Saying that I am a Star Wars fan is a bit of an understatement. Not me having Darth Vader as a prominent feature in my wedding to my lovely wife and co-editor, Candy. So you can imagine my elation when it was announced at the 2025 Game Awards that we would be getting a new entry into the Star Wars gaming universe. A new racing title called Star Wars: Galactic Racer.

In the words of a young Anakin Skywalker “Now this is [pod]racing!” Yes, I dabbled for an extensive amount of time in the 1999 Star Wars Episode I: Racer. And while Nintendo64 graphics have no aged well, the game itself still held a special place in my heart. Now, Fuse Games and Secret Mode are bringing us a modernized racing game, set within the heart of the Star Wars universe.

Now, Gamer Social Club was able to get an early crack at Star Wars: Galactic Racer. And you know that yours truly was jumping up and down like a Loth-cat on some hot stones. So…without further ado…let’s rev our engines and blast across that finish line.

But before we do – just a quick heads up! We will not be touching much of the Main Campaign story, outside of the preliminary details. If you want to know how things pan out for our protagonist, Shade, and his rise through the Galactic League, you’ll need to play for yourself!

The World(s) & The Story

The World(s)

As you might have guessed, Star Wars: Galactic Racer does not take place in one singular location. There’s a whole galaxy out there…ripe for racing. And what makes it interesting is that we’re travelling to new locations in the Star Wars galaxy…and some of more familiar locales. In the course of our journey, we’ll be going to:

• Jakku – A desert planet that serves as little more than a graveyard of Imperial Star Destroyers.
• Lantaana – A tropical forest (much like Endor) dotted with fiery volcanoes.
• Ando Prime – Frozen wastes are what greet every racer to this barren iced-over world.
• Sentinel One – Organic beings have it rough on this acid river-strewn planet.
• Derven Acos – The “crown jewel” of the Galactic League. Also a smugglers’ hideout.
• Crait – A forgotten and very salty land.

The unique aspect about this facet of the game is that each planet…has its own unique challenges to racing. The deserts of Jakku will cause your racer’s engines to overheat. Ando Prime – you’ll be constantly fighting the ice build-up on your racer. Sentinel One will eat your racer – literally. So you’ll need to factor all of these pieces of information into your racing strategy…while contending with the high speeds and other vehicles careening around corners with you.

The Paddocks

I’ll be honest. Outside of the races, these are the only other instances in Star Wars: Galactic Racer where you’ll be able to take in the local environs. The Paddocks for the Galactic League are where deals are struck, friendships are forged and enemies… will be encountered. I might actually say, too many enemies.

It’s also in the Paddocks where you can both repair your racer, as well as upgrade your racer. Repairs are handled by this cute little “duo”, Ori and Pem (?). Repairs are needed for when you damage racer Upgrades during the runs in Galactic Racer. You’ll also have the opportunity to buy very rare, if not damaged, Upgrades from them during the course of a run (I’ll get into “runs” in a minute).

Ship Upgrades and New Parts are managed by Shade’s go-to mechanic, Hibi. Hibi is a riot. She’s endearing. She’s got an adorable accent. There’s also a distinct chance that she’s trying to kill you with her tinkering.

There are other things that occur in The Paddocks. But… you’ll need to play to find out what they are.

The Story

We’re not spending much time in this section – so don’t get up. For context for my Star Wars-obsessed fans, Star Wars: Galactic Racer takes place in the years following the fall of The Empire in the Outer Rim territories of the galaxy.

Darius Pax, a lover of racing and speedy vehicles, is the “founder” of the Galactic League – an unsanctioned racing circuit where pilots of all walks of life join together to test the limits of what speeds can be obtained. However, Darius, despite being the founder, does not control the “strings”. The puppet master, for lack of a better term, is Kestar Bool – a Caskadag and a member of the powerful Bool family. The epitomy of entitled son. Thus, Darius has enlisted the assistance of Shade, a professional pilot turned smuggler, to turn the tables.

And that, my friends, is where I will leave you all when it comes to the story. Just let me say – the story was great, and truly emphasized what kind of turns a League like this can take. Literally…and literally.

The Gameplay

Runs-Based Gameplay

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a “run-based” game. Not Rogue-like. Not Rogue-lite. Runs-based. Now, what does this actually mean? Each “run” has its own unique play-out, when it comes to the races, stories, and encounters that we happen across during our time in the Galactic League. What also makes it unique is that your “path” in a “run” will have risk-weighted branching choices. The safe path may be safe, but the yield on “rewards” is diminutive when compared to the riskier routes.

If you wreck out, or run out of replacement vehicles, you still are able to scrap your “run” for currency that will give you an edge in the next run. In fact, in almost seems expected that you’ll need to do a couple runs to finish this game.

However – there is a very unique (and in my opinion, amazing) catch. There are more static “anchor points” in Star Wars: Galactic Racer‘s Campaign Mode. If you finish an Act (there are three), you’ll be guaranteed to start at the latest Act you reached. Again – legend.

Pick Your Poison with Your Racer

Star Wars: Galactic Racer gives you options when it comes to your racer. In fact, there are three unique options of racer to use in your runs:

• The Landspeeder – The most basic of vehicles and your introductory vehicle in the game. Enjoy drifting!
• The Speeder Bike – For those that like to walk on the wild side of racing, who sacrifice stability for speed.
• The Skim Speeder – A “graceful” racing vehicle that can tuck into Knife Edge mode for more finesse on tight corners.

Customization Galore

There is an absolute bevvy of options when it comes to customizing your specific racer. Each racing vehicle has its own unique “models” and “livery” patterns to unlock, along with patinas. Coupled with the ability to interchange model parts with the various areas of your racer, there sheer number of vehicles that can be made are staggering.

For my playthrough, I opted to stick with a basic Landspeeder. Call it old age, but it seemed the easiest to pilot with my aging eyes. And you had best believe that Shade was riding in style as they blasted around tight corners.

Options for Gameplay Modes

As with many racing games, Star Wars: Galactic Racer features several options for gameplay. Specifically, we get the following:

• Campaign Mode – The “meat and potatoes” of the game and where we get to see Shade’s story in the Galactic League.
• Scenario Mode – We’ll get to be behind the proverbial wheel of other racers in the Galactic League to unlock their “Racer Style”.
• Arcade Mode – It’s your bog-standard Time Trials. Victory means new events, as well as the chance to rub race times in a friend’s face.
• Multiplayer Mode – Feel like taking a chance against non-AI racers? Here’s your chance. Each series of Multiplayer Modes will feature several races to allow racers to build the best vehicle possible.
  • I did not get a chance to partake in this, sadly, as it coincided with my day-to-day job duties. However, based on what I saw in the game’s Discord server, it looked like the runs were a hoot of chaos and explosions.

The Actual Racing!

Get across the finish line first. Yes, it’s that simple!

OK, OK – there’s more to it than that. Star Wars: Galactic Racer has two unique boost mechanics for your racer. The first is the Afterburner. If you’re old like me, then this should be familiar, as it is the same mechanic from Star Wars Episode I: Racer. Use your boost and wait for that sweet, sweet refill.

Along with the After, you’ll have access to The Ramjet. Once you are at the requisite speed, you can access the Ramjet to literally blast across the course. However, there is a small catch. The longer that you access the Ramjet at one time, the more you’ll put your engines into Redlining. This can be a massive problem (or a huge boon, depending on your Installed Parts). But know this – the more time in Ramjet Mode, the more likely your vehicle will explode.

I exploded. Many times over, in fact. Several times across the Finish Line. Which just makes for silly animations.

Now that we have touched on almost everything that Star Wars: Galactic Racer has to offer, let’s take a dip into what I liked and what I didn’t like.

The Good & The Bad

The Good

Near Consistent Levels of Replayability

While Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a “runs-based” game, it is a Rogue-lite when you look at the actual core mechanics of the game. With the interchangeability of Racer Styles, Perks, Installed Parts, Vehicle Types, and Abilities (which we didn’t even touch on), along with the RNG that is each tour, there is no “end” to what can be done in the game.

Listening in on the Discord server for the reviewers of this game, it truly did seem like there was no limit to what players could come up with, with regards to their racing style and vehicle build. This, to me, places this game above your standard racing game. Imagine if we fused Forza Horizon 6 with Hades, and I feel that Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a fair analogy.

Stunning Graphics and Visuals

What I loved about this game was that we didn’t forget the forest for the trees. Each race started off showing us the planet in which we were situated. With all its beauty – and rivers of acid, magma flows, scorching sun, and freezing winds.

There is true beauty in these planets. And that beauty is 100% lethal.

However, we don’t lose that beauty when we’re in the thick of it, in terms of racing. Each course and track features stunning graphics and beautiful landscapes. You might miss them though, as you finesse around corners at several hundreds of miles per hour. Seriously, how do they do it?

Active Smack Talk from Racers

Yes. Your fellow racing opponents with talk myriad levels of smack. Some in Basic. Some in Huttese. And some in languages where…huh? It makes for an amazing experience when Soren Zaks gives your the absolute business for blowing your engines in the caves on Crait.

No, this is not from experience – not at all.

Star Wars References Upon Star Wars References

If you are an avid Star Wars fan, then there is reference after reference when it comes to the game. I won’t list all of them, but here are a few for the peeps.

Racing That Will Get the Heart Pumping

It’s fast. It’s exhilarating. And boy howdy – old man reflexes make it harder. But that being said, it’s pulse-pounding and each race will test your mettle. And it make it that much sweeter when you come out on top of those moments.

The Bad

A Younger Gamer’s Game…

Time is a cruel mistress. And Star Wars: Galactic Racer is no less of a reminder of her wicked embrace. I struggled at times to keep up with the pace of this game. But I feel that racing fanatics will absolutely adore this facet of the game. A true-to-life racer where one split second is the difference between victory…and the reality of a solid wall.

I’ll be honest – I even hesitated putting this as a “bad”. But I will preface for my above 39-years-old gamers – your reflexes may not be what you thought anymore.

Buyer Beware When It Comes to Abilities

Some Abilities are great. Shout out to Vent. However, some Abilities will spell utter death. Autopilot can be clutch – or a great way to watch Shade get yeeted into a wall.

That being said, be wary of some abilities, as they do more to hinder than help. But I also say that with the context that such abilities may be perfect for a certain pilot.

The Overall

I don’t frequent racing games that often. In fact, Wreckcreation is the last racing game that I have played in easily the past 10 years. But Star Wars: Galactic Racer ignited in me a speed-freak that I didn’t know existed. Every hairpin turn. Every straightaway. Every overtake. It was…adrenaline-laced. The fact that it was couched in the beloved Star Wars universe was merely icing on my metaphorical cake.

Fuse Games have truly given Millennial gamers like myself that spiritual successor to Star Wars Episode I: Racer that we never got. And to them, I give them all the grace that a post-Empire galaxy allows us.

Gamer Social Club was provided an early-access code for the purposes of this review. This review was played on PlayStation 5.