the valuable participant tokens required to compete but also additional funding to strengthen a build. Their support, however, comes with expectations. Backers often issue optional objectives designed to entertain their wealthy clientele, challenging racers to accomplish specific feats during events. These tasks can range from maintaining first place for a set duration and remaining airborne for extended periods to eliminating opponents through Slipstream attacks. Successfully completing these challenges rewards additional credits and valuable assessment bonuses that can prove crucial in later showdowns.

Players can also participate in Side Bets with rival racers throughout the campaign. These optional challenges function as personal duels, allowing racers to earn extra credits by defeating specific opponents. Outcomes can influence relationships with rival competitors, earning either their respect or their resentment and opening the door to unique interactions later in the story.

Relationships in Star Wars: Galactic Racer can directly impact gameplay through special encounters encountered during Tours. Allies may offer helpful bonuses, resources, or opportunities, while rivals can actively hinder progress by interfering with upgrades or sabotaging equipment. While these encounters rarely threaten a player’s participant tokens directly, the long-term effects of these relationships can significantly influence the course of a campaign.

Additional depth comes from encounters with the Scrap Dealer, who can repair damaged components between events and sell rare Legendary Parts capable of providing powerful bonuses once fully restored. Managing equipment becomes increasingly important as Tours progress, particularly when faults and mechanical issues begin to accumulate.

Track design in Star Wars: Galactic Racer also evolves significantly as the game progresses. While the early acts ease players into the game’s mechanics, later stages introduce increasingly dangerous environmental hazards and more demanding course layouts. Some planets feature intensified solar heat capable of disrupting engine performance, while others incorporate complex cave systems filled with blind corners and obstacles that can quickly deplete a racer’s limited crash allowance. Even previously visited locations can surprise players through extended layouts and new hazards.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer succeeds in telling a compelling personal story centered on Shade while simultaneously expanding the broader Star Wars universe. The narrative explores a lesser-seen side of the galaxy, introducing new lore, characters, and histories that feel distinct from the franchise’s more familiar conflicts. Through conversations, rival interactions, and environmental storytelling, the game gradually builds an engaging world that becomes increasingly compelling with each completed Tour and hard-fought victory.

The visuals and the music really adds to the immersion Star Wars: Galactic Racer especially to the world of Star Wars. The subtle cinematic cues like the wipe transitions, light speed animation, and even the high speed racing takes you back to the films of yore especially the set pieces of Phantom Menace‘s iconic podracing sequences. Crashing the enemies show some “instant replay” highlights that are some of the best visual effects of the game, and while it course corrects your speeder, it can slightly throw you off on your momentum.

The overall length of Star Wars: Galactic Racer will vary depending on player skill, chosen difficulty level, and the extent to which players engage with its various systems. Even after completing the main campaign, there is a substantial amount of content to explore. Additional Challenge modes become available, allowing players to take control of the game’s twelve rival racers and experiment with newly unlocked archetypes. An Arcade mode provides opportunities to chase personal records, while multiplayer offers competitive racing for players looking to test their skills against others.

Verdict: Buy It!

Star Wars: Galactic Racer delivers impressive long-term value through its progression systems, vehicle customization, racer archetypes, and wealth of unlockable content, blending accessible racing mechanics with an inventive runs-based structure and delivering an experience that can appeal to both newcomers and longtime fans of Star Wars and racing games alike. Simply put, Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a must-play title that deserves to be experienced firsthand.

What initially appears to be a straightforward racer soon reveals itself as a deeper and more rewarding adventure, driven by meaningful progression, strategic decision-making, and an engaging narrative. Players do not need extensive knowledge of Star Wars lore or prior experience with racing games to enjoy what Galactic Racer has to offer. The roguelike-inspired campaign loop is compelling enough on its own, while the rich world-building, extensive vehicle customization, and the desire to uncover more of Shade’s journey provide plenty of reasons to keep returning for another run.

*Star Wars: Galactic Racer has been reviewed on a PS5 with a review code provided by the publisher.