Star Wars: Galactic Racer Reviews Land at 88, and Players Mostly Agree

Now this is podracing. Mostly.

October 22, 2026 Anthony

A racing speeder throwing sparks as it speeds across a desert track in Star Wars: Galactic Racer

Star Wars: Galactic Racer has been out for a little over two weeks, and the verdict is in. The PS5 version holds an 88 on Metacritic from 73 critic reviews. The Xbox Series X version sits at 86, and PC is at 85 (Metacritic). On OpenCritic, it has a Top Critic Average of 87, and 96% of critics recommend it (OpenCritic). Push Square called it the highest-rated Star Wars game since Knights of the Old Republic in 2003 (Push Square). (Star Wars Pinball: Balance of the Force fans would like a word, since that one also sits at 88.)

Players took a little longer to come around, especially on PC. Here's where the reviews landed, what critics and players keep complaining about, and what Fuse Games says is coming next.

What is Star Wars: Galactic Racer?

Galactic Racer is the first game from Fuse Games, a studio in Guildford, England. It was founded in 2023 by former Criterion leads who worked on Burnout and Need for Speed, including CEO Matt Webster (Traxion). Secret Mode published it with Lucasfilm Games. It launched October 6 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC for $59.99, or $79.99 for the Deluxe Edition (VGC).

The game is set in the Outer Rim after the Empire's fall, while the New Republic is still getting on its feet. You play Shade, a racer with a grudge against the Bool family. Kestar Bool is the reigning champion of the Galactic League, an unsanctioned circuit backed by syndicate sponsors. Your mentor is an older, bearded Sebulba (StarWars.com). The campaign works like a roguelite. You race through three acts with branching paths, and finishing outside the top three or crashing too often can end the whole run (Xbox Wire).

Podracers also share the track with landspeeders, speeder bikes and a new class called skim speeders. Online races support up to 12 players with crossplay, though there's no split-screen. If you have Amazon Prime, you can also stream the single-player modes on Amazon Luna at no extra cost (VGC).

What are critics saying about Galactic Racer?

The short version is that critics overwhelmingly loved it, and nobody scored it badly. Several outlets gave it a perfect score, and the lowest scores we found still came in around 70.

Eurogamer, 5/5: "a racing treat for Criterion fans" (OpenCritic)
VGC, 5/5: it "absolutely nails what it is trying to do" (VGC)
Giant Bomb, 5/5: "everything I hoped it would be" (Giant Bomb)
GameSpot, 9/10 (GameSpot)
Push Square, 9/10: "a thoughtfully designed triumph" (Push Square)
Game Informer, 8.5/10 (Game Informer)
IGN, 8/10 (OpenCritic)
GamesRadar+, 4/5 (GamesRadar+)
PC Gamer, 76/100 (PC Gamer)

The praise consistently comes back to speed. GameSpot's Jordan Ramée said the game is "those absolutely perfect 10 minutes expanded into a full game." Game Informer's Wesley LeBlanc called it "enthralling, challenging, and hard to put down." Even PC Gamer's Jody Macgregor, one of the cooler reviews, said the sense of speed is something it "definitely nails." Kotaku didn't give a score, but Zack Zwiezen wrote that it's "everything I wanted from a new Star Wars racing game" (Kotaku).

Two podracers with glowing pink energy binders racing across a sandy track near a rock arch — Podracers are back, though they share the track with three other vehicle classes (Lucasfilm Games and Secret Mode).

What don't critics like about it?

The most common criticism is that there aren't enough locations to race on. The game has seven planets, and GamesRadar+ called the roster "disappointingly small." VGC's Jordan Middler, who gave it a perfect score, still said he'd "have loved a few more planets to explore." The roguelite structure also cuts both ways. Game Informer pointed out that forced podracer events can end a run. PC Gamer said the feeling of speed is often "interrupted by crashes." GameSpot was let down by the story's payoff and the lack of music during races. Kotaku found the on-foot hub sections stale.

Some longtime fans were also hoping for more podracing. Galactic Racer feels like an Episode I Racer successor in spirit. Still, podracers are just one of four classes, and only 6 of the 19 multiplayer racers are podracers (Insider Gaming).

What do Steam players think?

Players were tougher on launch day. Steam reviews opened at "Mostly Positive," with 72% of the first 126 reviews recommending it (PC Games Hardware). As of October 22, the English reviews are up to about 87% positive across roughly 6,900 reviews, which Steam rates as "Very Positive" (Steam). The game also hit an all-time peak of 18,052 players at once on Steam on October 11 (SteamDB).

The negative reviews tend to repeat the same requests. The big ones are key rebinding on PC, a simple quick race mode, a bigger party size and less aggressive rubber-banding from the AI. PC players also weren't thrilled when Denuvo was removed from the store page in April and then added back before launch (DSOGaming). Then there's Biddy Blas, a Crocin racer whose catchphrase "Scrib doon" went viral within days. Lucasfilm Games' Craig Derrick even said the algorithm "continues to properly prioritise Mister Biddy Blas" (PC Gamer).

Speeders racing across a frozen track toward a glowing orange ring gate — Galactic Racer has seven planets at launch, and critics want more of them (Lucasfilm Games and Secret Mode).

Is Galactic Racer selling, and what's coming next?

Fuse Games hasn't shared sales numbers, but the early indicators look encouraging. Galactic Racer debuted at No. 2 on the UK physical chart behind EA Sports FC 27, then dropped to No. 5 in its second week (Nintendo Life). In a video interview with VGC, Webster said it's "early days," but that "things feel healthy" (Bespin Bulletin).

A Quality-of-Life Update went out today. It doubles the party size from three players to six, adds AZERTY and left-handed keyboard presets, and fixes several crashes and connectivity issues. Full key rebinding is still missing. The patch notes say it's "on the horizon" (Galactic Racer). There's no season pass. That said, Webster has made it clear the team doesn't want this to be "launch it and that's it," and more news is promised in the coming months (Bespin Bulletin).

Should you play Star Wars: Galactic Racer?

I'd argue it's an easy yes if you have fond memories of Episode I Racer or Burnout 3. Nearly every review agrees that the racing itself feels fast, dangerous and genuinely exhilarating. If you hate losing progress in roguelites, or you mainly want to podrace, it might be worth waiting to see what the post-launch updates add. Either way, it's nice to have a Star Wars game that nobody seems to be arguing about (except over Biddy Blas, and we're on his side).

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Header image and in-article screenshots are official Star Wars: Galactic Racer launch screenshots from Lucasfilm Games, Fuse Games and Secret Mode, via the official media page.