Galactic Racer looks great, but is missing what makes podracing so iconic

The Game Awards 2025 was home to some incredible revelations, but two were the most exciting. Star Wars related to The announcement that kicked off the Game Awards 2025 main show, Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, The evening was a highlight for many fans. Not only did it promise a follow-up to one of the most beloved Star Wars video games of all time, but also made by Kotororiginal director. But for many it was a close second Star Wars: Galactic Racer.

Being developed by Fuse Games, a new studio created by former Criterion developers who worked on Needed for speed and Burnout series, Star Wars: Galactic Racer The fall of the Empire will see players rise through the ranks of the Galactic League, a new racing competition funded by the galaxy's biggest crime syndicates. While no gameplay was shown at the time Star Wars: Galactic Racerreveals, it already seems that it may be the true spiritual successor Star Wars Episode 1: Racer Whose fans have been waiting for decades. But there is one key element of the 1999 classic that is missing Star Wars: Galactic Racer: podracers.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer Star Wars Episode 1: A core piece of Racer's identity is missing

Star Wars podracers have become icons in their own right

when Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Hitting the silver screen in 1999, it was met with a notoriously divisive reception from critics and fans alike. With its trade dispute-centered storyline and its critique of the Jar Jar Binks of it all, Phantom MenaceThe podracing action sequence was met with some criticism. Although its special effects were truly groundbreaking, the podracing sequence was criticized for lacking substance and being too long.

Of course, that is the case with many Star Wars The prequels, many fans grew up watching Phantom Menace Now there's a lot of respect (and a lot of nostalgia) for its Podracing sequence. And again, like many Star Wars movies, even the most irrelevant background characters Star Wars' Podracing has become a beloved icon in the scene over the years.

Sebulba, Ben Quadinaros, and Ratts Tyerell may not be household names, but they've all amassed more fans in 1999 than one might expect due to recent meme culture. of course, Star Wars Episode 1: Racer It was also important to cement these minors Star Wars characters in the hearts of many young fans, and the Aspyr-produced port of the game in 2020 helped remind many fans of these different characters.

But for many, it's not the racers themselves that they remember, But the pods they pilot. While Cebulba has a recognizable silhouette, his Podracer's mammoth Split-X engines are arguably more recognizable, as is their iconic “thudding” sound as it strikes another victim. This is probably true for many Star Wars: The Phantom MenacePodracers, they all have different shapes, sizes, and color schemes that set them apart from each other. Star Wars' Huge list of iconic vehicles.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer may suffer from a lack of distinct vehicles

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like it Star Wars: Galactic Racer Tapping into this deep well of sculpture. Based only Star Wars: Galactic RacerFrom the reveal trailer and official screenshots that developer Fuse Games has released so far, podracers seem to be completely missing from the upcoming spiritual successor, replaced by “repulsorcraft” instead. Star Wars-y, but doesn't have nearly the same visual flair that Podracers has.

For example, from the M-68 and A-A4B landspeeders Solo: A Star Wars Story can be seen in Star Wars: Galactic Racertrailer, such as souped-up speeder bikes and Luke's latest model of the X-34 landspeeder. While these vehicles are clearly all worlds and action oriented Star Wars: Galactic Racer Delivering, they all look generic, with similar muted color schemes and sleek but repetitive designs. With these current vehicle designs, Star Wars: Galactic Racer does not fully capture the vibrancy of Star Wars Episode 1: RacerAt least not yet.

Star Wars: Galactic RacerThe trailer will take place in an old Cebula game, potentially ending with Cheese as a playable character. It is possible Galactic Racer It may include a few more podracers in its roster, which will help diversify the game's vehicles.

Why Star Wars: Galactic Racer's lack of podracers might be a good thing

To play devil's advocate, k Star Wars: Galactic RacerWhat the roster lacks in visual variety, it easily makes up for in gameplay variety. Bringing completely different repulsorcraft types, Star Wars: Galactic Racer There's plenty of room to make each vehicle feel truly different from one another, not just with minute stat differences but with big changes to how the craft feels as it moves around the track and how it reacts to the environment it's hovering over. This seems to be the goal of Fuse Games, as the game's official description on the PlayStation Store mentions that each repulsorcraft has “different physics and playstyles”.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer Behind its customization system can hide a lot of its visual vibrancy and flair, where players will probably be responsible for how different their vehicle looks. Not much information is given about this custom system, but according to Galactic Racerof the store description, players will be able to “build a showcase vehicle [their] style and gives [them] A competitive edge,” hinting at the ability to create some different-looking vehicles. Hopefully, through this customization system and their unique gameplay elements, Star Wars: Galactic RacerThe high legacy of repulsorcrafts can survive Phantom MenacePodracers.