Pokemon Pokopia is Currently the Highest-Rated Pokemon Game of All Time

Reviews for Pokemon Pokopia are starting to come out, and so far, they’re enough to push the game ahead of any other title in the series. While the franchise has had a couple of missteps, with some recent games failing to captivate the fanbase the way previous efforts have, it seems to be off to a strong start in 2026. It remains to be seen how most people feel about Pokemon Pokopia, but early reviews are a promising sign.

When The Pokemon Company first unveiled Pokopia, it immediately drew comparisons to Minecraft and Animal Crossing. That alone was enough to excite some fans, and the hype would grow as more came out about the game. A leaked screenshot suggested that Pokemon Pokopia has at least 300 entries in its Pokedex, meaning it has more Pokemon to encounter than 2025’s Legends: Z-A. Now, on the cusp of its release, it has another feather to add to its cap.

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Game	Metacritic Average Score
Pokemon Pokopia	89
Pokemon Y	88
Pokemon HeartGold	87
Pokemon X	87
Pokemon Black	87
Pokemon White	87
Pokemon Sun	87
Pokemon Moon	87
Pokemon SoulSilver	87
Pokemon Pearl	85

While Pokemon Pokopia does not come out until March 5, critics have started publishing their reviews, and at the time of writing, they’ve made Pokopia the highest-rated Pokemon game of all time on Metacritic. The spin-off is currently sitting at an 89 based on 50 reviews, which is just enough to push it ahead of every other title that came before it in the franchise. It’s also enough to place it as the best-rated game of 2026 so far, just beating out Resident Evil Requiem, which currently has an 88. However, it’s worth noting that these scores are liable to change as more reviews come out, and there’s a lot of time left in the year for something to unseat Pokopia.

Before Pokopia took its place at the top, Pokemon Y had the distinction of being the top-rated game in the long-running series. That may not come as a huge surprise, considering how Pokemon X and Y offer hundreds of hours of playtime through one of the biggest Pokedexes in the franchise, but that context does make Pokopia‘s achievement all the more impressive. Pokopia is also by far the best-reviewed spin-off in the series, as every other entry in the top 10 is either a mainline game or a remake of one. It’s also the first Pokemon title of the 2020s to break the top 10.

Gloom in Pokemon Rumble Rush — Pokémon Rumble Rush

At the other end of the spectrum sits Pokemon Rumble Rush, with an average critic rating of just 42. Rumble Rush is one of several lesser-known Pokemon mobile games and was ultimately shut down in 2020 after failing to retain users. However, there are many other Pokemon games that currently show no Metascore due to a lack of critic reviews. These could count as the worst-rated titles in the franchise, but without enough data to base that on, it’s a tough call.

Even if Pokopia loses its spot as number one, reaching that height is impressive. There are 30 years’ worth of games in the series to compare it to, and Pokemon is the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, so it’s safe to assume that people have a lot of expectations and preferences informing how they feel about the game. It is important to recognize that Pokopia‘s current reign is based on critic reviews. User reviews often differ from critics, so it’s unclear if the general gaming audience will feel the same way about the game as early reviewers have. It won’t take long to find out, though, with just a handful of days left before its release date.