RetroArch
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 4 of 20 emulators by recommenders
Free emulator frontend people recommend for playing classic console games on many platforms, with plenty of settings to tune. One critic finds it needlessly complex to set up.
Free emulator frontend people recommend for playing classic console games on many platforms, with plenty of settings to tune. One critic finds it needlessly complex to set up.
25 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 84%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.3 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
Runs on many platforms and devices
“What I can highly recommend is the (free) RetroArch app for AppleTV.”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “You probably don't want to buy a retro console” “Retroarch is already on Steam as well as other emulators.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Steam Machine” “Build it on Retroarch and you don't even need X/Wayland.”
Comment from 7 Mar 2026 in “Plasma Bigscreen – 10-foot interface for KDE plasma” - Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft's 'unhackable' Xbox One has been hacked by 'Bliss'”
Plays many classic console systems
“You can do things like run emulators via RetroArch web using your gamepad properly.”
Comment from 11 Jun 2026 in “Web Browsers on Video Game Consoles” “you can use RetroArch to play NES, SNES and other console older games”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “You probably don't want to buy a retro console” “I was playing a PSP game all last week on mine.”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “How to Make a Nintendo 64 Game in 2026” - Comment from 13 Jul 2026 in “The console wars have been lost”
Customizable shaders, skins and settings
“Retroarch is an amazing tool for that, especially if you take the time to adjust settings”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “You probably don't want to buy a retro console” “Retroarch also has some decent approximations of CRT scanline using shaders as well”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: QBasic Gorillas (Repeeled)” “the actual best is Retroarch with a skin mimicking the PS3’s menu”
Comment from 17 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft's 'unhackable' Xbox One has been hacked by 'Bliss'” Good defaults and easy controller setup
“almost everything you could want comes already included on RetroArch by default”
Comment from 21 Sep 2026 in “The Effect of CRTs on Pixel Art (2024)” “which makes it trivial to connect a BT controller”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “EmulatorJS”
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
24 of the 29 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Projects like MAME and RetroArch have existed for decades doing truly wonderful work.”
“almost everything you could want comes already included on RetroArch by default”
“I was playing a PSP game all last week on mine.”
“Retroarch also has some decent approximations of CRT scanline using shaders as well”
“enjoying their PS3 or RetroArch”
“You can do things like run emulators via RetroArch web using your gamepad properly.”
“Definitely run that through Retroarch.”
“It's certainly worth trying the preemptive frames in RetroArch to see if you like it. Pretty low risk experiment.”
“If you can run RetroArch at 240 Hz on an OLED in "game mode"”
“I certainly convinced myself that I could tell a huge difference...and then I kept taking hits and dying just as much as I was without doing anything.”
“his project lead is a terrible person the leeches off from donations without repassing to the core contributors”
“you can use RetroArch to play NES, SNES and other console older games”
“it was relatively easy to navigate through the emulators”
“What I can highly recommend is the (free) RetroArch app for AppleTV.”
“Recommending RetroArch seems needlessly complex too”
“Retroarch is an amazing tool for that, especially if you take the time to adjust settings”
“the actual best is Retroarch with a skin mimicking the PS3’s menu”
“Best use of an Xbox one for sure”
“Build it on Retroarch and you don't even need X/Wayland.”
“which makes it trivial to connect a BT controller”
“I highly recommend checking it out. Very cool tech.”
“ironically, Retroarch doesn't work for this”
“sounds exactly like what you want”
“Retroarch is already on Steam as well as other emulators.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.