by Game of Review Team · published 2026-10-06 · updated 2026-10-06
What it is
Star Wars: Galactic Racer is set after the Empire's fall, when a new unsanctioned racing circuit called the Galactic League springs up in the lawless Outer Rim, bankrolled by underground syndicates. You play a pilot named Shade, climbing the League's ranks across landspeeders, speeder bikes, skim speeders, and the occasional terrifyingly fast podracer. Developer Fuse Games built it around a roguelite campaign structure, so runs mix track mastery with build choices and character progression rather than just lap times.
It released today, October 6, for $59.99 on Steam (with a $79.99 Deluxe edition), and also on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Why people are talking about it
Pre-launch review scores landed well above what anyone expected from a licensed racer: Giant Bomb gave it a 10/10, GameSpot and Push Square both went 9/10, Game Informer landed at 8.5/10, and IGN at 8/10, putting the Metacritic average around 88. Giant Bomb called out the campaign specifically, writing that Fuse "built a campaign that keeps giving me reasons to master the tracks, then made the racing feel good enough that I wanted to." GameSpot's take leaned into the speed: "Every moment feels joyfully fast. Every decision carries the weight of tension."
Not flawless
Game Informer's review flagged two real friction points: podracers are mandatory in some campaign events despite being, in the reviewer's words, "too fast and dangerous," and losing with one can end an entire run. There's also no minimap, which makes high-speed navigation genuinely confusing until tracks click.
Modes on offer
- Campaign: a roguelite run across multiple planets with vehicle upgrades and rival pilots
- Arcade Mode: straightforward time trials and advanced races
- Scenario Mode: six-race curated runs with pre-built characters
- Multiplayer: six-race tournaments with pre-race betting, XP leveling, and cosmetic unlocks
This one's for anyone who grew up on 2000s-era arcade racers and has been waiting for a Star Wars game to actually nail the podracing fantasy instead of just referencing it.
Our take
A licensed Star Wars racer scoring this consistently well across outlets is genuinely rare, and the reviews suggest it's because Fuse treated the license as a setting rather than the whole pitch, building an actual roguelite racing game underneath it. The lack of a minimap and the mandatory podracer runs sound like the kind of launch-week rough edges that could get smoothed out, so it's worth watching how patches handle that friction. Worth keeping an eye on whether the Steam user reviews hold up to the critic scores once more people get their hands on it.
Games mentioned
STAR WARS: Galactic Racer™
$59.99