Star Wars Episode 1 Racer Review – The perfect nostalgia filled racer
Star Wars Episode 1 Racer is a port of the original N64 version of the game. Brought to PS4 and Switch by Aspyr Media, it is an almost direct port of the original 1999 game. With some changes, especially for the Switch version, which now has motion controls. I bought both the PS4 and the Switch versions but I’ll be reviewing the PS4 version as that’s the one I’ve sunk the most hours into.
Gameplay
Gameplay for Racer is basic as they come for racing game. You can drift, boost, repair your engines and taunt your opponents.
You race through three groups of races, on several different planets from the Star Wars universe. All the while using money you get from winning races to buy upgrades for your pod to get it ready for the more challenging races.
There aren’t too many tracks and the whole game can be finished in a day but they’re all entertaining as hell and the lack of them is more than made up for with the fun factor.
Whilst playing the track, keeping an eye on the health of your engine’s health is paramount and you have to slow down and repair them if they get too damaged. This is something that’s also in Racer Revenge, the second in the franchise.
Overall thoughts
As expected the game hasn’t really got much of a plot to speak of but that’s not where the magic lies. This is a classic game that most 90s kids will have grown up with. Of course, being a direct port of a N64 game the graphics aren’t anything to go mad about. It’s not ugly but it’s not overly pretty either.
Some tracks stand out more than others, probably because of the graphical limitations of the time. Again, I have no issue with that considering.
Overall this is just a straight up fun game to play. It’s not overly pretty, it’s not got millions of tracks to play through. But for £12.99 you really can’t go wrong.
I’d reccomend this game to anyone but especially if they played the original or are Star Wars fans. I’m super happy I get to play it again!
