Whatever your thoughts on the divisive Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, we could probably all agree that the breakneck podracing sequence was an exciting highlight, which became its own game that beats the likes of Wipeout and F-Zero as the best-selling sci-fi racer of all time, and even got an HD re-release back in 2020. But there was surely more potential to expand on racing to become as much a fixture in the Star Wars universe as lightsaber fights or space dogfights, which brings us nicely to my recent hands-on with Star Wars: Galactic Racer.
Set in the New Republic era after the events of Return of the Jedi, this isn't actually about podracing; instead, it centres on the Galactic League, a high-stakes underground racing tournament that includes a breadth of other high-speed racing vehicles. These include landspeeders, speeder bikes, and a tantalising new vehicle type in the Star Wars universe called skimspeeders. That variety does lead to one character awkwardly trying to mimic young Anakin Skywalker's catchphrase as, "Now this is… racing!" (doesn't quite have the same ring to it, huh), but the idea is being able to unlock and utilise different vehicle types, such as how skimspeeders can rotate sideways on a knife-edge for tight turns.
