By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Gaming - 2026 OpenCritic League - Pokopia Debuts As Highest Rated Pokémon Game Of All Time!! [90OC]

firebush03 said:

Pokémon Pokopia (88 OpenCritic) (89 MetaCritic)

Closest Predictor (-7): @Shtinamin_.

Much to the surprise of many, Omega Force’s Pokémon Pokopia debuts as not only the highest-rated game of the year, but also the highest-rated Pokémon title of all time!! Launching with an impressive 88 aggregate on OpenCritic, Pokémon Pokopia overperforms the OpenCritic league average by a staggering 12 points. This marks Nintendo’s second release of the year to dramatically outperform its series’ historical standards, with Mario Tennis Fever having scored higher than any Mario sports title on home console in nearly two decades.

Genuinely shocked that this was as well received as it has. In fairness, pokemon fans have been starved from console spin-offs, the GBA-DS days had tons of those, the Switch had relatively few. 

Also, it should have released on the original Switch, this doesn't look like it needs next-gen hardware.



You know it deserves the GOTY.

Come join The 2018 Obscure Game Monthly Review Thread.

Around the Network

I think critics have been softballing Poke'mon games since at least Sword/Shield. The DQ builders team is pretty good though.



Raising Crimson Desert to 92. Previews just came out, and they are extremely positive. Many outlets are bringing up RDR2 and Elden Ring when discussing this game.



firebush03 said:

Raising Crimson Desert to 92. Previews just came out, and they are extremely positive. Many outlets are bringing up RDR2 and Elden Ring when discussing this game.

Oh damn... I'll go check them.



Resident Evil Requiem is up to 90 poins on OC

Highest score for a game this year



Around the Network

Shtinamin is on fire. Four closest predictions already!

Nevermind...Crimson Desert will wreck his score lol.



firebush03 said:

Raising Crimson Desert to 92. Previews just came out, and they are extremely positive. Many outlets are bringing up RDR2 and Elden Ring when discussing this game.

Is that an MMO? I'll have to read reviews on it. 



yeah, Crimson Desert is a guaranteed GotY nominee— I just listened to the IGN and DF previews, and they’re treating it as though it’s the next BotW/ER. Whether this will be universal acclaim? Hard to say… there are some outlets complaining about the difficulty (specifically in the lack of hand-holding).

Sounds like a game that might be a tad bit divisive with outlets, but will be praised by the community.



Cerebralbore101 said:
firebush03 said:

Raising Crimson Desert to 92. Previews just came out, and they are extremely positive. Many outlets are bringing up RDR2 and Elden Ring when discussing this game.

Is that an MMO? I'll have to read reviews on it. 

No, it's a singpleplayer RPG by the company that made the MMO Black Desert Online, set in the same universe as the MMO.



The general impressions I'm getting from perusing the final batch of Crimson Desert previews (as well as earlier batches of previews I have looked at) are:

  • The game is highly ambitious, multiple critics describe the game as an "everything and the kitchen sink" game, keeping every system and idea the developers had over it's 7ish years of development, as well as borrowed ideas from other games, and while it sounds like it would be a jumbled mess of conflicting systems and story tones, most of the critics say it mostly meshes together well
  • However some critics in their previews do warn that the sheer scope of the game and it's many different systems could confuse and overwhelm more casual gamers, calling it a "gamey" game for core gamers
  • The "everything and the kitchen sink" mentality extends to the story of the game, some critics describe missions that feel family friendly like Fable, but others that feel ultra dark and mature like Witcher, but they also state that both somehow feel at home in the same game
  • The combat is fun but also kind of janky, with a mix of typical action RPG hack and slash and fighter-esque button combos, fairly forgiving against normal enemies with a considerable difficulty leap on bosses, especially hard against bosses because there are so many abilities and button combos and such to keep track of while also dodging attacks
  • Incredibly deep skill tree that continues the theme of the developers throwing in every idea they had while scrapping nothing, there is even a skill that allows a Spider-Man like web swing according to one critic
  • The game has both a flyable dragon and a rideable mech (because why not)
  • Most critics say they feel cautiously optimistic about the full game after their preview sessions, however one critic said he would be able to simultaneously write both a larely negative preview of the game and largely positive preview of the game, due to how much is going on in the game and how some of it works and some of it doesn't, and believes the game will be divisive as a result, with some loving it and some hating it

Last edited by shikamaru317 - 2 days ago