Star Wars: Galactic Racer Review Roundup: Metacritic Sits at 88 as Critics Praise the Racing and Argue Over the Rest
Star Wars: Galactic Racer is out today, October 6, 2026, and the reviews are already in. Metacritic shows an 88. Nearly every score on the page is an 80 or higher, and the critics who are lukewarm are mostly asking for more of the game, not less. A tight cluster of high scores can hide a real argument, so it is worth looking at what the critics are actually saying.
This roundup draws on Metacritic's page and the review excerpts it displays. We have not read the full reviews, so wherever we quote, we say whose words they are. Four of the outlets below (IGN Deutschland, IGN Spain, Uagna.it and LevelUp) are foreign-language publications whose excerpts Metacritic displays in English, so those are Metacritic's displayed wording, not necessarily the outlet's own phrasing.
The scores
As read on October 6, Metacritic lists a Metascore of 88 ("Generally Favorable") based on 62 critic reviews. It shows 97% of them as positive, 3% as mixed and none as negative. The count was still growing when we looked, so expect the figures to move. Metacritic lists Fuse Games as developer and Secret Mode as publisher.
The scored reviews we pulled from Metacritic's review data are lopsided. By our count, 5 are 100s, 39 are 90 or above, and 59 of 63 scored rows sit at 80 or higher. Only four fall below 80: a 78, a 75 and two 70s. Metacritic lists the two 70s, from Respec and IGN Spain, as the lowest scores displayed. Our 63 comes from the PlayStation 5 review list and does not match the page's headline 62 exactly. The page itself shows different review counts in different places, and we cannot say why.
| Outlet | Score |
|---|---|
| IGN Deutschland, Radio Times, VGC, Giant Bomb, Eurogamer | 100 |
| GameSpot, Metro GameCentral, Push Square, TheSixthAxis, TechRadar Gaming, TheGamer, Game Rant | 90 |
| Game Informer | 85 |
| CGMagazine, Hardcore Gamer, GamesRadar+, Slant Magazine, Daily Star | 80 |
| Uagna.it | 78 |
| LevelUp | 75 |
| Respec, IGN Spain | 70 |
Those are the outlets whose excerpts we read, all dated October 2 on Metacritic. It is not every outlet on the page. Kotaku and Polygon have rows there too, but with no numeric score, so we treat their excerpts separately below.
What the game is, per the official post
According to Secret Mode's release post, the game launches October 6 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, for one to twelve players. It invites racers to join the Galactic League, an unsanctioned racing circuit in the Outer Rim, and has a single-player campaign in which you play a pilot named Shade. The post says three distinct styles of repulsorcraft support different build strategies. Standard and Deluxe digital editions and a physical Collector's Edition are available.
Our analysis: that setup helps explain why so many critics reach for the word "roguelite."
The consensus: it feels great to race
The common thread across the excerpts is the racing itself.
VGC, at 100, writes in its excerpt: "Star Wars: Galactic Racer absolutely nails what it is trying to do." It continues: "It is a high-octane racer that's endless fun to play, and it looks fantastic." Radio Times, also at 100, goes further: "Star Wars: Galactic Racer is not only one of the best racing games I have played all year, but after playing the campaign the full way through, it just might be one of my favourite racing games of all time."
Giant Bomb, another 100, ties the feel to the structure: "Fuse built a campaign that keeps giving me reasons to master the tracks, then made the racing feel good enough that I wanted to." That sentence names the loop the whole game depends on. A campaign has to give you reasons to repeat tracks, and the racing has to be good enough that repeating them is not a chore.
Metacritic's excerpt of GameSpot's 90 is simpler: "Every moment feels joyfully fast."
Eurogamer's excerpt, at 100, focuses on the tracks: "These are places that constantly shift in the way that they challenge you, and I suspect that better racers than me will spend an awfully long time working out the optimal strategies for handling each one." That is a notable contrast with the track-variety complaints below, and a reminder that critics are not all weighing the same sample of the game the same way.
The roguelite campaign is the hook
Metacritic's displayed excerpt of IGN Deutschland's 100 reads, in English: "Even if you’re not a huge Star Wars fan, you should check out this game if only for its fresh roguelite ideas and the gripping campaign mode, which completely reinvents and revitalizes the sci-fi racing genre in turbo-boost mode." That is the outlet's opinion as Metacritic displays it, not something we can verify ourselves.
Push Square, at 90, writes: "The excellent handling and eye-popping presentation would be enough to recommend the game alone, but I also love its buildcrafting aspects and roguelite campaign." LevelUp's score is a 75, but its excerpt still endorses the structure: "Its roguelike campaign kept us hooked from beginning to end, while its driving mechanics make every race incredibly satisfying." VGC, at 100, makes the point most directly: "This would have been a great game with a standard single-player mode, but what is here is inventive and engaging."
Our analysis: the high scores are not praising a licensed racer coasting on the brand. They are praising a run-based design in which each race feeds into a build.
Where critics hold back
The complaints are narrower than the praise, but they repeat. Two come up more than once: track variety and podracing.
Track variety
Metacritic's displayed excerpt of IGN Spain's 70 reads, in English: "It’s a comeback that feels somewhat underwhelming due to the lack of track variety, but it’s also a lot of fun, even as it challenges players time and time again." That is a 70 that still says "a lot of fun."
Uagna.it, at 78, is more pointed, as Metacritic displays it: "Unfortunately, the game loses its way in the medium to long term: while the planets offer diverse settings, the tracks themselves are few in number and repetitive." LevelUp's excerpt also cites the lack of track variety among its reservations, so three of the four lowest-scored rows we read raise the same issue.
Even the high scores ask for more places to race. Push Square's 90 says: "I think the release could be a little quicker at getting you behind the wheel, and of course more planets would always be appreciated." VGC's 100 ends: "I'd have loved a few silly classic characters and another planet or two, but this is a game I'll return to for a long time."
Podracing
The other recurring request is for more podracing. Respec, at 70, writes in its excerpt: "For all Star Wars: Galactic Racer’s quality when out on the tracks, it’s hard not to feel that a few more back to basics game modes and a fully fleshed out Podracing section would have made for an all-round more enjoyable experience." The excerpt goes on to say it always feels like the game is keeping the reviewer from the fun its racing is capable of. That is among the more pointed negatives in the set.
Kotaku, which shows no score on Metacritic, says in its excerpt: "The on-foot segments aren’t great, and I do wish there was a bit more podracing action in here, but on the track, where it matters, Galactic Racer is amazing, nailing every curve and hitting every straightaway." Giant Bomb, at 100, comes at it from the other direction: "And for my fellow Episode I Racer lovers: Galactic Racer’s marketing has kept the podracers in the background, but don’t let that fool you."
Our analysis: critics do not agree on how much podracing there is, or how much is enough, and the excerpts do not describe what the podracing section consists of. If podracing is why you are here, read a full review before buying.
The Star Wars question
A different split is how much the license matters. Game Informer, at 85, opens with a compliment and a hedge: "Galactic Racer is a Star Wars game, and that might be enough for some, but not for me." It continues: "Fortunately, it’s an even better racing game, one filled to the brim with courses, vehicle builds, and characters that keep me coming back to the track for one more race."
Slant Magazine's 80 puts the emphasis the other way: "The game reaches new heights for the entire racing genre while also serving up a fairly good Star Wars yarn." The story is a bonus for some critics and a footnote for others.
Polygon's row has no score on Metacritic, but its excerpt carries a caution alongside strong praise. The excerpt reads: "Star Wars fans with fond memories of Episode 1: Racer will love Galactic Racer's rich fan-service and handsome production values, but they might find its complexity and difficulty to be a rude — and initially confusing — awakening. Even racing game fans might be surprised how long they take to get accustomed to its uncompromising, unfamiliar design. But the reward for sticking with it is immense. It's the most original and exciting racing game in a generation." We only have what Metacritic displays, not the full verdict. But the warning fits Push Square's wish for a faster start.
What the 88 does and doesn't say
First, it is a launch-day number from 62 reviews, with the count still rising. Later reviews could shift it either way.
Second, the distribution is more informative than the average. With 59 of 63 scored rows at 80 or higher, the 88 reflects broad agreement, not a few 100s pulling up a pile of middling scores. The critics at 78, 75 and 70 did not describe a bad game. They described one they wanted more from.
Third, the 100s and the 70s are arguing about different things. The 100s emphasize feel, speed and the campaign loop. The lower scores emphasize repetition, limited tracks and, in Respec's case, missing modes. Both can be true at once, and the question for you is which complaint would bother you more over a long stretch of play.
Finally, the excerpts we read are all dated October 2, so they are pre-launch impressions. Whether track repetition grows into a bigger issue over a month is something only player reaction will show.
Should you buy it?
If you like arcade racing and are open to a run-based structure, the critical response is about as strong as launch reviews get. Among the excerpts we read, the praise for the handling, the speed and the campaign loop is close to universal.
If you are here mainly for podracing, read a full review first. If you hate repeating locations, take the track-variety notes from IGN Spain, Uagna.it and LevelUp seriously. And if you want a racer that eases you in, weigh Polygon's warning about a "rude" and "initially confusing" awakening.
The 88 is real, and the spread beneath it is unusually tight. The disagreement is about scope, not quality: even the critics who scored it lowest said they enjoyed the racing and wanted more of the game around it.
Gears of War: E-Day is another game launching the same day.
Watch how the Metascore settles as more reviews arrive beyond the launch-day count of 62, and whether players echo the critics' complaints about track variety and podracing. The sources we read did not mention a post-launch roadmap.