Motorsport is an incredibly dangerous thing to take part in. Think about it: you\u2019re strapping yourself to a machine that harnesses the energy of explosions to propel you forward at speeds that, should you strike another object, will likely prove lethal. And yet so many racing games fail to convey the white-knuckle line between thrill and fear. A whole generation of digital drivers have grown up with on-screen racing lines that show them the perfect acceleration path through a hazardous corner and rewind systems that negate the impact of crashes. <\/p>\n
I did not expect Star Wars: Galactic Racer to be the game that addresses those problems. And yet it all makes sense \u2013 in a galaxy far, far away, motorsport takes place at vastly higher speeds in much deadlier vehicles across far more dangerous terrain. If it was going to feel exactly right, of course developer Fuse Games had to dial up the fear. <\/p>\n
During a four-hour session I was able to play through the entirety of the first act of Galactic Racer\u2019s single-player campaign, which takes your protagonist, Shade, from their first-ever race to the head-to-head qualifier that will earn them entry into the Galactic League tournament. Across that journey, I experienced the thrill of fear in two different ways. The first is the most obvious: speed. Galactic Racer is fast<\/em>. No matter your vehicle choice \u2013 the graceful Skim Speeder, nimble Speederbike, well-rounded Landspeeder, or (later in the campaign) the fast-but-fragile podracer \u2013 it\u2019s immediately evident that you\u2019re piloting vehicles that move much faster than the cars of our own world.<\/p>\n That breakneck speed is enhanced by the design of the tracks. On the starting planet of Jakku, you\u2019ll be speeding around and through<\/em> that iconic crashed Star Destroyer. When you\u2019re hammering the throttle and wrestling with 11 other racers, the sudden switch from wide open desert plains to navigating through the tight tunnels of a spaceship\u2019s engine bay makes for a sudden burst of sweaty-palmed tension. Miscalculating your trajectory into the rusting carcass of an afterburner or fuel line can tear your speeder apart. Crash too many times and you\u2019re out of the tournament, sent back to the very start of the act to try again. <\/p>\n Yes, Galactic Racer is a roguelite. And that\u2019s the second way in which it makes motorsport feel so dangerous: mistakes are costly, and the further into the campaign you get, the higher the stakes become. As you rush through your sixth, seventh, eighth race of the run, every clip and close call becomes ever more distressing. Perched on the very edge of my seat, I found myself willing the racing gods to ensure this final lap went well, save me having to attempt the run all over again. <\/p>\n \u201c<\/strong>We felt really keenly that we needed to progress [racing games],\u201d explained Matt Webster, CEO and co-founder of Fuse Games, when I asked about the roguelite campaign structure. \u201cThey need to innovate. It’s felt a little bit static in terms of what you play, how you play, what you play with. [Galactic Racer] looked like a great opportunity for us to lean into consequential decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n Galactic Racer\u2019s campaign design is all about risk and consequence. The first act sees you compete across four planets, each of which hosts four events chosen from a selection that are plotted across a couple of different pathways. Which path you lock into is one of the earliest choices you make in each run. Analysing each route is crucial to success, as it allows you to consider your own strengths and weaknesses and opt for the event sequence that offers the greatest chance of success. <\/p>\n If there\u2019s a pathway that\u2019s mostly standard races, that\u2019s great \u2013 podium finishes provide strong cash rewards and, provided you don\u2019t crash out, even coming in last will keep you in the running. Even better is the Field Test: a solo speed run in an experimental vehicle with the aim of pushing your engine (and your skills) to the very limit. Succeeding provides a bounty of rewards, but perhaps more importantly, there\u2019s zero punishment if you fail. Even better for the cautious player is a path that includes a \u201cMystery Encounter\u201d, which rather than an event you can lose is a conversation with a friend (or foe) that can offer an interesting upgrade. Much more nerve-wracking is the Eliminator, a brutal race in which those tailing behind are knocked out of the tournament. Only those in the top three can progress. <\/p>\n \u201cYou fear the Eliminator,\u201d says Webster. \u201cYou fear the critical malfunction. When you’ve got one crash left, you start to race differently. You start to think, \u2018Maybe a podium finish here isn’t for me. I\u2019ve just got to survive.\u2019 And that’s a very deliberate balancing act to land those emotional feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n Each run is randomly generated, but the RNG that powers Galactic Racer\u2019s campaign uses a calculated ruleset to ensure each pathway offers an interesting journey. Every run provides options \u2013 some easier, some harder \u2013 with paths designed to push risk, reward, and consequence. <\/p>\n \u201cThe richness of the experience, the highs, the lows, the journey, the goal setting, that is the special sauce right there,\u201d says creative director Kieran Crimmins. \u201cWe saw it in other games. We wanted it in racing games.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a lot of craft and care and attention put into that to sculpt [the campaign] emotionally,\u201d adds Webster. \u201cAnd here we are talking about an arcade racer! And that’s the surprise that I think that we really wanted to bring here.\u201d<\/p>\n As I began to settle in and learn the ins-and-outs of my Landspeeder, I found my priorities shifted significantly. After discovering just how dangerous each race can be, and the consequence of failing a run, I became very risk-averse. I\u2019d choose routes that had more Field Tests and fewer Eliminators, knowing that even if I failed those Field Tests I\u2019d still be in the game. But I soon realised that simple survival isn\u2019t always the best path \u2013 you need victories to earn the best rewards, and those rewards upgrade your vehicle into a much more powerful machine. I learned how I like to race, that I love to take on dangerous corners and narrow pathways but that my judgement of those distances is impaired by my speed. And so I invested in bolstering my Landspeeder\u2019s resilience and drifting, allowing me to swing through those chicanes without worrying about scraping along the edge of the circuit (as well as smashing through other competitors). Those choices made victory more realistic, and so I took more risks. I earned the rewards. Every moment became a decision on the road to victory. <\/p>\n <\/p>\nStar Wars: Galactic Racer – June 2026 Screenshots<\/h3>\n