Star Wars: Galactic Racer attempts to invigorate the racing game format with a run-based structure that proves more successful than Burnout Paradise's open world.
A Universe of Racing
The Star Wars movies have always embraced a mashup quality, blending diverse influences. Galactic Racer extends this by imagining a racing culture thriving in the peacetime between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. In this era, crime syndicates sponsor planet-hopping pilots who race landspeeders, speeder bikes, and skim speeders across diverse planetary environments. This worldbuilding populates the game with a cast of rivals, including a villainous character named Kestar Bool, an ex-TIE Fighter pilot, and a group of wealthy racers. These characters offer insults during races, though many are delivered in subtitled alien languages, making them easily missed by players focused on high-speed navigation.
The core gameplay is arcade racing, drawing parallels to games like Wipeout. Instead of losing all momentum upon contact with track edges, players can scrape along, bounce off, or explode in a manner reminiscent of the Burnout series. Fuse Games, the developer, includes former Criterion developers who worked on Burnout and assisted with the Star Wars Battlefront games. This connection is evident in the game's takedown mechanics, where a successful collision triggers a slow-motion camera sequence showcasing the destruction of an opponent's vehicle. However, unlike Burnout 3, the AI's steering during these sequences can be problematic, sometimes directing the player directly into obstacles.
Strategic Speed and Upgrades
Takedowns, while present, are less central to Galactic Racer than initially anticipated. The game emphasizes actual racing, interspersed with dramatic crashes and environmental hazards. Players manage an afterburner for a temporary speed boost and a more potent, riskier "ramjet" boost that can overheat. Balancing these two systems is crucial, as is managing status effects like "Cooled," which is gained at high speeds or over water, and "Burning," triggered by enemy attacks or environmental hazards like lava, which increases heat. Other effects, such as "Overcharged," "Corroded," and "Shielded," can also influence gameplay.
The game features a tour structure that links races together, offering different modes. The campaign mode is run-based, borrowing elements from roguelite titles like FTL and Slay the Spire. Players navigate a map of nodes, earning upgrades along the way. Failure in an act sends players back to the beginning of that act, though persistent unlocks aim to make subsequent attempts more manageable. This structure is similar to a grand prix mode found in other racing games, but its run-based nature adds a compelling layer of replayability.
Paths within the tour can favor traditional races or "eliminators," where finishing outside the top three results in losing a league token. While eliminators offer better rewards, they also increase risk. Random events and visits to the "scrap shop" can provide gear that significantly alters a player's build and chances of success. These choices add strategic depth to the progression.
Abilities and Paddock Encounters
Abilities play a significant role in a racer's build. "Ion bolt" temporarily scrambles a targeted opponent's steering, while the "vent" ability instantly cools the vehicle. "Concussion mines" function as their name suggests. These abilities have cooldowns and consume energy, which is managed by the vehicle's battery, another upgradeable component.
Credits earned between events can be spent on a randomized selection of upgrades for the racer and its abilities. Equipping parts can also influence build direction; for example, a part that refills the afterburner on collision encourages a tankier build, while one that clears all heat on a perfect landing allows for more aggressive ramjet usage.
The paddock serves as a hub area between races on each planet. Here, players walk in third-person, encountering rivals, overhearing arguments, or receiving commentary from the league organizer. While not as involved as hubs in other games, this element adds narrative flavor and immersion that feels authentically Star Wars.
A particularly well-integrated Star Wars touch is the pre-race check, a series of quick-time events where players interact with toggles, similar to Han Solo in the Millennium Falcon. Successfully completing these can grant immediate access to the afterburner or power up the first ability activation. However, reliance on the D-pad for some of these prompts can be frustrating on controllers with less responsive D-pads.
Protagonist and Presentation
Players assume the role of Shade, a customizable human courier who always wears a helmet. Character customization includes selecting from a range of outfits and voices, with options to alter color palettes and apply mechanical echo effects to voices. While most humans lack the necessary reaction times for podracing, Galactic Racer incorporates them through gameplay mechanics and narrative elements, including flashback races featuring Sebulba from The Phantom Menace.
Sebulba himself appears in later acts, offering