Star Wars Galactic Racer Turns Podracing into a High Stakes Season of Choices and Crashes

Recent hands-on sessions with Star Wars Galactic Racer let players experience the return of podracing in a way that feels both familiar and new. Fuse Games built the title around a campaign that unfolds as a full season of races across different planets. Players step into the role of Shade, a helmeted pilot working the Outer Rim circuit after the fall of the Empire. The goal stays simple on the surface yet grows more demanding as ranks climb. Success brings credits and upgrade parts that improve cornering, top speed, or extra power for certain abilities. The ultimate target involves taking down a powerful rival named Kestar Bool who sits at the top of the league.

For better or worse, the vehicle you choose makes a huge difference on every run. One will send you drifting and leaning onto its side edge for those tight turns, but at a cost of a few seconds. Then there’s the one that stays steady as a rock when you need to bump a rival or brush the edge of the track, and let’s not forget the speed demons, who blast off the corner like a rocket, and then some, but they require you to be precise with your turns because one wrong move and they start to fall apart. Boosts add a lot of pressure on each lap, whereas a standard afterburner simply recharges and provides you a mild boost without any hassle. Then there’s the Ram jet, which provides you a lot of power but also causes your engine to overheat. If you travel too fast, everything starts to go wrong in a big way.

Planets demand quick thinking; if you become stranded in a corrosive river, you’ll need to pull out some shields to prevent being battered. Ice surfaces present an entirely new challenge, as the Ram jet may go wild for a little longer before overheating becomes a problem. Lava fields are all about timing; get it right, and you’re amazing, but get it wrong, and you’re out. Then there are the shortcuts; drift in at the proper time and you can save important seconds, just make sure you do it correctly.

Of course, there are additional game aspects that add some spice to proceedings, such as ‘last man standing’ events in which the size of the field is reduced with each lap, and if you’re too slow, your run ends. There are cosmetic unlocks and improvements that you can carry over, so your decisions about which races to enter and how to spend your hard-earned money become more important.

Between races, you can stand outside your ship in third person mode and stroll about the paddock garage area, where you can chat with the other drivers, take on a challenge or two, or visit the mechanic to see if he has any new toys for you. They’re very repetitious, but it’s wonderful to have some breathing room away from the never-ending speed and excitement. The visuals are also impressive, as the devs employed Unreal Engine 5 to create some snappy dynamic lighting and well-designed locations. Lava appears quite natural, elements scanned from the actual world provide good textures, and the overall appearance is excellent in both day and night. On the PS5, we typically run at 60 frames per second, with a dynamic resolution of roughly 1440p. Early tests appear to be going well, at least until you are hit by a big explosion.

Four modes allow people to battle however they like. The main campaign is where the tale unfolds throughout the seasons. Scenario mode mixes things up by introducing particular rules or conditions to keep things interesting. Challenge races focus on learning a single skill or vehicle type, while Versus mode pits you against other players in online racing. Burnout provides a good look at the game’s roots by showing how crashes and takedowns play out, with all the slow-motion drama and camera angles that you’d expect, and some of the podracers have a real nod to the original with the added bonus of some modern-day handling, as well as a genuine fear of fragility and the need to manage your boost properly.

The release date is October 6, and it will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X or S, and PC. You can also purchase a physical copy, and some expensive collector editions will include some wonderful extras. Even if it’s still a few months away, what we’ve seen so far appears to be on the right track: a game that takes the best parts of podracing and adds some clever new concepts to make it even more fun and rewarding the more you play it.