DuckStation
Shares rank 10 of 20 emulators by recommenders
Free PlayStation 1 emulator recommended for its friendly interface, strong performance, and CRT filter that recreates the original look. Caveat: licensing forbids repackaging, and the developer has drawn criticism.
Free PlayStation 1 emulator recommended for its friendly interface, strong performance, and CRT filter that recreates the original look. Caveat: licensing forbids repackaging, and the developer has drawn criticism.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 89%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Friendly, polished user interface
“It's performant, has great UI / UX and also has a great CRT filter available that more or less recreates the original look”
Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “PlayStation Architecture” “DuckStation's UI for example is pretty friendly.”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “You probably don't want to buy a retro console”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Licensing bars repackaging
“DuckStation has licensing doesn't allow it to be repackaged for your”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “You probably don't want to buy a retro console” Developer drama reported
“the DuckStation devs recently had some drama”
Comment from 5 Apr 2026 in “GabeN Is Shitting Yacht Money into Flatpak and You're Still Arguing Init Systems” Developer hostile toward Linux users
“the developer frequently makes it abundantly clear that he hates Linux users”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Omarchy Is a Power Grab”
Other emulators people recommend
The four most recommended other emulators, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 20 emulators, rankedWhat people said
7 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“the developer frequently makes it abundantly clear that he hates Linux users”
“It's performant, has great UI / UX and also has a great CRT filter available that more or less recreates the original look”
“the DuckStation devs recently had some drama”
“DuckStation's UI for example is pretty friendly.”
“just use a PC with the Duckstation, Mesen, Dolphin, MAME, Final Burn Neo, and PCSX2 emulators”
“DuckStation has licensing doesn't allow it to be repackaged for your”
“It plays everything below switch flawlessly.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.