The Star Wars Game Renaissance Is Here!

October 9, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Star Wars has been a video game franchise for decades, but something has shifted recently. The hosts of The Besties are genuinely surprised by how much they love Star Wars: Galactic Racer, a new arcade racer from a studio called Fuse Games (staffed by veterans of Criterion, the studio behind Burnout and Need for Speed). The game is a spiritual sequel to the 1999 Star Wars: Episode I Racer, set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The Empire has fallen, and the galaxy now needs a new pastime: racing. That premise — "the Empire has fallen, the world needs racing" — is played completely straight, and that earnestness is precisely why it works.

The Roguelike Racing Loop

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What you'll learn

1 The Star Wars Game Renaissance Is Here!
2 (00:01) **Opening Banter: Shade's Missed Naming Opportunity** - The hosts complain that the game forces the player character to be named "Shade" instead of letting them choose a fun Star Wars name like "Jiz Bumpstow"
3 (01:25) **Show Introduction** - Standard Besties intro with each host claiming to know the best game of the week
4 (04:18) **First Impressions: "This Game Exists?"** - The hosts express genuine surprise that a modern Star Wars racing game has been made, and share their initial reactions
5 (05:51) **Vehicle Types and Core Mechanics** - Detailed breakdown of the three vehicle classes and the central risk-reward driving systems
6 (09:51) **The Roguelike Structure: "Fucking Genius"** - The game's Slay the Spire-inspired season structure is explained, where each run is a high-stakes tournament
7 (12:04) **Why the Roguelike Structure Works for Racing** - The hosts explain how the run-based system creates genuine ownership and progression absent from traditional racing games

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Sure, we expected Star Wars: Galactic Racer to be good off the pitch alone. A new studio, featuring members of the Burnout team, is creating a spiritual sequel to the Nintendo 64 podracing game? Yes, please! We didn’t, however, predict the game’s creator would splice a clever story and an inspired roguelike structure into the racing genre. Our GOTY conversation just got a bit more complicated. Plus, we discuss how Galactic Racer is one part of a larger trend of delightful Star Wars games that have a fresh vision for the franchise.

Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!