Star Wars Galactic Racer’s roguelike racing mechanics is not for all

Ask anyone what the best part of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is, and every one of them will say the thunderous, high-octane chaos-filled, pod racing sequence. Now, ask anyone what their favourite arcade-style racing game is, and the Burnout series will pretty much be high up on that list. 

Burnout was a racing game built around spectacular car crashes, back when burnout meant wrecking cars rather than your mental health. Now, fuse both Episode 1 Racer and Burnout — the chaos, speed and fiddly unpredictability of racing hovering death traps across the galaxy with aggressive vehicular destruction, and you get Star Wars Galactic Racer. Fuse Games, made up of former Burnout developers, has delivered the insanity.

Everyone knows a Kestar Bool in their circles — the spoiled rich kid who makes sure everyone is pushed down so he can succeed. He has been trained by Sebulba (who folks will recognise from The Phantom Menace, as the evil champion of the pod racing circuit), who has passed not only his racing skills to Kestar, but also his nasty ways.

You play as Shade who is tasked with taking down Kestar’s toxic dominance in the Galactic League, a high-stakes illegal racing circuit where many of the top pilots have a place to earn big bucks after the Empire fell. A story that feels quite Star Wars with a healthy dash of Fast and the Furious with aliens, robots and anti-gravity cars. 

The game features a Forza Horizon-esque opening sequence that is every bit as cinematic, allowing you to take control of several types of repulsorcraft, which is the fancy sci-fi name for these floating vehicles. The story usually unfolds in quiet walkabout encampment areas where you get to interact with your opponents in a more stationary setting.

It also gives you a chance to speak to various memorable characters, interact with your cute monkey-like mechanic Hibi, and the founder of the League Darius Pax, a mechanic himself and the person who has brought on Shade to help him deal with Kestar. Once you are all storied up, the action then shifts to the high-speed arenas of the Galactic League. 

Star Wars Episode 1 Racer was one of the best games of its time when it came out, and it still holds up today. Even if its graphics are dated, the screams, whines and mechanical shivers of those giant engines powering through levels will always be burned in your brain.

There are four distinct types of repulsorcraft you get to scream around corners with — the trusty, souped-up variants of the Landspeeder, which are big, fast moving slabs that look and handle like muscle cars, with a proper drift. Then, there are the speeder bikes, which have absolutely no protection for the rider, but possess a cool kinetic burst-through that swings you out of corners.

The Skim Speeder gives Sony’s Wipeout racing feels with its extended fins and is designed to go very fast, with an ability to tilt vertically to fit through tight gaps. And lastly, there is the return of the Pod Racer, which you only get to pilot in certain events, sadly. Pod Racers are like chariots, but instead of being drawn by horses, they are pulled by massive engines. 

These craft absolutely rip through incredible courses. This game is built on aggressive speed and constant danger, and I love how unpredictable the races are. There were moments I was absolutely sure I was going to finish sixth, but after some clever turns and punting a few opponents into oncoming debris, I netted myself a near first. You have to race dirty, pulling off your special moves like forcefields to gain every edge. Managing your boost is key — spit out too much and your craft is going to be panting.

The game introduces a lovely feature called RamJet, which is a secondary-state boost that adds a lot of risk, but if done right you can punch further. 

The best part of the whole pod racing sequence is when Anakin’s pod starts malfunctioning, and he has to fiddle with switches to redirect power, fix the kaput engine, then run a very cool-looking, firing up sequence even as the pod is running at a mindblowing speed.

Little puzzle sequences let you fiddle with your controller buttons the same way, to ignite your engine before the race. Also, certain things like your Ramjet require a button press to engage, and when it does, a big industrial-like blue flame that bursts forth. You get damaged, but you need to do a few timely button presses to get you back on track. 

Where things get a bit mixed is in the roguelike game design. You have to qualify to move up the rungs to challenge Kestar, and in order to do that, you have to drive through a sequence of races selectable by pathway. Now here is the catch — you can only take a certain level of hits or crashes, after which your racer is totalled and you start over. But, if you persevere and climb up through the ranks you unlock faster and stronger power-ups that really help you corner right.

There are also some special races to unlock permanent upgrades, but if you are not a fan of the roguelike system you probably will not like this game. 

The other thing that could be a deterrent is the variety of tracks. There are around six planets in the game, which is quite sizable, and each planet has a good amount of oomph. Jakku, especially, will have your jaw dropping as you race through downed destroyers, while Crait has distinct white sand that streaks red as you race over it. The tracks however, feel like you are racing on the same ones which is fine because they are well designed, with large set pieces. Yet, it can get a bit repetitive if you have been grinding the circuits. 

Now, where the game really needs to pick up is in its glitches. It is a graphically decent game, and though not one of the best-looking ones out there, it does make up for that with sheer gameplay. However, there are some parts of the tracks where you get stuck. In Jakku, for example, you can guarantee a crash because at times if you are on a crest, all the flying debris masks the turns. The game would need a bunch of patches to get better optimised. 

Punch up that boot sequence on your wallet because Star Wars Galactic Racer is one of the sleeper hits of 2026. It is a game that blends speed and excellent aggressive racing with some memorable characters, making for some organic moments in its roguelike shell. If you have been waiting for years for either a new Wipeout, Burnout or Star Wars Racer game, then Galactic Racer not only brings the vibes, it also shows you a new side of the Star Wars universe.