# Scorched Earth

31 Hacker News commenters recommended Scorched Earth and 5 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Classic DOS artillery game recommended for nostalgia and fun with friends; remakes lack original features.

## Why people recommend it

- Fond childhood and college memories (11 comments): "I grew up playing scorched Earth on Windows 3 just over a thousand years ago, and have always enjoyed that game." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49886483)) "Scorched Earth was such a fun game! Many hours were lost at our small home LAN parties playing SE" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46076513)) "This version is ok but I prefer the original" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48131306))
- Fun to play with others (4 comments): "Scorched Earth was such a fun game! Many hours were lost at our small home LAN parties playing SE" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46076513)) "It was fun to explore all the weapons and utilities with my brother." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48130364)) "I loved that game and it was one of the few times we ever got on." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49270586))
- Simple concept, great gameplay (2 comments): "I love how such a simple concept can make for such a great game" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48130623)) "love this twist on the old idea" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49887259))

## What people warn about

- Remake weaker than the original (2 comments): "It is better than this remake but no multiplayer." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48130313)) "This version is ok but I prefer the original" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48131306))
- Missing features from the original (3 comments): "I agree that Scorched Earth had more to it, but it wasn't the original." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48132382)) "Sadly, it appears ChatGPT 5.5 did not implement this crucial feature for this javascript port." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48136277)) "It is better than this remake but no multiplayer." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48130313))
- Poor UI and hard-to-see tanks (2 comments): "this is what happens when you let LLM design the UI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48134022)) "almost invisible red tank on a magenta background" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48139328))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Worms World Party](https://hackerapproved.com/p/worms.md): 18 recommend
- [Worms Armageddon](https://hackerapproved.com/p/worms-armageddon.md): 9 recommend
- [Tank Body Problem](https://hackerapproved.com/p/tank-body-problem.md): 8 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Scorched Earth", https://hackerapproved.com/p/scorched-earth/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).