Galactic Racer SGF hands-on preview

In 1999, we were introduced to the ever-dangerous world of Podracing in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Following the release of the movie, we got the tie-in racing game from LucasArts: Star Wars Episode I: Racer for PC and the Nintendo 64. I remember playing this game over and over, trying to prove to myself and my friends that I could handle a Podracer. Granted, I was six when it came out originally, and I had six year old gaming skills. However, as I grew up, I fully beat the game multiple times trying to chase those leaderboards. Fast forward to 2002 when Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones released, we got Star Wars Racer Revenge from LucasArts and Rainbow Studios for the PlayStation 2. Keep in mind, the story mode in this game wasn’t necessarily canon even within Legends continuity. Regardless, it was fun getting to have more Podracing, and this time, you could crash into opponents to get them out of the match.

24 years later, developer Fuse Games and publisher Secret Mode have taken on the daunting task of crafting a brand new racing game in the Star Wars universe fully living within the Canon. As a fan, I had the highest of expectations, and in the demo I played through, they’ve hit the mark and then some!

Set post-Return of the Jedi, we play as Shade. Normally a smuggler or Cargo Hauler (we got a little glimpse during the demo of Shade’s jobs before racing), they are now throwing their helmet onto the track by way of Galactic Racing. After the Fall of the Empire, Darius Pax (a Besalisk) created the Galactic League to bring racing back to the galaxy. This time, with multiple ways to drive since most human-humanoids cannot Podrace given the speed of the Podracers as well as the dexterity needed to pilot one correctly. This comes in the form of three forms of transportation you’ll have access to:

Landspeeders: The most balanced vehicle. It’s great at Drifting and keeping speed up throughout the race. It’s somewhat durable, but you don’t want to take too bad a beating.
Speeder Bikes: Small and fast. Takes some time to get a handle of the turning you’ll need to learn. Their main positives are the extremely high speed and their ability Kenetic Burst to give you an extra push.
Skim Speeders: A new vehicle to the Star Wars universe with high speeds and intense turns. Their afterburners are legendary but burn out quickly, so use it wisely.

You’ll be able to choose from these three after the opening tutorial area before you jump into League Races. During the campaign, you’ll be able to use upgrades, parts, and add abilities to your racer. I didn’t have a chance to see a ton of this, but the stuff I did see looked interesting to build a racer around. Galactic Racer will have 14 Racer Styles to choose from and modify to fit how you want to play.

Now, let’s get into the racing itself. Each vehicle feels wildly different from each other, and some may take players longer to master than others. While it may not feel as fast as Podracers from previous racing Star Wars games, Galactic Racer keeps things high-octane with some pretty intense turns and paths to follow. My biggest flubs during my demo were when I got a little too curious about a path and took a turn too quickly or simply not fast enough. I found drifting to feel really good with the Landspeeder, and I was able to get some awesome moments during my races on Jakku (which takes place in the graveyard of ships from the Battle of Jakku).

While avoiding the terrain, lava, destroyed Star Destroyers, and more; you’ll also need to try and learn how you want to handle other racers. In Galactic Racer you can and will get hit and take damage. Your racer can only take so much, so be careful not to spend time smashing into another racer and then not have enough stability to brush against a wall. It’s life or death out here as well, so if you break down, there’s a good chance you won’t be winning the race at all.

As you continue your experiences with Galactic Racer, you’ll be able to travel to a few different planets. Of the planets we’re aware of, there’s Jakku, Lantana, Ando Prime, Sentinel I, and Derven Acos. All provide something different to the table. While you can look most of these up and get somewhat of an understanding of the terrain and geography, I only got to play through Jakku and a few races on Lantaana. Jakku is a great opening world as there’s plenty to crash into yet still provides a wide berth for you to learn and make SOME mistakes. Meanwhile, Lantana is full of volcanoes that can damage your racer, and some of the turns can be super tight.

The campaign should be a lot of fun if the demo is representative of the full game. I really love that there’s a story mode at all and that it’s fully canon within the current Star Wars lore.

While the campaign will have everything you’d want from a story, if you want some quick racing and some PODRACING you’ll want to jump into Arcade. As I’ve mentioned, I’ve played Podracing games before. Nothing could have prepared me for the speed and fragility of Podracers inside of Galactic Racing. I was lucky enough to play some races as Sebulba and his iconic orange and black Podracer. Some familiar faces were there, but we’ll let that fully be a surprise.

As we hit the start of the race, I lurched forward in my chair in excitement, as these Podracers are FAST. Not just fast. FAST FAST. This is the first time I’ve played a Star Wars racing game and felt just how few humans should even be able to participate in those races. As we shot out the opening area, we got into multiple terrains that made piloting hard. On top of that were other racers trying to take me out too. So not only am I having to focus on the course, but now on other racers, my abilities, and not burning the Pod out or blowing up. I had an absolute blast and wished I could’ve kept playing for so much longer.

Graphically, these planets are stunning, the vehicle detail is out of this galaxy, and the amount of customization for Shade, even in the demo, was more than I could have asked for. Multiple styles of outfits, colors, helmets; all for you to choose from to make Shade look how you want them to look! At the beginning of each race you have a series of button combinations that will turn your racer on, I assume you’ll be punished for messing them up, but with my limited time I didn’t want to risk it. During this, the lights and sounds make your vehicle burst into light with the roaring engines. It’s so nice seeing the level of detail that the team added to Galactic Racer. From aliens to vehicles, and all of the amazing world-detail; it’s simply a stunning racing game to play.

This IS the racing game we’ve been looking for, and Fuse Games has hit their demo out of the park. For that, I awarded Star Wars: Galactic Racer one GamingTrend's “Best of Summer Game Fest” awards. I simply cannot wait for the full release on October 6th, 2026.