What would it be like to hop into a podracer and take part in one of the greatest spectacles in the galaxy? Now you can find out – or at least get as close as possible.
That’s because of Galactic Racer, the newest Star Wars video game, which allows you to race landspeeders, speeder bikes, and, yes, podracers. It’s a non-stop thrill ride, amounting to one of the best Star Wars games in a long, long time.
The heart of the game lies in its campaign mode, though the longevity of the game will likely come through the multiplayer modes. The campaign is set during the New Republic era (sometime in-between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens). The Empire had tried to shut down racing, but after that regime fell Darius Pax founded the Galactic League to promote racing in the Outer Rim. The races take place on Lantaana, Sentinel One, Ando Prime (created for the Episode 1: Racer game in 1999), Jakku, and Crait, while the final cup happens on Derven Acos. The Galactic League is dominated by a racer named Kestar Bool, but the playable character – the mysterious Shade – is brought in to beat Bool. Along the way, it’s revealed that the stakes are immensely personal between the two of them. The greatest racer of them all, Sebulba, is also involved, coaching you on how to become a better racer to beat Kestar. As part of his training, he pits you againt some of his old racing ‘buddies’, like Ben Quadinaros and Gasgano.
The campaign takes place across three stages. The first stage is all about trying to qualify for the Galactic League, proving your worth over the multi-planet campaign and culminating in the Galactic Cup. If you win that, you’ll move on to the second stage, where you are fully part of the League, racing across the planets in an attempt to be positioned to beat Bool in the Cup. If you manage to do this (and you’ll have to re-start a new league season a few times), it moves to a third stage – and to avoid spoilers I’ll just say that Kestar Bool makes for a great villain in this game, and you’ll see that as you enter and play through this third stage.
On that subject, one of the things I really appreciate about this story is how well it fits in to the Star Wars continuity but how personal the story and stakes are. Kestar Bool is not a villain threatening the fate of the galaxy, or anything close – but his ego combined with his messy history with Shade make him a true foe nonetheless. This game doesn’t have to be about saving the galaxy; it’s about racing really fast and trying to win the Galactic League. It’s a lot of fun.
The playstyle is tremendous, capturing the high speed thrills of flying through the courses. You can upgrade your racer according to your liking, with lots of possibilities and options. This allows you to make some strategic decisions about where to invest your resources (all-in on speed? Resilience? Sharper turns?), and choose upgrades based on your preferred playstyle. The customization helps to make the runs feel fresh, as you try to build your ideal racer. It’s a bit of a disappointment how often you have to re-start your build afresh, but you get used to it pretty quickly. It’s a really fun game to play, and it captures really well the feeling of a true racing game in the Star Wars galaxy.
Whether you’re racing against internet sensation Biddy Blas or racing against your own friends online via multiplayer, this is a game well worth your time. The only negative about the game is its lack of a split-screen multiplayer, which might limit a bit of its staying power among some fans. It’s a shame how few games devote much attention whatsoever to offline modes, but that’s a bigger issue than this one could ever hope to solve. There’s still plenty of action to be enjoyed across its other modes.
When we first learned about the game, and upon seeing the initial trailers, I thought it looked like an enjoyable time doing some racing, but I wasn’t sure it would be much more than that. This game has exceeded every one of my expectations, by far, and is easily one of the best Star Wars games released in a long time.
