Star Wars: Galactic Racer has been showing off more and more gameplay through previews recently, showing a surprising blend of fast-paced podracing and rougelike mechanics throughout its modes. Unlike a variety of other titles in the racing genre, Galactic Racer seems dedicated to a theme of tense stakes, injecting each race with sudden consequences if you crash. Far from just getting last place, losing in this title carries far greater excitement for players to feel.
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The events of Star Wars: Galactic Racer take place in the Outer Rim, where the underground Galactic League circuit gets around several laws to entice daring racers. The campaign of this game follows your character entering the League and earning credits through your victories to eventually challenge the circuit’s reigning champion — Kestar Bool. All types of vehicles are available to customize, from classic podracer designs to bulkier speeders or faster speeder bikes for players to chose based on their preference.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer Adds Real Consequences To Losing Through Its Roguelike Structure
The structure of Star Wars: Galactic Racer‘s campaign is broken up into multiple phases of the Galactic Circuit, which are randomized in a roguelike format. For example, the Act 1: Qualifier round of your run has three different starting points you can choose from, but the events that follow it are generated by chance. The only consistent part of a run is the order in which you travel to different planets, starting with Jakku and making your way to Lantaana and other systems around the Star Wars universe.
Nodes along your path represent various events, which you’ll sometimes get the opportunity to pick between to help personalize the run that best suits your strengths. However, it is impossible to fully predict which events will come next until your overall path is generated across every planet at the start of your run. As a result, you’ll have to plan on the fly, as any failure will send you right back to the start with a new Circuit map to navigate. Some of the events you could encounter include:
- Field Test – Solo race where you have to complete a route within a certain time, usually with a brand-new vehicle.
- Race – Standard race against 12 opponents, where different placements earn different rewards or progression.
- Eliminator Event – Race or series of races where the last place competitors are eliminated.
- Mystery Encounter – An unpredictable racing event with various modifiers, including story-specific content.
Never knowing exactly what you’ll encounter makes a loss feel devastating, as you’ll sometimes run into situations where you aren’t fully prepared. Even as you earn rewards to upgrade your racer’s build or customize your vehicle, a sudden change in your path might spell doom before you reach the finish line. Star Wars: Galactic Racer is unlike other racing games due to how severe its consequences are, with no checkpoints or places in your route that can save you once you fail.
Many Other Racing Titles Avoid Serious Stakes For A Vastly Different Tone
Other racing franchises are far more forgiving, usually giving players a variety of tools to not suffer total losses throughout the course of a race. Usually, the most brutal part of a game like Forza Horizon or Need for Speed is having to restart a race because you got last place or failed a mission’s goals. In Star Wars: Galactic Racer, one small move could cost you hours of progress, resetting your character back to the beginning of their racing journey in an instant.
Even the introductory levels in Star Wars: Galactic Racer are brutal, with standard Race events still being intense affairs that could have you crash and burn at any moment. Multiple sharp turns and debris-strewn routes could throw your vehicle into a tough spot, with tight walls sometimes leading to fiery explosions that throw your rougelike run back to its start. Afterburners, Kinetic Burst, or Knife Edge abilities on some vehicle types give you tools to avoid crashing, but overusing these mechanics can cause you to overheat and explode if you aren’t careful.
Customization & Experimentation Are Encouraged In Galactic Racer To Overcome Tough Hurdles
Thankfully, the intensity of the campaign’s structure is offset somewhat by the casual approach taken to Star Wars: Galactic Racer‘s other modes. Players can jump into Arcade mode for quick races with no consequences, emulating other racing games without any of the tension of the roguelike missions. Similarly, Scenarios mode has long-form challenges with different playable characters, offering a different sort of progression that is also more “traditional” to the genre through lower stakes.
The benefits of Star Wars: Galactic Racer come from its variety, with players able to jump into whatever mode suits the tone they’re looking for. The campaign represents an almost realistic look into the dangers behind this type of sci-fi racing, making the struggle to find success far more impactful than some other titles in the genre. At the same time, Arcade and Scenarios provide areas for players to practice before jumping into the campaign, merging a casual racing environment with typical Star Wars flair and references for a larger audience to enjoy.
One of the aspects of this game I enjoy the most from its previews is that is seems to give players far more freedom in the type of racing game they engage with. Hardcore or intense racing game enthusiasts will likely find the campaign great, while some players may just play in Arcade mode their entire playtime. Either approach is a valid way of jumping into Star Wars: Galactic Racer, easily making it one of the most accessible racing titles I’ve seen in a long time.
What do you think about Star Wars: Galactic Racer‘s varied approach to its game modes? Leave a comment below or join the conversation in the ComicBook Forum!
