We’re only a little more than two months into 2026, and we already have two gaming heavyweights duking it out for the title of highest-rated game of the year. Resident Evil Requiem claimed the crown only for Pokemon Pokopia to unexpectedly step up and snatch it away. Requiem, refusing to take that lying down, has pushed back and is once again on top, but only just.
Requiem debuted with a score of 90 on OpenCritic and an 88 on Metacritic, making it the highest-rated original entry in the series since Resident Evil 4. The assumption was that, even if those scores dipped a little, which can happen as more reviews are published, Requiem would hold onto the top spot for quite a while. Pokopia, however, had other ideas.
Pokopia’s Reign As This Year’s Best Game Was Short-Lived
The hit new Pokemon game sounded like it was going to be good, but I don’t think fans of the series were anticipating quite how warmly it would be received. It debuted to a 90 on Metacritic – and even went as high as 93 at one stage on OpenCritic – making it the highest-rated Pokemon game of all time. Even now that score has settled on an 88 across both sites, it’s still tied for that record with Pokemon Y.
However, while that slightly lower score hasn’t altered its lofty status within the Pokemon world, it has knocked it down a peg at these early stages in the race to be crowned the highest-rated game of 2026. That’s because, as more reviews have slowly started to filter in, Requiem has done the unthinkable and climbed back up to 89 on Metacritic, and is all the way back up to 90 on OpenCritic.
Requiem Is The Highest-Rated Game Of The Year Again
That means, regardless of which site you prefer to use, Requiem is now, once again, the highest-rated game of 2026. That score is an average of 139 reviews compared to just 30 for Pokopia, which only makes it even more impressive. There’s a long way to go yet, though, and not only might Pokopia climb back up to 90 if it does what Requiem did when more reviews are published, but history dictates a 90 isn’t enough to keep you in the number one spot come the end of the year.
Last year, Hades 2 secured pole position with an unbelievable 95. I’ve finally found my way into the underworld recently and can confirm Melinoe deserves every last one of those 95 points. Astro Bot’s 95 made it the highest-rated game of 2024, and in 2023, Baldur’s Gate 3 topped the pile with an eyewatering 96. A body blow to Tears of the Kingdom, which, with a 95, would have had a better chance of taking the crown back to Hyrule had it released in pretty much any other year.
- Released
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February 27, 2026
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language, In-Game Purchases
