Scorched Earth
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 4 artillery games
Classic DOS artillery game recommended for nostalgia and fun with friends; remakes lack original features.
Classic DOS artillery game recommended for nostalgia and fun with friends; remakes lack original features.
36 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 31
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 86%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 31 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 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
Fond childhood and college memories
“I grew up playing scorched Earth on Windows 3 just over a thousand years ago, and have always enjoyed that game.”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Tank Body Problem” “Scorched Earth was such a fun game! Many hours were lost at our small home LAN parties playing SE”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Memories of .us” “This version is ok but I prefer the original”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” - Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
- Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
- Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
- Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
- Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
- Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
- Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
- Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
Fun to play with others
“Scorched Earth was such a fun game! Many hours were lost at our small home LAN parties playing SE”
Comment from 28 Nov 2025 in “Memories of .us” “It was fun to explore all the weapons and utilities with my brother.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” “I loved that game and it was one of the few times we ever got on.”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “Worms: The Future of Yesterday's Worms Today” - Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
Simple concept, great gameplay
“I love how such a simple concept can make for such a great game”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” “love this twist on the old idea”
Comment from 29 Sep 2026 in “Tank Body Problem”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Remake weaker than the original
“It is better than this remake but no multiplayer.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” “This version is ok but I prefer the original”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” Missing features from the original
“I agree that Scorched Earth had more to it, but it wasn't the original.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” “Sadly, it appears ChatGPT 5.5 did not implement this crucial feature for this javascript port.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” “It is better than this remake but no multiplayer.”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” Poor UI and hard-to-see tanks
“this is what happens when you let LLM design the UI”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” “almost invisible red tank on a magenta background”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back”
Other artillery games people recommend
The three most recommended other artillery 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scorched EarthThis page | 31 | 5 | 86% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Worms World Party | 18 | 2 | 90% | 3 | — | — |
| Worms Armageddon | 9 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tank Body Problem | 8 | 4 | 67% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
32 of the 39 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“love this twist on the old idea”
“I grew up playing scorched Earth on Windows 3 just over a thousand years ago, and have always enjoyed that game.”
“gorilla.bas -> scorched earth -> worms armageddon”
“I loved that game and it was one of the few times we ever got on.”
“the original creator of Scorch Earth has also recently rebooted it for the web as well”
“almost invisible red tank on a magenta background”
“I remember playing this in college. Such good times.”
“Sadly, it appears ChatGPT 5.5 did not implement this crucial feature for this javascript port.”
“Trading those around on BBSes was part of the fun.”
“this is what happens when you let LLM design the UI”
“Great work! People are not realizing to press "start".”
“I played the original (too much) while doing computer science at uni”
“why would anyone play this when they can play much funnier Worms”
“I agree that Scorched Earth had more to it, but it wasn't the original.”
“I used to play this game a ton”
“Mother of all games. Played so much SE when I was younger, one of my all time favs.”
“This version is ok but I prefer the original”
“the rate of turn for the turret was tied to CPU cycles”
“This bring me back so many good memories!”
“looks the same (in a good way)”
“I played the hell out of this game in computer class”
“one of the few games that could actually do SVGA graphics at the time”
“I love how such a simple concept can make for such a great game”
“9 year old me got my first "hacking" experience out of this game.”
“It was fun to explore all the weapons and utilities with my brother.”
“yeah, that's the original. It is better than this remake”
“It is better than this remake but no multiplayer.”
“I had a lot of fun with this in the early 2000s.”
“it was a step up from dopewars”
“For some reason the power capped at 235, so neither of us could come close to hitting one another.”
“I played the hell out of the original DOS game during high school in 1992”
“Scorched Earth was such a fun game! Many hours were lost at our small home LAN parties playing SE”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.