Have you ever wondered what happens after a war and story ends? How do you think people make a living or find a thrill to fill their lives? Well in the Star Wars Universe, a lot of people go back to racing. Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a racing game where you go planet to planet racing some of the best to become the number one racer in the galaxy.
You play as Shade, a delivery driver who has natural skills behind the wheel. He is brought in to dethrone the current champion, who is a spoiled brat who whines when he loses an exhibition race that won’t even affect his standing. The moment I met him I immediately wanted to take him and put him in his place. He was the main reason Shade decided to join the league to show him who is boss.
When the game starts you are given a chance to try out the three different types of vehicles, so you can find the one that best fits your style. Whether it’s pure speed, endurance, or a balance of the two, you get the chance to race your way. Then you get to customize Shade so you can choose their armor, helmet, color, and voice. I would have liked to be able to choose the body type however. While you can choose the voice to make Shade a male or female, you’re stuck as a human, and in the world of Star Wars, there are hundreds of species, so an option to choose your species would have been a nice touch, but it’s not a deal breaker. As you race and win credits you can purchase parts to both improve and change how your vehicle looks. As you compete in races, you will have to take advantage of this system to stay on top. You also have a partner who will randomly build parts for free but they will be unfinished and unstable. But you can spend credits to have them continue developing the part so when the next circuit starts you will have a perfected part.
To start racing you have to choose a circuit path. You get the chance to see what to expect before you choose your path. You get the obvious races, but you can also try out new vehicles and abilities, meet different characters, and even get a chance to obtain rare parts. If you are struggling in races, you can choose the path with fewer races and try to get parts, and if you are short on credits, go for the path with more races. Even if you don’t get first you’ll still get credit, so save up and get ready to improve your ride.
I do have a small issue with the circuit path mechanic. If you make a mistake in a race or when testing out a vehicle and fail the challenge, you don’t get a chance to try again. This is a turn off for new gamers since they don’t know the tracks, and the tracks aren’t as obvious as to what the actual path is, so you are bound to hit the wall because you don’t know where the turns are. This could have been easily fixed with having a retry option and if they don’t want it to be abused you can have it so you have to use credits to try again. This would give new players a chance to improve their skills and enjoy the game more.
The actual races are fast paced and get your blood pumping. You have to keep an eye on your surroundings and other racers. Your vehicle has a shield that you can activate during the race to protect against the other racers when they try to ram into you, you can only use it once so use it sparingly. Of course you also have your boost to temporarily speed forward and past the others. You also have a special boost that will allow you to ram into other racers and cause them to crash and force them to respawn and lose their momentum. However if you abuse this special boost you will lose it and be at a disadvantage so dont over use it.
In conclusion, Star Wars: Galactic Racers is a fun racing game for both fans and non fans of Star Wars. With fast paced racing, tons of customization and an engaging story, this is a highly recommended game to add to your library and collection of Star War collectibles.
Score: 8 out of 10
Reviewed on PlayStation 5
