There are three things I need you to know about me, folks: I’m not a huge fan of Star Wars, I’m even less of a fan of racing games, and I’m just about as far from being a “car guy” as one can get. I’m telling you all that upfront both as an excuse for my lack of knowledge about the intricacies of my subject today, and as a means of emphasizing how much I enjoy Star Wars: Galactic Racer despite those potential disadvantages. Even with the odds stacked against it, Galactic Racer may well be my Game of the Year this year.

Right before I started writing this review in earnest, I played Star Wars: Galactic Racer for nearly five consecutive hours and had no idea anywhere near that much time had passed because I was so immersed in its gameplay. Heck, the main reason I stopped playing and started writing is because my hands were starting to hurt from holding my controller for so long; typing out this review would at least give my thumbs a rest. Virtually all the time I’ve spent playing Star Wars: Galactic Racer has been in its campaign mode, which certainly seems to have a lot to offer.

In Galactic Racer’s campaign, you play as Shade, a faceless courier who fancies themselves good enough at racing to join the Galactic League formed by Darius Pax. Before you can join the League for real, you have to win a qualifying tournament. That tournament serves as the first chapter of the campaign. To participate in the League to any extent, you need at least one League Token, which you can ordinarily only get by signing a contract with a major financial backer of the League. You can’t do that during the qualifying tournament, so Darius Pax sneaks you in so long as you keep quiet.

You will be expected to compete in various types of races across four different planets in the qualifying tournament. Each planet’s climate and environment tends to have different effects on your vehicles, though these can vary in how annoying they are depending on which of the three available vehicle types you’re driving. You’ll ultimately be able to choose between a landspeeder, a speeder bike, and a new vehicle type introduced to the Star Wars universe by Galactic Racer, the skimspeeder. As you might expect, each type of vehicle has distinct advantages and disadvantages over the other two.

If your steering freezes up because you’re racing on a tundra planet, for example, you’ll likely be less affected by that in a landspeeder than with either type of bike. Considering Star Wars: Galactic Racer is, well, a racing game set in the Star Wars universe, you might not expect that its campaign mode would also be a roguelite, but it is. I know, it sounds weird to jam those two concepts together to me, too. However, one of the aspects of Galactic Racer that has most pleasantly surprised me is that I think Galactic Racer actually pulls this off quite well.

In the initial qualifying tournament and each wing of the League thereafter, losing certain types of races or wrecking your vehicle too many times within a single race will cause you to lose a League Token. If you lose all your League Tokens, you’re kicked out of the League until the next racing season begins. During each race you complete before losing your last League Token, you’ll earn currencies you can spend on permanent upgrades for all three vehicle types that will help improve your chances in each new season. That’s in addition to temporary upgrades you lose if you’re forced out of the League.

Apparently, Galactic Racer is set in the so-called “New Republic Era” of Star Wars canon that begins after the events of the film Return of the Jedi. Famous racers from Episode I – The Phantom Menace, like Sebulba and Ben Quadinaros, play notable roles in Galactic Racer’s campaign mode. Again, I know basically nothing about Star Wars in general, so none of what I’ve just told you means anything to me. Nevertheless, I figured I ought to at least mention it since I know much of our readership will be more familiar with the significance of those elements of Galactic Racer.

Aside from its rather meaty campaign mode, Galactic Racer also features an arcade mode and scenario mode. These allow you to challenge your friends to beat your records in time trials and play through famous racing (and, more specifically, podracing) events from Star Wars’ history, to name a couple of examples. As I said, I went into Galactic Racer with no idea that I would get quite so sucked into its core gameplay as I’ve become. If I had to guess, I’d say the campaign’s roguelite elements combined with the personalities of the other racers in the League immersed me the most.

I suppose I’ll conclude by answering a few rapid-fire questions about my thoughts on Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Is Star Wars: Galactic Racer a contender for my Game of the Year this year? Yes, and it’s honestly pretty high up on that list. Did I experience any accessibility concerns in its gameplay? None to speak of, though I know that’s not a universal experience. Did I laugh like a madman every time I heard or read a character say the Huttese expletive “poodoo”? Well, I’m extremely mature, so of course I did. Star Wars: Galactic Racer has more than earned my general recommendation.

A PC review copy of Star Wars: Galactic Racer was provided by Secret Mode for this review.

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Star Wars: Galactic Racer

$59.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Highly enjoyable core gameplay loop.
• Addicting roguelite elements in the campaign mode.
• Plenty of modes available outside the campaign.
• Emphasis on both local and online multiplayer support.

Cons

• Leans rather heavily on fan-service intended for those familiar with Star Wars canon.
• Takes quite a while to load if it isn’t installed on a speedy SSD.