Reviews praise Star Wars: Galactic Racer as a Burnout-style arcade racer
In short
Three games and technology outlets published reviews of Star Wars: Galactic Racer, an arcade racer developed by Fuse Games, describing it as fast, Burnout-style racing built around a run-based structure. The game is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens and follows a racer named Shade against Galactic League champion Kestar Bool. Reviewers praised the risk-and-reward racing and the setting, but criticised a small planet roster and an Act 3 difficulty spike.
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Three games and technology outlets published reviews of Star Wars: Galactic Racer on 2 October 2026. CNET described the game, developed by Fuse Games, as “F-Zero meets Burnout” and one of its reviewer's new favourite racing games. PC Gamer listed it as an arcade racer published by Secret Mode, priced at $60/£50, reviewed on a Windows 11 machine with an Intel Core i9, 32GB RAM and an Nvidia RTX 4060, with multiplayer support and Steam Deck support unknown. [ 1 , 3 ]
CNET and PC Gamer both said the game is set in the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. CNET wrote that it tells a story about a small corner of the universe coming to terms with a new normal after the downfall of the Galactic Empire, with racing promoter Darius Pax seeking sponsors for a new league. PC Gamer said the setting imagines a racing culture in which crime syndicates back planet-hopping racers who pilot landspeeders, speeder bikes and skim speeders across planets that each have one biome. [ 1 , 3 ]
Reviewers focused on the game's structure. GamesRadar+ said the arcade racing mixes with a run-based format and roguelike elements, and called the risk-and-reward racing and the run-based format a new standard. PC Gamer said the run-based structure was more successful than the open world of Burnout Paradise. GamesRadar+, PC Gamer and CNET all compared the game's high-speed racing and takedowns to the Burnout series. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
GamesRadar+ described the player character as a faceless protagonist named Shade and the rival as Kestar Bool, the reigning champion of the recently established Galactic League, calling him a whinging, arrogant rich kid with an undeniable talent for racing. PC Gamer said the cast includes an ex-TIE Fighter pilot and rich kids who could be Formula One drivers “if they weren't blue or speaking Huttese”, and that rivals insult the player in subtitled alien language. [ 2 , 3 ]
GamesRadar+ criticised the campaign for stalling at the end, called the planet roster disappointingly small and the Act 3 difficulty spike annoying, and said it wanted more planets and tracks. CNET said the story is refreshingly self-contained. PC Gamer said the game sets its aim higher than recreating a single film scene, unlike the 1999 Episode 1 Racer, whose quality it said dropped once players left Tatooine. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
The reviews place the game in a run of recent Star Wars titles that the outlets describe as prioritising gameplay, and treat it as a spiritual successor to the Burnout arcade racers. GamesRadar+ and PC Gamer both argue its run-based format is a model other racing games could follow. Beyond the reviewers' own praise, the documents give no sales, platform or publisher-level data on the game's impact.
Key facts
- Star Wars: Galactic Racer is an arcade racing game developed by Fuse Games and published by Secret Mode, priced at $60/£50. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The game is set in the period between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Reviewers described it as mixing Burnout-style takedowns and high-speed racing with a run-based, roguelike-influenced structure. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The player character is a faceless protagonist named Shade; the rival is Kestar Bool, reigning champion of the recently established Galactic League. [ 2 ]
- PC Gamer reviewed the game on Windows 11 with an Intel Core i9, 32GB RAM and an Nvidia RTX 4060, and listed multiplayer support as yes and Steam Deck support as unknown. [ 3 ]
- GamesRadar+ criticised a disappointingly small planet roster and an annoying difficulty spike in Act 3, and said the campaign stalls at the end. [ 2 ]
- CNET wrote that the game tells a refreshingly self-contained story about a small corner of the universe rebuilding after the fall of the Galactic Empire. [ 1 ]
- All three reviews were published on 2 October 2026 at 08:00 local time. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- Star Wars: Galactic Racer was developed by Fuse Games. [ 1 , 3 ]
- The game is set between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. [ 1 , 3 ]
- Reviewers compared its racing and takedowns to the Burnout series. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
- The game is built around a run-based structure. [ 2 , 3 ]
- The reviews were published on 2 October 2026 at 08:00 local time. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Still unclear
- The game's release date and the full list of platforms it is available on. The documents are reviews only; none gives a release date, and PC Gamer lists the game's Steam Deck status as unknown.
- The publisher, Secret Mode. Named only by PC Gamer; the other two reviews do not mention a publisher.
- Whether the game is a critical or commercial success overall. The documents are three individual reviews; no aggregate scores, sales figures or publisher statements appear in them.