# OpenRCT2

5 Hacker News commenters recommended OpenRCT2 and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Free open-source recreation of RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 that runs original scenarios and is praised for faithfulness; critics say it was built by decompiling the original.

## Why people recommend it

- Faithful, backwards compatible with original scenarios (2 comments): "brings the game into the modern age and is backwards compatible with all the scenarios from the original" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46131465)) "It's an incredibly faithful recreation to the original" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46134145))
- Open-source project admired for code (2 comments): "This kind of projects (OpenRCT2, OpenLoco, Open...) are absolutely awesome!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50271324)) "Looking at code from OpenRCT2 you can really see the thought behind it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46862770))

## What people warn about

- Legal and ethical concerns over copyright (2 comments): "built (originally) by decompiling the original and otherwise heavily reliant on outright reuse of parts of the original" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46134193)) "it is both unethical and unlawful, involving infringements that may in some territories be criminal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46132020))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Dwarf Fortress](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dwarf-fortress.md): 74 recommend
- [Airport Simulator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/airport-simulator.md): 41 recommend
- [Firewood Splitting Simulator](https://hackerapproved.com/p/firewood-splitting-simulator.md): 32 recommend
- [RollerCoaster Tycoon](https://hackerapproved.com/p/rollercoaster-tycoon.md): 21 recommend
- [RimWorld](https://hackerapproved.com/p/rimworld.md): 19 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "OpenRCT2", https://hackerapproved.com/p/openrct2/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).