Star Wars Galactic Racer Preview (Hands-on Summer Game Fest 2026)
No matter how you felt about Star Wars Outlaws, there was no denying that Ubisoft crafted an incredible world on par with the cinematic universe that immersed you and made you feel like you were part of another galaxy far, far away.
Star Wars Galactic Racer does exactly the same thing, as it captures the magic of the iconic franchise. The vistas are familiar, the sounds are iconic and the experience is unforgettable. It’s a game that harnesses the spirit of Star Wars Episode 1 Racer from 1999, but at speeds that are almost nausea inducing and with a much deeper gameplay.
Star Wars Galactic Racer is being developed by new studio Fuse Games, but despite this being their debut, the team has plenty of experience in the AAA arena, but more specifically in racing. The studio is composed of many former Criterion developers, the studio behind the iconic Burnout series. The studio was co-founded by the former VP and GM of Criterion Games before they were pivoted to a Battlefield studio. If you’re wondering, it does play like Star Wars Burnout.
The focus of Fuse is to create high quality games that focus on terrific feel, innovative features, visual spectacle and exciting audio. Unsurprisingly, Star Wars Galactic Racer checks all of these boxes, and yes there are spectacular explosions, but the biggest surprise is that Star Wars Galactic Racer is a roguelite.
ROGUE-LITE ONE
After the Empire was defeated, the Galatic League was created. An underground, illegal racing circuit. You play as Shade, a lone wolf with a skill for racing and penchant for revenge. To get to the top, you’ll have to use the highly coveted pod racers, speeder bikes, land speeders and more. All of which, handle extremely differently.
Galactic Racer is run based, meaning you are trying to win the league, but in the chance you fail, which is intended for the genre, you will keep a lot of your winnings in an attempt to make you better, faster and stronger the next time around. Stating true to the genre, you will unlock abilities that will greatly affect performance. Abilities where takedowns greatly increase speed like the Lethal Velocity ability or Reconstituted Fuel which refills your afterburners upon a perfect landing.
There is never a dull moment in Star Wars Galactic Racer. During the race, your main goal will be to stay alive as everyone is out to kill you or any other racer that gets in their way. You’ll only survive if you can be equally as cold blooded. Like any Racer worth its galactic salt, there are plenty of shortcuts, meaning you will need to weigh the risk vs reward of them, but having an eye out for them will keep you on your toes.
Another way that Galactic Racer brings some fresh ideas to the racing genre is how it makes full use of the Star Wars IP and all of the distinct planets within as environmental concerns are a big factor. On planets that are covered in ice, it will be imperative that you pass through the heaters so that your ship doesn’t freeze. On planets with lava, you’ll need to be more aware of overheating and i’m sure there will be more environmental concerns on other tracks that weren’t in the demo.
Star Wars Galactic Racer requires your full attention on the track, but even before the race begins, your hands will be full. Just as you can gain a slight edge at the beginning of a Mario Kart race, Galactic Racer incorporates something similar. In one way you try to prime your after-burners on the starting grid through button commands reminiscent to requesting reinforcements in Helldivers. The other pre race skill testing moment is trying to keep your throttle in the right section of the gauge to successfully get a starting boost. Doing something pre race is very reminiscent of Mario Kart, but there are enough wrinkles to the time tested formula and as the saying goes, “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”
As someone who used to play a lot of arcade racers, I eventually grew tired of the genre probably around 2008 after Burnout Paradise ironically. The Star Wars IP, the narrative focused campaign, and the roguelite gameplay loop are plenty of reasons to make me interested in the genre once more. Star Wars Galactic Racer felt like the shot in the arm the genre needs and gives arcade racers a new hope.
