Don't drive in the lava! — Star Wars: Galactic Racer will feature status effects on each planet 'that can be inflicted on you', but can also be counteracted thanks to the synergy system

• Star Wars: Galactic Racer has a synergy system that impacts the players' vehicles
• Fuse Games says planets will have status effects, like driving in lava or burning in Jakku's sun
• Players can also counteract these effects, like driving through water, if their vehicles overheat

Fuse Games has revealed that Star Wars: Galactic Racer features a synergy system with status effects that impact the players' vehicles.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming at Summer Game Fest 2026, where studio co-founder and CEO Matt Webster and Creative Director Kieran Crimmins discussed the game's "runs-based" campaign structure and "consequential decision-making," the pair also detailed the game's reactive gameplay system.

In the game, players will visit a range of planets to take part in races, each with their own environmental differences. There are the hot, dry sand planets like Tatooine and Jakku, the lush jungle planet Lantaana, the snow planet, Ando Prime, and more.

This means players will need to adapt to the occasion, swapping out vehicle parts for ones better suited for the specific track. There's also an upgrade tree, which Crimmins said will let players improve their cornering, speed, or resilience, and upgrading vehicles over time will be "a very satisfying experience."

However, the game's synergy system will offer a bigger challenge. Planets will also have status effects, meaning hot lava will overheat your vehicle, but it can also be counteracted by physically driving through water.

"We wanted synergies, so that is status effects that each planet has a different status effect that can be inflicted on you," Crimmins said. "For instance, Ando Prime, you can get frozen, Lantaana, you can overheat in the lava, but you can also get cooled in the water. And then on different versions of Jakku, you can get burnt as well by the sun."

The developers said they couldn't speak on Crait just yet, which is a planet covered in a layer of white salt over a red crystalline mineral, suggesting that, just like in the movie The Last Jedi, speeders and other vehicles will impact the ground players navigate.

Crimmins continued, explaining how negative status effects can be subverted, for instance, to increase the speed of the new system called a Ramjet, which offers a massive boost in speed.

Webster added that using the Ramjet can "come at a real cost and heats up," but if players drive over the rivers of water in Lantaana, it heats up more slowly.

"You end up thinking of your build in a much more tactical way, where you're like, how can this thing prop this thing and create this thing to make an entirely new race," Crimmins said.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer arrives on October 6 for PS5, Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.