Star Wars: Galactic Racer Reviews Praise Its Burnout-Style Arcade Racing
Eurogamer, VGC and PC Gamer have all reviewed Star Wars: Galactic Racer, and they agree on one thing: it plays a lot like classic Burnout.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer is getting plenty of attention from reviewers, mostly because of where it comes from. Fuse Games was founded by former Criterion developers who worked on Burnout, and all three reviews say it shows. Here is what the critics are saying.
A Burnout homecoming
Eurogamer describes the game as a "homecoming" for Burnout fans. Its reviewer says the first boost and the crash camera instantly felt familiar. Takedowns are even still called Takedowns.
VGC calls it a throwback to the PS2 racing era and "one of the best arcade racers in years". Its review says that when you hit a rival hard enough, they fly into a wall and burst into flames. The classic Burnout camera follows the wreckage.
PC Gamer is a little more measured on this point. It says takedowns matter less than expected, and that this is "an actual racing game" rather than a string of crashes. It also notes the game doesn't steer for you during a takedown the way Burnout 3 did.
How the campaign works
The story is set in the days after the fall of the Empire. According to VGC, you play Shade, a mysterious racer seeking revenge on a rival named Kestar. The campaign travels across familiar Star Wars planets and ends in a championship race.
Each session starts with a league entry token. If you miss a race objective, you lose the token and must restart the series. VGC says it isn't brutal, because you don't have to win every race, but it does raise the stakes.
After each race you earn a reward based on your finishing position. Rewards can be new abilities, stat boosts or parts for your ship. Sponsors, such as the Hutts in VGC's playthrough, change how you earn credits.
Sometimes you pick between two race types. One might be an Elimination race, where the player in last place is knocked out after a set time. The other might be a pod racer test flight, which won't end your run if you die. VGC says the Elimination race pays far better, which tempts you to take the risk.
PC Gamer says this run-based structure shakes up the racing formula more successfully than Burnout Paradise's open world did.
Vehicles and boost
There are three vehicle types:
- a landspeeder
- a speeder bike
- the skim speeder, which VGC says is new to Star Wars canon via this game
VGC says each can be heavily customised. Eurogamer and PC Gamer both highlight a two-boost system. An Afterburner works much like Burnout's boost. PC Gamer describes it as a modest boost on a cooldown, alongside a faster "ramjet" boost that can overheat if pushed too far.
Eurogamer also praises the game's "junky" take on Star Wars, with rusty machines and sparking droids rather than Jedi. PC Gamer mentions speeds of 450 km/h and says it's hard to read alien-language subtitles at that pace.
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What it means for you
If you miss Burnout-style racing, these reviews suggest Galactic Racer is worth a look. Be ready for a campaign where one failed race can send you back to the start of a run. PC Gamer reviewed the Windows version, lists a Steam page and says Steam Deck support is unknown. Check the store listing for your platform before you buy.
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