- Primary Subject: Star Wars: Galactic Racer
- Key Update: The roguelite elements enhance, rather than detract from, the fun gameplay.
- Status: Published
- Last Verified: 2026-10-06
- Quick Answer: We article argues that the roguelite design of Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a strength due to its fun core gameplay, meaningful permanent progression, and exciting buildcrafting.
I’ve heard Star Wars fans say that, despite how cool the gameplay for Galactic Racer looks, they are being turned off by the fact that the game is, at its core, a roguelite. To that I say: don’t worry about it as it’s still worth your time.
It’s no secret that the roguelite/roguelike genre has become increasingly popular over the last decade. It does seem like we’re getting one every other month now, with even established franchises dipping their toes into the well too. For every gem like Hades, Balatro, Ball x Pit (please play this; it’s massively underrated), or Dead Cells, we get a wide array of forgettable to outright bad attempts at capturing the procedurally generated magic of a good roguelite. Galactic Racer deserves to have its name mentioned along the great heavy hitters of the genre; I said as much in my review.
There are a variety of reasons why the runs-based nature of Galactic Racer shouldn’t be a turn-off, and why starting over from almost scratch is not as bad as it might sound on paper.
The Core Gameplay Is Fun
The biggest and most obvious one is that Star Wars: Galactic Racer is just outright fun to play. Any game in which your progression resets, even if not entirely, should have a core foundation that is exciting to engage with.
If you need to unlock X upgrade or look for a specific build to have a good time, that’s a bad sign. Galactic Racer, luckily, doesn’t have that issue. Even without taking into account the hundreds of abilities, parts, and stat upgrades that you can make use of to create a unique build, the racing is fun.
Fuse Games absolutely nailed the sense of speed, and you’ll rarely feel bored while flying across a track, trying to dodge racers actively trying to turn you into scrap and environmental hazards that can blow you up.
Progression Doesn’t Entirely Reset
I’m getting into the nitty-gritty of genre distinctions, but if you’re new to them, just know that roguelite isn’t the same as roguelike.
Galactic Racer has permanent progression when you’re playing through the story, letting you upgrade specific stats for any of the three main vehicles you can utilize: Landspeeders, Speeder Bikes, and Skim Speeders.
Each handles uniquely, so it’s in your best interest to give them a spin and see whether you want to buff what they do best or mitigate some of their drawbacks. You can upgrade things like your Afterburner boost or your Ramjet, maybe go for more resilience to make your vehicle sturdier, or amp the battery to have more ability uses per race.
These permanent stat boosts will then allow you to use the upgrades you find during a tour, which are not permanent, to fully complement your build or even max out a stat much faster.
Buildcrafting Is Exciting
You will be overwhelmed at first if you’ve never played a roguelite before. Trust me, once you get the hang of how abilities work, you’ll start seeing the potential of mixing and matching different parts to come up with some absolutely broken builds.
There are hundreds of abilities to choose from, which are gained randomly during races. The game does a really good job at slowly showcasing them, so it’s not like you’ll be thrown into the deep end right from the get-go. As you unlock more, you’ll have the option to really let your creativity go wild. Synergizing your abilities with specific perks will make you enjoy Galactic Racer even more.
As I mentioned in my review, one of my favorite builds, and the one that helped finish the game, involved the Supercooled Vent ability. This inflicts the Frozen debuff on my vehicle, usually a bad thing, but it allowed me to use the Ramjet without generating heat. While freezing normally means losing control, I managed to mitigate the downside by stacking Freeze Resistance and Frost Protection parts.
Podracing Is Done Right
While it’s not entirely integrated into the campaign, podracing is here, and it’s one of Galactic Racer’s best selling points. Yes, the iconic Tatooine track is there, and very recognizable faces are also present, letting you pilot their crafts in the game’s most intense courses.
They are fast, so much faster than your standard three main vehicles that you’ll feel you’re going through races at 2x speed. With that comes the inherent challenge of controlling absolute racing demons. Yes, you’ll crash, your opponents will crash, it’ll be chaos — sweet, addictive chaos you’ll want to experience for yourself.
Playing with regular vehicles, I reached a maximum speed of around 500-600 km/h. Podracers dwarf that, with my personal record being upwards of 1,300. These things are no joke, and you will feel the difference once you pilot one.
Honestly, I couldn’t love Galactic Racer more if I could. Well, actually, yes: please add full custom lobbies and the ability to invite more than two friends to an online session. Thanks in advance, Fuse Games. Beyond that, this is the game you’re looking for. Imagine I made a Jedi mindtrick handwave there.
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