Games to Play This Weekend: Star Wars Galactic Racer, Gears of War E-Day and More

The holiday review season is in full swing, and this weekend's shortlist covers a racer, a Metroidvania, a shooter, a puzzle epic, a hero-vote MOBA and a board game. Star Wars: Galactic Racer is the standout newcomer, Gears of War: E-Day finally depicts Emergence Day, and Echo Weaver and Order of the Sinking Star offer fresh takes on exploration and puzzling. Deadlock and The Old King's Crown round out the list.

Star Wars: Galactic Racer

Galactic Racer launched this week, and it works whether or not you care about Star Wars. Familiar locations, music motifs and characters appear throughout, but the racing is the main draw. The sense of speed and tension recalls Burnout, which makes sense given that much of the team at developer Fuse Games worked on that series.

The roguelite campaign moves at a brisk pace that keeps it from feeling repetitive, and its story is stronger than most in the genre. After the campaign there is an Arcade mode, miniature campaigns in Scenario mode, and a broad suite of multiplayer races and tournaments.

Echo Weaver

Echo Weaver follows the early Metroid and Castlevania template of gated exploration, with one change: progression comes from knowledge you pick up during play instead of new equipment. Reviewer Kyle Hilliard has finished it and calls the approach "admirable, unique, and well executed."

"The sense of discovery is fantastic, and though I realistically probably won't immediately play the game again, the idea that I could start with knowledge of basically all of the abilities to rip through the game at high speed is an enticing one," Hilliard said.

Gears of War: E-Day

E-Day goes back to Emergence Day, when Marcus Fenix and Dominic Santiago first meet the Locusts. The series has referenced that event since the first game in 2006, and The Coalition now gets to show it. Reviewer Brian Shea praises the game for delivering "an astonishing collection of shootouts, supported by improved traversal and tactical abilities, masterfully arranged battlefields, stunning visuals, and a strong, diverse arsenal of weapons and equipment."

Order of the Sinking Star

Thekla's new puzzle game contains hundreds of distinct puzzles that fit into a larger narrative and puzzle framework. It stitches several separate puzzle games into one coherent whole, a bit like a video game frame story. It is built for experienced, patient puzzle fans, with complex logic challenges that demand lateral thinking.

Deadlock

Valve's unreleased but popular MOBA-shooter has a new reason to revisit it. The Cursed Apple map received a major makeover in the latest update, and a slate of new heroes is competing to join the roster. Playtime counts toward votes on which character is added each week. The Rat King and the sweet old Baba have already won, with four more still to come.

The graphics overhaul is the bigger change: the streets and boulevards of the cursed New York look far better, and small UI and indicator tweaks make the game easier to read at a glance. You still need an invite to play.

The Old King's Crown

This tabletop pick comes from Eerie Idol. Each player is a potential heir to the monarchy after the old king dies, and uses bluffing, card management and control of the board to steer a subtly distinct faction. The result is an emergent story, such as a rebellious uprising seizing control from the old nobility.

The main obstacle is finding a copy, since the game is so celebrated that stock is scarce. It was among the winners on our list of the best board games of 2025, so other titles on that list make a reasonable fallback if you strike out.