Star Wars Galactic Racer Review, Gameplay Impressions, Videos and Top Features

Star Wars: Galactic Racer from developer Fuse Games very clearly isn't settling for being a run-of-the-mill arcade racer with a flashy license.

Instead, Galactic Racer sprinkles innovation all over the tried-and-true genre while predictably nailing the gameplay elements better than most genre mates.

Fuse Games might be new, but the fingerprints of great racers are all over Galactic Racer, which makes sense, as senior developers from Criterion Games, of Need for Speed and Burnout fame, are involved here.

It shows, and at launch, it's super obvious other racing games will be scrambling to take inspiration from this brilliant marriage of gameplay and overarching systems.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is gorgeous. It's a modern Burnout with a Star Wars layer of paint that is impossible to ignore.

All the detailing, visual effects and sound design are there, but the general racing game staples like cities and mountains have been replaced with dusty, detailed backwater locales where some of the most interesting Star Wars tales are free to take place. Gone are traditional vehicles in favor of unique Star Wars vehicles and all the odd alien species to boot.

The Burnout DNA is all over this one. Getting aggressive with opponents and sending them off the track into a fireball of carnage gets the beloved slow-mo takedown perspective.

Plus, the sense of speed is nearly unmatched in the genre. It helps that the controls are punchy, the vehicles weighty and the rip-roaring sound design is so immersive.

Galactic Racer adds in that arcade-like feel to each run with a standard turbo boost system, plus another risk-reward boost that lets players flirt with "redlining" an engine. Push that boost too far and the vehicle explodes (though certain perks and builds let players toy with this risk-reward balance in great ways).

Tack on little details that play with the world and track designs, too, like a progressing freezing meter that players can cleanse by steering into a heat vent. Problem is, everyone wants to do that, so there are wrecks to be had at that event, to say the least. Some wrecks feel unfair, given the nature of this Star Wars racer at these speeds, but it's never ruins the experience.

Players select from a handful of vehicle classes:

Like simulation racers, players have a fine control over upgrades, parts, abilities and styles. Much of these are what they sound like: Parts offer passive shakeups to control of a vehicle (and come in different rarities), abilities are actionable on track and the 14 racer styles have unique traits and/or abilities.

It's a lot. And it's a welcome ' a lot .' This game could have easily gone an arcade-racer route with a handful of different-feeling characters and called it a day. Instead, there's a fine layer of player agency in how they navigate each run.

Galactic Racer also goes a really unique route, with the solo campaign actually being a roguelite, or what the game calls "runs-based."

So in that spirit, a run can end with a wreck that scraps a current vehicle build, players can fine-tune the actual risk involved before a run and there are overarching progression systems to improve, even in a loss.

There is, believe it or not, some off-track gameplay here too in the form of little third-person breaks that progress the story. It's another little "they didn't have to do this, yet did" sort of addition that is appreciated.

Player agency is the name of the game, from start to finish. The superb overarching design decisions in these areas are only bolstered by the fantastic-feeling racing itself.

Narratively, Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set after Return of the Jedi, meaning the New Republic Era. That gives the game some serious creative leeway to loop in plenty of deep cuts as characters.

Physically, the tale's Galactic League takes place in the Outer Rim and sees the protagonist, beyond simply trying to win, support Darius Pax against the bad guys.

It's fantastic. The marriage of Star Wars lore and settings with traditional racing-game stuff is so great. This is an unsanctioned league, yet syndicates sponsor racers just like brands would in say, a racing sim like Forza or similar. Contracts from backers offer in-race objectives, too.

And again, this being a sort of roguelite makes the solo campaign have a certain level of replayability. Players pick event paths via a chart, sort of like the route map from say, Slay the Spire.

Customization only adds another layer of player control and replayability, too. Progression-wise, like similarly-designed efforts across roguelite genres, players can still make progress despite defeat. Things like points that purchase vehicles, the styles and even a sort of reputation system carry over between runs.

An arcade mode is the expected time-based sprints with unlocks and a variety of scenario modes like events, time trials and others. Speaking of scenarios, it gets its own mode here. These involve racer styles unlocked via campaign mode, making each longish scenario feel unique to that character.

Online multiplayer for Galactic Racer loops in up to 12 players. There's a general quick race mode, but the real highlight is Multiplayer Tour.

That mode features a six-planet tour in which players earn upgrades and kit out their build over the course of the event before the big finish. Things like backer contracts are there, too, but so are pre-race bets in which a player properly betting on their finish can earn even more rewards.

It's a blast, and the progression of unlocks doesn't hurt either. These multiplayer bits unlock plenty of things like customization options, including new liveries.

Despite the chaos and visual effects at high speeds, Galactic Racer runs well and hits the expected notes, including difficulty settings, in the options menus.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer does the near-impossible: It surpasses the lofty expectations that come with the Star Wars license and overdelivers with surprises atop the usual arcade racer formula.

Talk about innovative, too. Whereas recent racers like Mario Kart have dabbled in the open-world side, Galactic Racer plays the "what if?" game by taking its arcade racer in a Slay the Spire direction.

The results are engrossing. Addictive, even. Truly, the Star Wars window dressing atop the whole thing is just an added bonus. It's nice to have another in-universe hit like this so soon after Star Wars Zero Company, no doubt, but this would have been a hit regardless.

None of this, by the way, mentions the superb balance between pick-up-and-play with competitive depth, too. Star Wars: Galactic Racer is an incredible first lap for the developer and easily on the Game of the Year shortlist.