» Watch video: Star Wars Galactic Racer: Story Trailer
I can’t do anything with motorsports and my experience with racing games is limited to Mario Kart. It’s all the more surprising that I enjoy Star Wars: Galactic Racer on the PC so much.
Martin Hartmann (own opinion):
Conclusion on Star Wars: Galactic Racer:
Star Wars: Galactic Racer lets you race through the galaxy far, far away. The game impresses with great graphics, extremely good sound and a fast driving experience.
In my test I will focus on the single player mode, which takes the form of a roguelite. The many playthroughs not only ensure plenty of playing time, but are also very motivating. Special abilities and customization options keep the gameplay fresh.
The only big disadvantage: the most famous racing sport from the Star Wars universe takes a back seat.
- + Motivating and extensive roguelite campaign
- + Perfect Star Wars atmosphere
- + Many possible driving styles
- – Rather shallow story
- – Pod racing stays in the background for a long time
8/10
This is how Star Wars: Galactic Racer’s single player mode works
Star Wars: Galactic Racer doesn’t tell a very ambitious story. You take on the role of a helmet-wearing protagonist who wants to take revenge on an arrogant prick for past injustices. To do this, however, he has to replace him as champion of the Galactic League.
What gets really exciting is the gameplay genre used to tell this story. It is a Roguelitein which you repeatedly try to achieve the big goal in several successive attempts. After each failure, you will receive permanent updates that make success a little more likely next time. At the same time, you also learn the shortcuts and pitfalls of the routes.
As a big fan of roguelite games like Hades, this rhythm immediately captivated me. Each run (called a tour) offers the opportunity to try out a new riding style. Do I want to set a new speed record with the afterburner this time or just ram my opponents into walls?
There is also a lot to level up and unlock It hits a collecting nerve for me. In a small hub world you also get to know the other racers. Here, too, Galactic Racer surprised me with how likeable I found the group at some point.
But the roguelite campaign isn’t entirely perfect. The variety suffers from the fact that you always have to complete several events on the same planet before you can move on to the next one. The order of the planets is always the same and is only slightly changed as the story progresses. A little more chance and one or two additional racing events would have helped here.
Fast-paced gameplay fun with a great Star Wars atmosphere
Galactic Racer is an incredibly fast game. There are three speeder types available to players, each with their own advantages and disadvantages (no pod racer, more on that later). They all come with an afterburner to accelerate quickly and a ramjet that boosts even further and can also dismantle opponents into their individual parts in the event of a collision. There are also special abilities that make you faster, protect you or slow down opponents.
So there’s a lot to do behind the wheel. With the many boost modes, I really felt like I was controlling a complicated device with tons of switches. Especially at the beginning I just crashed into the wall in a tight corner because I was busy with my skills. It feels even more rewarding to get better and faster over time.
The great graphics and the fantastic sounds ensure that perfect Star Wars atmosphere. What’s even better is that the planets you travel to not only serve as a backdrop, but also change the gameplay. On the ice planet Ando Prime, you can drive through narrow ovens on the track to prevent your speeder from freezing, making it harder to control. Alternatively, this also cools the ramjet, which means you can race longer without your vehicle overheating and ultimately exploding.
By the way, Galactic Racer recommends using a controller on the PC too. After trying it once with a keyboard, I can only share this recommendation.
» Watch video: Star Wars Galactic Racer: Gameplay Trailer
Where are the Podracers?
The famous ones are very common in trailers and screenshots Pod racer from Star Wars: Episode 1 to see. In the story campaign, however, they only play a very small role for a long time. Don’t get me wrong: Pod racers are in the game, you’ll drive them and they’re even closely tied to the story.
However, they are not one of the three speeder types that you will drive most of the time in the game. Maybe there are good reasons for the developers’ decision, but I still find it disappointing. The po racers are implemented fantastically in the game and they also control really well. I just want to be able to drive them more often during the campaign.
After the equally good Star Wars: Zero Company (test), Star Wars: Galactic Racer still rounds off a fantastic year for Star Wars fans. Even as a non-racing game fan, the roguelite mode immediately drew me in. The fast and complex gameplay as well as the great atmosphere make the game a real highlight for fans of the galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars Galactic Racer will be released on October 6th for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.