Splatoon Raiders beats out Pokémon and Mario on Metacritic, but it can’t dethrone Cory

From how much my colleague Holly gushed about Splatoon Raiders, I knew it had to be something special, and it turns out you all clearly think it is, too, as the single-player game has taken a rather impressive crown. As of now, Splatoon Raiders has the highest user score rating of any Nintendo game on Metacritic.

Yes, you read that right: Splatoon Raiders sits higher than any of the Mario games or Pokémon games. It’s a truly impressive feat, putting it among a very elite line-up of games. Right now, it sits at number seven on the list of best games of all time by user score, putting it ahead of The Witcher 3 and its Hearts of Stone DLC, The Last of Us, and Nintendo’s previous champion, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask.

However, it’s still behind Clair Obscure, The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine, Silent Hill 4, and, of all things, Disney Cory in the House. One look at our Splatoon Raiders review, in which Holly Alice gave it a ten, shows you that it’s an excellent game that was always going to be a hit, but I’d be lying if I said I’m not surprised by this turn of events.

Sure, the Splatoon games are popular, and of course many of you were going to enjoy the single-player entry, but it topping some of those games is mighty impressive. I’m calling it now: Splatoon Raiders is taking home Family Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2026 – if it doesn’t, I’ll eat my hat. I don’t have one, but I’ll buy one.

I know I’ve been calling it a single-player game, but it wouldn’t be a true entry in the franchise without some Splatoon Raiders multiplayer, so maybe this all-time great can branch into another category, too.