Star Wars: Galactic Racer Review: What to Know About Fuse Games' Podracer Roguelite

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is a new racing video game set in the Star Wars galaxy, developed by Fuse Games and published by Secret Mode. According to the game's official Steam listing, it releases on October 6, 2026 for Windows PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a Standard Edition priced at $39.99 and a Deluxe Edition at $53.49.

Fuse Games, the game's developer, is led by CEO Matt Webster, a former general manager at Criterion Games, the studio behind the Burnout series, according to publisher Secret Mode's own announcement.

What is the game about?

Steam's official description frames Galactic Racer as a runs-based, high-stakes take on racing set in the lawless Outer Rim. Players join an unsanctioned circuit called the Galactic League and pilot repulsorcraft across tracks on Star Wars planets, including Jakku and Crait, according to GameInformer's review. The single-player campaign follows a racer named Shade, who is pursuing glory and, according to Secret Mode's game description, revenge against a rival named Kestar.

GameInformer's review describes the story mode as a roguelite: players enter a tournament structure and are eliminated from a run if they lose too many races, pushing them to restart with new upgrades rather than simply retrying a single track.

Vehicles and gameplay mechanics

The game features four classes of repulsorcraft, each with distinct handling, according to both the official starwars.com vehicle guide and GameInformer's review:

• Landspeeders — described by starwars.com as durable, stable craft with strong handling, suited to beginners.
• Speeder bikes — lightweight and agile, with a speed-boosting 'Kinetic Burst' maneuver, per starwars.com.
• Skim speeders — built for sharp cornering via a 'Knife Edge' maneuver, according to the official vehicle guide.
• Podracers — the fastest and, per GameInformer's review, the hardest to control, using 'ramjets' for extra speed.

The starwars.com guide, part of a video series called 'Under the Hood' hosted by an in-game engineer character named Hibi, says vehicles can be customized with different engines and abilities. GameInformer's review adds that players can upgrade stats such as afterburner strength and drifting as they progress through a run.

Game modes

Beyond the story campaign, GameInformer's review lists Arcade and Scenario modes for single-player play, plus a multiplayer mode built around six-race tournaments with an in-game betting mechanic. Secret Mode's own announcement describes the multiplayer offering as competitive PvP racing with a reputation system, and lists support for one to twelve players.

How reviews rated it

Early critical reception has been largely positive. GameInformer's review awarded the game 8.5 out of 10, praising what it called engaging roguelite design, varied vehicle customization and a strong narrative, while flagging a steep early learning curve, the absence of a minimap, and podracer sections that the reviewer said feel noticeably harder than the other vehicle classes and can end an entire campaign run on a single mistake.

Review-aggregation site Metacritic listed an aggregate score of 88 ('Generally Favorable') based on 50 critic reviews as of this writing, with 47 reviews classified as positive and 2 as mixed, and no negative reviews recorded. Individual outlet scores tracked by Metacritic ranged from roughly 90 to 100 on a 100-point scale for the PlayStation 5 version.

How the publisher frames the game

In Secret Mode's own announcement, Douglas Reilly, VP and GM of Lucasfilm Games, said Star Wars has long drawn inspiration from racing culture, from podracing to high-speed chases. CEO Matt Webster said the studio's goal was to 'reinvent what a racing game can be,' according to the same announcement, which presents Galactic Racer as a new racing experience rather than a direct sequel to earlier podracing titles.