Ahead of the game’s launch later this week, review aggregator Metacritic has published the Metascore for Pokemon Pokopia.

With 47 critic reviews at the time of this writing, Pokemon Pokopia has been given a Metascore of 89. Metacritic classifies this score as “Generally Favorable”, bordering on “Critically Acclaimed”. This score makes the game not only the highest rated Pokemon game on the site (surpassing Pokemon Y at 88), but also one of if not the highest rated game of 2026 so far.

Check out what some of the reviews had to say below:

VGC ~ 100
Pokémon Pokopia is an excellent life simulation game that takes the best bits from the champions of the genre and evolves into something that Pokémon fans, and cozy game fans will love. Late-game grinding doesn’t dull an adventure that’s as full of discovery at 100 hours as it was at 1.

Siliconera ~ 100
Pokemon Pokopia invites us to discover, explore, rebuild, and reconnect, rewarding us for every action along the way.

Gameinformer ~ 90
Despite my minor complaints, Pokopia sticks out as one of the best examples of a third-party developer using the Pokémon license to the fullest extent possible.

IGN ~ 90
Pokémon Pokopia is a real treat: an enjoyable building and town simulator that capitalizes on the charming personalities of its monsters in a way that appeals to both the creative and collector alike. It’s packed with fun things to do and worthy rewards for doing them, and strikes a healthy balance between freedom and suggestion in its building mechanics (despite a few precision nitpicks). All of this is housed in an adorable adventure through an interesting and surprisingly deep setting that presses all the nostalgia buttons for longtime fans. And it all shines especially bright in its lovable protagonist’s blobby pink hands.

NintendoLife ~ 80
Pokémon Pokopia is the freshest Pokémon experience in a long time, bursting at the seams with charm and content that rewards both curiosity and creativity. It’s an easy game to get swallowed up in, even with a few gameplay and progression issues that need ironing out. But as a first go at something different for the franchise, it’s a big win. I don’t know how Pokémon has stayed away from this kind of structure for so long, and I’d easily take a dozen more.

Eurogamer ~ 80
Pokopia succeeds in capturing the spirit of Pokémon’s past without sacrificing its uniqueness, as one of the best spin-offs the franchise has ever seen.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.