Old School RuneScape
Hacker ApprovedRanked 5 of 15 MMORPGs by recommenders
Players recommend this nostalgic, passion-driven MMO for its regular community-voted updates and long-running player base, though critics say some balancing changes erode progress.
Players recommend this nostalgic, passion-driven MMO for its regular community-voted updates and long-running player base, though critics say some balancing changes erode progress.
25 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 22
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 88%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 22 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 7.3 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 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
Regular updates keep game fresh
“the community voting system they have for introducing new content keeps the game alive and fresh”
Comment from 19 Apr 2026 in “Turtle WoW classic server announces shutdown after Blizzard wins injunction” “they dedicated a team to it and they ended up doing some pretty great things given time”
Comment from 18 Oct 2026 in “The game industry is broken – can we fix it?” “Even OSRS, which was born on nostalgia, also gets significant new content updates”
Comment from 5 Mar 2026 in “Good software knows when to stop” - Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO”
- Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO”
Nostalgic feel and lasting passion
“OSRS as a product is unique in the MMO space because it really is a product of passion.”
Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO” “I love the comeback of old school RuneScape! The good kind of nostalgia.”
Comment from 11 Mar 2026 in “Roblox Is Minting Teen Millionaires” “I love the visual, music and the feeling of first exploration”
Comment from 22 Jun 2026 in “Walt Disney Company is the most successful at monetizing human nostalgia [audio]” - Comment from 4 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO”
- Comment from 11 Sep 2026 in “All grown-ups were once children, but only few of them remember it”
Players shape development decisions
“follow the lead of the OSRS team, make the old game and add new breadth, listen to your players not your shareholders”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “Turtle WoW classic server announces shutdown after Blizzard wins injunction” “the community voting system they have for introducing new content keeps the game alive and fresh”
Comment from 19 Apr 2026 in “Turtle WoW classic server announces shutdown after Blizzard wins injunction” “players having veto power over almost every single decision”
Comment from 8 Sep 2026 in “There's a new "Google Jail" for independent wikis”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Balancing changes erode player progress
“For every good update there is a landslide of terrible balancing that erodes 100s of hours of progress.”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “We're working on a new RuneScape MMO” “I wish there was a way to exclude the OSRS updates”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Runedle – Wordle for Old School RuneScape”
Other MMORPGs people recommend
The four most recommended other MMORPGs, 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.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World of Warcraft | 67 | 65 | 51% | 12 | 20 yrs5 owners | — |
| EVE Online | 52 | 23 | 69% | 11 | 11 yrs7 owners | Approved |
| Ultima Online | 44 | 5 | 90% | 9 | — | Approved |
| RuneScape | 35 | 18 | 66% | 8 | 20 yrs3 owners | — |
| Old School RuneScapeThis page | 22 | 3 | 88% | 9 | — | Approved |
What people said
25 of the 28 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“they dedicated a team to it and they ended up doing some pretty great things given time”
“For every good update there is a landslide of terrible balancing that erodes 100s of hours of progress.”
“It's special because it has been active for 25 years.”
“None of your criticisms of the main game apply during the past year of updates.”
“OSRS as a product is unique in the MMO space because it really is a product of passion.”
“Other than OSRS more recently, I've felt left behind for many, many years now.”
“hitting out of the park with OSRS updates”
“the success of expanded offshoots (OSRS, TurtleWow, Ascension, etc.) showed there is plenty of demand”
“Jagex blunders hard and gets very lucky each time.”
“But it has the same feeling to it”
“most of the player base is only concerned with doings their daily chores, completing quests as efficiently as possible”
“players having veto power over almost every single decision”
“The evolution for Old School RuneScape was to just make cheating a built-in feature.”
“I love the visual, music and the feeling of first exploration”
“pushed people towards Oldschool Runescape”
“follow the lead of the OSRS team, make the old game and add new breadth, listen to your players not your shareholders”
“the community voting system they have for introducing new content keeps the game alive and fresh”
“I love the comeback of old school RuneScape! The good kind of nostalgia.”
“can eat a lot of time and still give you social connections”
“Even OSRS, which was born on nostalgia, also gets significant new content updates”
“Even now, OSRS has double the amount of players that RS3 has.”
“Runescape2/OSRS never had any sort of pay to win, or pay to skip the grind.”
“OSRS is so good at this point”
“I wish there was a way to exclude the OSRS updates”
“I still like to play it myself without botting”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.