The moment Pokemon in the context of video games is brought up most people jump to discussing the mainline entries in the series. Though these sell the best and are the driving force of the franchise in that medium, it has also seen great spinoff and secondary titles over the years.
Of all the Pokemon games, which are the best of ones released in the last 5 years? It’s time to take a look at Metacritic to determine what the answer to this question is and shine a light on some of the lesser-known titles through the release of Pokemon Sword & Shield.
10 Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX (68)
So, back in 2005, Pokemon released the first titles in its Mystery Dungeon spinoff series and one was Blue Rescue Team and the other was Red Rescue team. The roguelike role-playing games weren’t perfect but fans enjoyed having a unique Pokemon experience. In 2020 a remake of those two games mashed into one was released, titled Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX. Its Metacritic score of 68 may not seem great, but it’s good enough to make it the second-best game in the spinoff series.
9 Pokemon GO (69)
With the current state of the world and the pandemic forcing people to stay home, it’s hard to recall what the year 2016 was like. The moment Pokemon GO released as an augmented reality mobile game it had people going outside in droves in search of their favorite Pokemon. For a moment in time nostalgia took over and no one cared that it had a 69 on Metacritic. Though it may have peaked in 2016, the game is still home to millions of players and is constantly doing new events and adding additional Pokemon and features.
8 Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon (69)
When combing through the catalog of Pokemon video games the last genre people would expect to come across is a roguelike. Nintendo has a pattern of making a newer or sequel version of a franchise of a game and simply adding the word “super” somewhere in the title.
Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon is a prime example of this practice. With a Metacritic score of 69, that’s good enough to make it the best game in the spinoff franchise and what most consider to be the only one worth trying in the Mystery Dungeon series.
7 Detective Pikachu (71)
With the release of the film with the same name, Detective Pikachu has quickly become one of the more recognizable spinoff games in the Pokemon franchise. The game has players controlling a vocally talented Pikachu who must solve a mystery. It’s an adventure game with an emphasis on the story as players try to piece together clues. The gameplay and mechanics were its major weaknesses and weighed down the incredible parts of the game reviewers enjoyed. It currently has an aggregate score of 71 on Metacritic with a sequel currently in development.
6 Pokemon Picross (75)
Picross is a video game series that has dipped its toes into several franchises, and the Pokemon version is a beloved fan favorite. It was released on the Nintendo 3DS as a worldwide release in 2015 and the reviews were generally favorable which resulted in a Metacritic average of 75. The game has players create pictures via nonograms, which are number-based grid puzzles, that when solved result in the player being treated to a wonderful image of some sort. Some reviewers found the game too difficult to recommend across the board.
5 Pokkén Tournament DX (79)
Though the Pokemon series has the concept and action of battling at its core, the idea of a fighting game centered on Pokemon was never seen as an eventuality. The announcement of Pokken Tournament took the world by storm as there was a fighting game devoid of trainer input in which fighting game and Pokemon fans alike could enjoy. The game currently sits at a 79 on Metacritic and was gifted with an enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch which was aptly titled Pokken Tournament DX and improved some of the game’s flaws.
4 Pokemon Let’s GO Pikachu & Eevee (80)
When Pokemon Let’s GO Pikachu & Eevee were announced the fan bases immediately became divided. Though they were also meant to serve as a bridge between the mobile hit known as Pokemon GO and the mainline titles, hardcore fans worried that the “watered-down” experience might be the future of the series.
It’s not surprising that a modern casual remake of Pokemon Red & Blue landed with an 80 on Metacritic considering how beloved those original titles were and have been since their release in 1998.
3 Pokemon Sword & Shield (80)
Pokemon Sword & Shield are both the newest entries in the mainline series as well as the first mainline games to launch on the Nintendo Switch. The Wild Area was a large open-world adjacent play area that was possible thanks to the added power provided by Nintendo’s handheld system. The games didn’t manage to live up to the lofty expectations but still managed to introduce a handful of new ideas that will likely become a part of the core design philosophies the franchise will implement moving forward in hopes of beating the Metacritic score of 80.
2 Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon (84)
Instead of coming out with a 3rd entry that was titled something like Pokemon Eclipse, the studio and publisher opted instead on a new type of mid-generation release. Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon added more to the post-game and introduced Ultra Beasts. Overall the titles were considered neat releases that didn’t do much in the way of making the original releases better. Despite the score of 84 on Metacritic, many fans are critical of the way the mid-generation refresh was handled for the 7th generation.
1 Pokemon Sun & Moon (87)
It may come as a surprise that the best Pokemon games of the last 5 years are Pokemon Sun & Moon. These titles introduced the world to the 7th generation of Pokemon games and took place on what are known as the Alolan Islands. The tropical setting was based on Hawaii and gave the franchise an entirely new feature. Introducing the concept of regional forms for already existing Pokemon opened the door for older fan favorites to get a breath of fresh air and helped the games land a score of 87 on Metacritic.
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