Anakin Skywalker’s purpose in the more recent Star Wars video games has continuously been hilarious to me.
For years, Anakin, who eventually became series antagonist Darth Vader, was characterized as something of a superhero who fell to darkness and became a supervillain. He was stronger than the typical guy, but we didn’t see many examples of how that strength might be perceived outside of the scope of above-average combat prowess and reflexes. When it was released in 2016, Rogue One was a big departure to that, with its infamous ending scene that gives us a sense of what facing Darth Vader looks like to the average soldier. Turns out, it’s terrifying. Anakin is basically an unstoppable demon, and the games since Rogue One have continued to refer back to this notion of him being a living legend.
Whether it’s adult Anakin fighting like a demigod, Vader rampaging like an unkillable myth, or little Anakin haunting the mind of an elderly superstar racer, I enjoy this continued pattern of almost every Star Wars video game since Rogue One including one small scene, sequence, or conversation that reminds you that the rest of the galaxy thinks Anakin is the straight-up boogeyman. And the superb Star Wars: Galactic Racer, despite being a racing game where you might not expect this to come up, is no exception.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is the first major example of this trend. As Jedi-on-the-run Cal, you struggle against the powerful Imperial Inquisitor Second Sister for the entire story, and then when you finally manage to beat her in this tense final lightsaber duel, she’s cut down during a surprise appearance by Darth Vader. Vader then goes on to use the Force to break the world around Cal just by walking toward him, as if the very universe bends in his presence. Lightsaber attacks don’t work. Cal’s Force powers aren’t strong enough to affect him. All you can really do is run, and it’s a terrifying end to a great game.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has you face off against Vader while playing as an exceptionally experienced Jedi Master, Cere. It’s a super-tough fight that ends with the reveal that Cal was merely witnessing the vision of Cere fighting Vader the entire time–the fight was so emotionally charged, it psychically imprinted on Cere’s dead body, and Cal witnessed it upon touching her corpse. It’s a literal ghost story, in which the unkillable monster wins.
Star Wars Outlaws ups the ante even more. Kay, ND-5, and the rest of their crew deal with different criminal gangs and shifting rivalries throughout the story. Occasionally, the Empire comes down on them, but it’s just the soldiers and officers who can’t shoot worth a damn. Throughout the story, syndicate leader Sliro Barsha is this big bad who seems incredibly powerful. He’s smart and vicious, and his cutthroat way of doing things puts Kay on the backfoot. But at least he’s someone she could go up against and win with the right resources and people.
And then Vader steps in, reveals he’s actually Sliro’s boss, and with the smallest flick of the wrist, uses all of the glass in the room to remind Sliro that Vader could kill him at any time. Kay witnesses this conversation and, understandably, freaks out. When her mom asks what she saw, all she can manage to mumble is, “I-I’m not sure. I-I-I can’t….” You can tell how small she suddenly feels after witnessing a phenomenon that doesn’t seem to make sense.
Star Wars Zero Company positions Anakin as a demigod-like force as well, letting you briefly use Skywalker at the height of his power and making every single member of the titular company seem insignificant in comparison. But it’s Galactic Racer that is my favorite example of this ongoing trend.
The game’s excellent roguelite story reminds you intermittently that you’re racing in landspeeders, speeder bikes, and skim speeders to keep the playing field equal. Podracers are not allowed because they’re so ludicrously fast that it’s impossible for humans to pilot them. They don’t have enough arms or eyes or the necessary brain processing speed to fly them.
But as you go into Act 3 of the game’s story, legendary podracer Sebulba, who has been hanging around since the end of Act 1, pulls protagonist Shade aside. Sebulba reveals there has been one example of a human who could pilot a podracer, and that he’s the lone human to have beaten Sebulba in a podrace. This mysterious human was almost supernaturally talented, but they never appeared in the racing circuit again and faded into obscure myth. Sebulba doesn’t refer to the racer by name, but we, the audience, know who it is: nine-year-old Anakin Skywalker, who beat Sebulba during the events of The Phantom Menace.
Now, keep in mind, Galactic Racer takes place after the Battle of Jakku, as seen in Star Wars Battlefront II. That’s post-Battle of Endor, about 40 years after The Phantom Menace. The Galactic Empire rose and fell. And yet even after all that time, the arrogant and fearless Sebulba is still haunted by the memory of that one human who somehow accomplished the impossible, and he recounts the tale of this unimaginable racer in whispered conversations to others, as if he’s talking about a fairy or spirit in a spooky folktale. And this dude is talking about a nine-year-old boy. And I’m sorry, but that’s hilarious.
I’m sure the joke will get old at some point, but for now, it makes me laugh every time that some version of Anakin shows up (or just gets mentioned) and every other character suddenly loses their mind.
