Star Wars: Galactic Racer is an amazing racing game, even for a non-Star Wars fan

I’m not proud to admit it, but I have never played a Star Wars game. In fact, I haven’t even watched the original films. I’ve dabbled in the prequels, watched The Mandalorian and Andor, and maybe even had a fleeting interaction with the Lego Star Wars games in the past, but I don’t think I have the grounding to call myself a fan.

Despite this, I do adore racing games. For me, racing games have always been intuitive, and I think it’s the result of secretly playing Mario Kart on the DS under my bedsheets for hours when I should’ve been asleep (sorry mum). However, Galactic Racer takes my underground Mario Kart days to a new level.

I recently had the chance to play a couple of hours of the game at an event and I was pleasantly surprised. Developed by Fuse Games as a rather bold debut, I truly didn’t know what to expect besides a racing game set in the Lucasfilm universe.

After a bite-sized tutorial playing around with the different vehicles, we launched into the campaign and the first thing I noticed is the audio. Transporting you immediately to a dodgy race track on a galaxy far, far away, the audio in this game is truly phenomenal, and it is a key piece of what makes the world of Galactic Racer feel so real. Whether you choose a speeder bike, land speeder or skim speeder, the sound of each vehicle and the squeak of every engine places you right in the driving seat.

In terms of story, the campaign certainly does the job. You play as the lone racer, Shade, looking for revenge against Kestar Bool, the current champion of the Galactic League and the man behind an evil corporation essentially ruling Shade’s home planet. It’s a simple narrative, but for a racing game it’s certainly effective. It gives both the character, and by extension the player, motivation to conquer the league.

Before blasting around the track as Shade, I was also happy to see a variety of customisation options that included different voices, physical aesthetics and armour styles. It’s small, and not something you see besides in the cutscenes or walking around after each race, but for me choice really does add to the overall experience, and it definitely didn’t go unnoticed.

The gameplay, perfectly paired with the stunning audio, just felt right. Taking tight turns, drifting and boosting myself to victory all felt so fluid, and it’s one of the game’s biggest strengths. It felt exactly how I thought Star Wars racing should feel.

View oEmbed on the source website

The Ramjet mode offered a huge speed boost that challenged my timing with each track, making it endless satisfying to overtake my rivals by drifting around sharp corners. Even crashing, which I did many, many times, felt pleasing rather than punishing, as the game immediately lets you respawn. Although, die too many times and you’ll be sent back to the beginning of the league to conquer new challenges.

Because I was having so much fun racing, I didn’t pay too much attention to the items in the game. It was only a couple of hours in when I started using items and, to be honest, compared to the actual gameplay, I didn’t think they were anything special – far from the iconic blue shells of Mario Kart. However, maybe that’s the point, the focus here is on the actual racing itself.

Similarly, I didn’t take too much notice of the upgrades you could get after each race. I would upgrade something, go into the next race and see little to no difference. But I’m willing to believe this could be a feature that becomes more prevalent in the later stages of the game.

View Green Video on the source website

I suspect for many Star Wars fans, the different game maps will also be a highlight. Whether you’re revving your engines in Jakku, Lantaana or Ando Prime, the game has a variety of different landscapes to traverse. Personally, I took little notice of the maps as I was so focused on not crashing, but for true fans of the franchise this is surely something to be celebrated.

Out of all the vehicles, by far my favourite, both in terms of aesthetics and gameplay, was the skim speeder. Achieving the perfect balance of speed whilst also being able to take sharp turns, knocking my rivals off the track in the process, was an incredible feeling that makes it a standout in the galactic garage.

Now, for you pod-racing loyalists, don’t fret! Alongside the campaign the game also features an arcade and multiplayer mode to fulfil all your pod-racing dreams. It’s a fun option for those who simply want to race rather than delve into another season of the Galactic League.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer has all the elements of an amazing racing game, but it’s true strength lies in its fluid movement and sound design that transports you directly into this galactic universe. Above all though, the game is genuinely so much fun, and even for non-proclaimed Star Wars fans I would highly recommend checking it out when it’s released on 6 October 2026 across PlayStation 5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Check out more of our Gaming coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

Read more: