STAR WARS: Galactic Racer Reviews: What Critics Loved and What They Didn’t

STAR WARS: Galactic Racer launched on October 6 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, and critics have spoken. The game holds an 87 average on OpenCritic, and 96% of critics recommend it. That puts the Fuse Games debut among the top-rated releases of 2026, although several reviews share the same complaints.

What Critics Are Saying

The review consensus is unusually strong for a licensed racer. On OpenCritic, the game averages 87 from 76 critics. Meanwhile, Metacritic sits at 88 from 65 reviews, which PureXbox noted places it among the year’s top 25 games.

Individual scores back that up. Eurogamer awarded 5 out of 5, GameSpot gave 9 out of 10, and IGN gave 8. By contrast, PC Gamer was cooler at 76 out of 100.

TheGamer’s own examen landed at 4.5 out of 5. It singled out new characters such as mechanic Hibi and rival Kestar Bool. Furthermore, it argued the game offers far more than a licensed coat of paint.

A Burnout Successor in a Galaxy Far, Far Away

Fuse Games is a new British studio led by veterans of Criterion, Burnout, and Need for Speed. Unsurprisingly, many reviewers compare the game to Burnout, citing its takedowns and slow-motion crash cameras. The story, meanwhile, takes place after the fall of the Empire, during the New Republic era.

Players take the role of Shade, a lone pilot chasing revenge against League champion Kestar Bool. The campaign is runs-based, so each tour plays like a roguelite with branching events and a final championship. Between runs, Tuning Points permanently boost your vehicle, which softens the sting of losing.

The racing itself splits across four vehicle classes:

Landspeeders: These drift through corners and reward aggressive lines.
Speeder bikes: They can stop almost instantly and then burst forward with extra speed.
Skim speeders: This new class tilts sideways to slip past obstacles and cut tight corners.
Podracers: The Episode I favorite returns as a special class, including an Arcade event on Boonta Eve.

Where Reviews Push Back

Even the warmest reviews flag a few recurring problems:

Limited track variety: GamesRadar+ counted only six tracks. Similarly, IGN found the repeated planets wore thin over time.
Paddock sequences: Kotaku’s review called the on-foot segments between races stale. Wccftech also felt that effort belonged on the track.
Steep early difficulty: Game Informer warned that the opening hours are hard and offer little guidance.
Podracer balance: Game Informer disliked mandatory podracing in the campaign. In contrast, Kotaku wanted even more of it.
Multiplayer friction: Insider Gaming noted that online play was limited during the review period. TheGamer also found joining friends online surprisingly tricky and flagged some missing modes.

Editions and Pricing

Selon le publisher Secret Mode, the Standard Edition costs $59.99, £49.99, or €59.99. The Deluxe Edition adds three exclusive vehicles, three arcade events, cosmetic packs, and a digital art book for $79.99. On top of that, a physical Collector’s Edition sells for $159.99 and includes a landspeeder model.

Notably, GamingBolt reported that the game will not have a season pass. Online races support up to 12 players, and crossplay covers PC and both consoles.

Résultat final

STAR WARS: Galactic Racer is the rare licensed game that critics praise for its design first and its brand second. Still, the thin track list and early multiplayer friction are fair reasons for caution at full price. If online play holds up at full scale, Fuse Games has a strong first lap and room to grow.