Why Star Wars: Galactic Racer Is the Best-Reviewed Star Wars Game Since 2003

Star Wars: Galactic Racer has earned an 88 Metascore on PlayStation 5, the highest Metacritic score for a Star Wars game since Knights of the Old Republic scored 94 in 2003. That makes the new racer a standout by this measure—not the franchise’s all-time highest-rated game. Its early review picture is also platform-specific, with lower scores reported for other versions.51112

Why critics are responding to the racing

Reviews describe a fast, aggressive arcade racer built around drifting, boosting and contact with rival racers. The comparisons to Burnout are more than a surface-level reference: Fuse Games includes former Criterion developers, and critics have called out the game’s high-speed handling and crash-heavy action.3341

Boosting adds a timing choice to the action. The Afterburner provides a sustained burst of speed; the faster Ramjet is a separate boost that players switch to when it charges. Push the boost too far and it can redline, so going faster also means managing risk.41

Different speeders, different handling

Podracers are part of the lineup, but the campaign also features landspeeders, speeder bikes and skim speeders. Reviews describe the classes as having distinct handling, giving players more than one way to approach a course. The game also lets players customize and upgrade vehicles as they progress.1916

A racing campaign built around runs

Set in the New Republic era, the campaign follows Shade, a delivery driver drawn into a story involving Galactic League racer Kestar Bool. Critics describe the plot as a familiar rise-from-the-bottom arc, with rivalries and political intrigue adding stakes to the races.16

The campaign is “runs-based,” or roguelite-inspired: players progress through tournament races, and too many losses can end a run. There are no mid-race restarts, so mistakes carry weight and defeat becomes part of the progression rather than a quick reset.916 Reviewers praise how this structure gives races tension, but its strictness can also frustrate players.314

What reviewers criticize

The campaign’s presentation is not universally praised. One review calls out sparse, underwhelming cutscenes, while IGN notes that returning to a limited selection of planets can make the experience feel repetitive.3540 Another reviewer describes minor frustrations alongside an otherwise compelling racing roguelite.9

Those caveats help explain why the headline score should be read as a strong critical reception, not a guarantee that every part of the game works equally well for every player.

Review scores, release date and prices

The widely cited 88 Metascore is for the PS5 version. Other platform aggregates are lower in the available reports, and the reported PC figure differs between listings—82 in one report and 81 on Metacritic’s PC page—so scores should be compared by platform and snapshot.71011

Star Wars: Galactic Racer is scheduled to launch on October 6, 2026, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. The US Standard Edition is listed at $59.99 and the Deluxe Edition at $79.99. The Deluxe Edition adds three vehicles, three Arcade events, a livery, a player banner and a digital art book.4648