OpenRCT2
Ranked 14 of 14 simulation games by recommenders
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.
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.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not 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
Faithful, backwards compatible with original scenarios
“brings the game into the modern age and is backwards compatible with all the scenarios from the original”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon's Creator, Chris Sawyer (2024)” “It's an incredibly faithful recreation to the original”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon's Creator, Chris Sawyer (2024)” Open-source project admired for code
“This kind of projects (OpenRCT2, OpenLoco, Open...) are absolutely awesome!”
Comment from 28 Oct 2026 in “Decompiling Fast Food Tycoon 2: Drawing the World” “Looking at code from OpenRCT2 you can really see the thought behind it”
Comment from 2 Feb 2026 in “IsoCoaster – Theme Park Builder”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Legal and ethical concerns over copyright
“built (originally) by decompiling the original and otherwise heavily reliant on outright reuse of parts of the original”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon's Creator, Chris Sawyer (2024)” “it is both unethical and unlawful, involving infringements that may in some territories be criminal”
Comment from 3 Dec 2025 in “Interview with RollerCoaster Tycoon's Creator, Chris Sawyer (2024)”
Other simulation games people recommend
The four most recommended other simulation games, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwarf Fortress | 74 | 29 | 72% | 12 | 11 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Airport Simulator | 41 | 8 | 84% | 1 | — | — |
| Firewood Splitting Simulator | 32 | 11 | 74% | 1 | — | — |
| RollerCoaster Tycoon | 21 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| OpenRCT2This page | 5 | 3 | 63% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
All 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“This kind of projects (OpenRCT2, OpenLoco, Open...) are absolutely awesome!”
“Looking at code from OpenRCT2 you can really see the thought behind it”
“I'd much rather someone drop https://openrct2.io/ into emscripten with open-source graphics”
“via OpenRCT2, it should be said”
“built (originally) by decompiling the original and otherwise heavily reliant on outright reuse of parts of the original”
“It's an incredibly faithful recreation to the original”
“I'm unfamiliar with OpenRCT2 but I can't imagine the RCTC rebuild has nearly as many features”
“it is both unethical and unlawful, involving infringements that may in some territories be criminal”
“brings the game into the modern age and is backwards compatible with all the scenarios from the original”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.