In the context of my video game practice, a lot of cool things happened this week. I was offered a code for a game that I’m currently playing under embargo and will write about when it lifts 🙂 I was invited to be a guest on Play Along podcast. We are playing Epic Mickey: Rebrushed and will be recording the episode on November 7th. Check out Play Along podcast if you haven’t already and tune into our collaborative episode if you’re interested. I recorded a snippet of audio for my internet pal Sey over at Good Game Lobby who will be launching a podcast of his own soon – looking forward to that project. I finished Big Walk with my two best friends. I also finally got my hands on Star Wars: Galactic Racer and very quickly fell in love.
All of this juxtaposed with two other extremes. I’ll start with the positive. My baby boy is 8 months old now, and watching him grow blossoms new, pure, and very strong love every day. While physically and emotionally demanding at times, being his father is amazing and he brings my wife and I so much joy. It’s been needed in a more difficult time I have been having at work. I may have written before that my Art Teaching practice may look to be coming to a close if the community I teach in does not pass our local levy on election day. That fact continues to paint a dark cloud over each work day and it gets tougher to perform and stay positive in my practice. It can often feel like I’m attending my career’s funeral each day. I know these things happen and I’ll land in some sort of job, but the spot it’s put me in lately has been tough to navigate. Windows of space left in my brain to focus on and enjoy games feel smaller as I’ve needed time and space to process everything that’s happening. Hoping to get that out of the way at the top here, and let the rest of the writing be about my enjoyment of time spent with games this past week. Let’s get into that.
Star Wars: Galactic Racer
I was praying for this game to be good when I’d first heard that a team comprised of folks that made Burnout and Need for Speed games were making a Star Wars racer. Early trailers looked good, but there’s always skepticism with big triple-A games like this. Reviews came in unanimously positive. Podcasts and sources I trust said it is great. Boom. Done deal. I was certainly picking it up.
What can be tough for me and my living situation – and some may relate – in regards to PS5 gaming, is that it is limited to our living room TV and the main hub for my wife and I’s shared entertainment. I don’t often choose PS5 games knowing that they’re limited to the big screen and my windows for that screen are small. Though, this time around, with how good Star Wars: Galactic Racer is, I’ve been focused on when windows open and have taken them. My wife, too, has been gracious to share the TV knowing my excitement for a new game. We have good communication about what television is just for background and what things she’s actually tuned in to. If I recognize a ‘background noise’ situation, I ask if it’s okay if I play. My communication is better too, not only in asking out of consideration, but in asking at all. I remember feeling insecure about my gaming habits in the past and would feel they were bothersome in the presence of my wife. Not to say I’ve gotten agressive with taking the TV, but more so I’m asking out of consideration in available windows and her understanding a game like this is only available to play on the big screen. Those with partners who do not game may already understand this necessary communication. That’s why handheld works more often. Anyway…
Most of you may have heard what the structure of this game is already so I’ll keep this concise. It’s a Star Wars racing game with a rogue-like / rogue-lite run system. You ‘drive to survive’ in a circuit of races choosing a path of events along the way. Some events are bigger risk = bigger reward and some are safe whether you pass or fail. You don’t need to win each race to move on, but you have to survive. Dependent on chosen difficulty, you only get a handful of crashes each race.
Right away, I was blown away by the authentic Star Wars presentation. The sights and sounds scream blockbuster Star Wars movie and you can certainly tell they did more than just their homework, they are truly expressing a love of the idea of podracing and presenting a racing league set in a Star Wars universe. I think a lot of the magic found within comes from the fact that feels like you’re actually in a Star Wars racing league, not playing a video game adaptation of some Star Wars idea. Sounds of boosting around a corner, speeders passing you, ‘punching it’ with your ramjet… all feel pulled out of a movie and here for you to experience first hand. Ripping through the remains of a downed star-destroyer, experiencing the cold and limited color palette of a Hoth-like planet, all here. The graphic design too – spot on from the start in the menus to keep that Star Wars authenticity. Last to mention but equally important, the score is 1000% Star Wars and again, feels like the soundtrack to a movie that you get to play.
Can we celebrate that the mouth movements on characters actually look decent? I remember hub faces in Star Wars: Squadrons being abismal. If you’re going to have up-close conversation between characters, it’s glaringly obvious when mouth movements are not natural. Here, I don’t think they’re perfect yet but better than others I have seen. Helps keep the life and magic of the world alive if I can forget about the ‘video game’ parts of it.
Out of the 3 types of vehicle you may choose from the start, I was a fan of the landspeeder first, but I’ve come to love the bike. With my quick, initial love of the landspeeder, I didn’t anticipate ever liking the bike. The landspeeder feels more stable and less fragile, but once I got used to at least the early-game races, I leaned more into the risk of the bike. I enjoy that the bike feels fast and risky. Feels like you can crash a bit easier. But there are ‘traits’ that you unlock that give you a permanent perk throughout your run. I’ve come to love the trait titled Redliner. Using Redliner, you get an extra boost of speed from your ramjet (a limited time turbo boost) when you let it sit in the risky-red-warning/sound-the-alarms-you’re-about-to-blow-up section of your meter (maybe 1/8th of your total meter). And this boost isn’t just a ‘gain more-on-or-past-your-opponents safely’ boost. This boost is a ‘holy-sh**t this thing’s fast and feels wildly out of control’ boost. Because of that, it becomes a skill-based item to harness it and it feels really good when you do.
The ramjet early on reads as your bonus boost you use at time when needed. I think we’ve been trained as gamers to save use our ‘specials’ only when absolutely necessary. But it feels like Star Wars: Galactic Racer has other ideas. They’re not my favorite choice on a circuit route, but the “Field Tests” are an effort from the game to educate you on new ways to think about playing it. Within the variety of challenges that come as no penalty to your run if you fail them, you’re encouraged to use the ramjet for long periods of time. The game, not so directly but through a ‘use the ramjet for this long of distance’ prompt, encourages you to risk using the ramjet not only on risky straights but through corners as well. It trains you to think as the ramjet as a second “go” button – just the faster and more dangerous one. The Field Tests also teach you about certain perks/part choices too. In one particular Field Test, you’re shown that with the right part, you can receive the “Cooling” effect on your ramjet so you can keep holding it down without rist of overheating. The Field Tests are a great way to educate the player on how a build can be built by giving you a risk-free environment to try them all. Very smart.
Speaking of builds… I found my first “oooo I like this” combination that I could actually feel the difference of while racing. When you start piecing together a build that feels beneficial to your racing, and something you actually notice, you feel like your choices then matter throughout the run. I created a build one run in which I used the Redliner trait (of course, until something crazier comes along) and then nabbed a part that allowed my afterburner to be 25% faster after I redline. Note, your afterburner is your common, low-tier boost – still makes you go faster. So I had a trait that encouraged me to redline because I’d get more speed with the risk, and then after I’d let go of the ramjet, my afterburner would boost at a speed that was very noticably faster. I’d created a very fast, high-risk boosting bike that had become very thrilling to race.
I’ve heard complaints about the lack of content in regards to planet and courses, and maybe they get old eventually, but I don’t mind there being 4 planets / 4 sets of courses in the early league. I like the idea of it narratively, where folks scrounge up a racing league in a few locations that can host it. The league, in this way, feels like a young thing with potential to grow. I heard folks on the IGN Game Scoop! podcast welcome DLC content in the future with more to offer, and that’d certainly be cool. I also know that my statement may be in contrast to part of the narrative implying that racing is this huge thing now… but my headcannon says it’s a small and growing league as something for adreneline junkies to do after the war has ended. But early on, at least, it feels like the courses/circuits shown have both enough variety to keep it interesting and enough repetition to allow familiarity to grow.
It’s nice too that all the racers you face in the league are not just faceless names. They all hang out in the hub area in-between races. You walk by and eavesdrop on their conversations to pick up snippets of the world’s lore and contexts. They chat with you individually to provide flavor of character and build a league that has life to it. A favorite I witnessed was an ex-rebel fly boy sitting with a bro that flaunts two sleveless arms, each containing large imperial logo tattoos. “That’s quite a fashion statement” is a generously civil thing a rebel pilot could say to an ex-imperial post-war, and dude has audacity to reply, ‘Most people dig it.’ It’s funny, it creates a post-war Star Wars context and world, and most important to me: it creates Star Wars without having to spell out everything that Star Wars is. If you know, you know. If not, the racing is still fun for anybody who participates. I certainly want to keep racing. I’m hooked thus far. I think I’m gonna go do that.
Cheers!
Your Friend Dillon
Leave a Reply