StarCraft II
Ranked 5 of 24 real-time strategy games by recommenders
Recommended for its deep strategy, strong campaigns, lasting competitive play and free-to-play multiplayer. Critics cite demanding execution, always-online requirements, and a small current player base.
Recommended for its deep strategy, strong campaigns, lasting competitive play and free-to-play multiplayer. Critics cite demanding execution, always-online requirements, and a small current player base.
50 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 32
- criticize it
- 18
- approval share
- 64%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not 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 doesn’t carry the badge
- 32 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 1.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 10 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
Enduring popularity and acclaim
“they'd probably be correct given how its still played so much today”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “30 Year Anniversary of WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness” “there is a reason Starcraft is such a cultural phenomenon”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Blizzard Revives 'StarCraft' Franchise with Open-World Sci-Fi Shooter” “perhaps to this day the best RTS ever made”
Comment from 10 Sep 2026 in “Blizzard Workers Win Historic Union Contract” - Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “StarCraft returns in 2030 as an open-world shooter”
Runs well, including on Linux
“StarCraft 2 worked, oddly enough, run from Steam as an external program.”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” “Even Starcraft2, run through proton, works well.”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March” “Starcraft 2 and diablo 2 both work very well”
Comment from 2 Apr 2026 in “Steam on Linux Use Skyrocketed Above 5% in March” Balance patches and design improvements
“SC2 achieved this with balance patches - Blizzard paid close attention to the meta and when it got stale/boring, they adjusted things”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Beyond All Reason (Free Total Annihilation Inspired RTS)” “SC2 always had smoother patching and better programmed "flocking" behavior.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Blizzard Revives 'StarCraft' Franchise with Open-World Sci-Fi Shooter” “SC2 was more successful in taking out APM and "Deathball" mechanics”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Blizzard Revives 'StarCraft' Franchise with Open-World Sci-Fi Shooter” Responsive controls
“No lag that I could discern. The multiplayer also worked just fine, although the matchmaking system seemed to think I was an expert level player”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” “I love this super responsive controles and its the only thing i will settle for in terms of controles”
Comment from 9 Aug 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you working on? (August 2026)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Always-online and server connection requirements
“The always online model was heavily hamfisted by Activision Blizzard who wanted to launch their esports ambitions with SC2”
Comment from 22 Feb 2026 in “Gamedate – A site to revive dead multiplayer games” “you have to go all the way through the internet even if you sit right next to each other”
Comment from 22 Feb 2026 in “Gamedate – A site to revive dead multiplayer games” “you even needed to connect to their servers to play the fucking single player campaign”
Comment from 22 Feb 2026 in “Gamedate – A site to revive dead multiplayer games” Hard to execute, demanding play
“I found that StarCraft 2 multiplayer wasn't fun at all if you weren't nearly giving yourself an anxiety attack trying to perfectly execute a laundry list of moves as fast as possible.”
Comment from 15 Sep 2026 in “Blizzard Revives 'StarCraft' Franchise with Open-World Sci-Fi Shooter” “the intense loathing we had for how incredibly difficult Blizzard had decided to make it to actually play the game you had paid for”
Comment from 22 Feb 2026 in “Gamedate – A site to revive dead multiplayer games” “controlling units was too difficult: the only thing I could do is to send entire army to fight.”
Comment from 21 Jun 2026 in “Beyond All Reason (Free Total Annihilation Inspired RTS)” Needs constant meta and patch study
“once you're studying various metas rather than having fun you need to take a step back and reevaluate”
Comment from 28 Jan 2026 in “Microsoft forced me to switch to Linux” “in SC2, I have to be caught up on the latest balance patches to appreciate anything”
Comment from 9 Dec 2025 in “30 Year Anniversary of WarCraft II: Tides of Darkness” Patches introduced bugs and changes
“Starcraft2's problem was that it was 3 separate games with incredible patches that completely changed everything.”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “Blizzard Revives 'StarCraft' Franchise with Open-World Sci-Fi Shooter” “game breaking bugs introduced into StarCraft 2 in recent patches”
Comment from 15 Jul 2026 in “Ask HN: Is it just me, or is software buggier across the board?”
Other real-time strategy games people recommend
The four most recommended other real-time strategy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond All Reason | 76 | 17 | 82% | 10 | 1 yr6 owners | Approved |
| Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness | 51 | 2 | 96% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Total Annihilation | 48 | 7 | 87% | 7 | — | Approved |
| StarCraft | 36 | 22 | 62% | 10 | — | — |
| StarCraft IIThis page | 32 | 18 | 64% | 10 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 55 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I still play Dune 2, warcraft II, sc:broodwars and C&C, in addition to Starcraft II.”
“That faith started deteriorating around 2005/6 for me, and was gone within a month or so of SC2 releasing.”
“I think sc2 is considerably worse about map variety”
“I've been wondering what slower speed sc2 tournaments would look like”
“it wasn't until SC2 that it finally looked as good or better”
“I found that StarCraft 2 multiplayer wasn't fun at all if you weren't nearly giving yourself an anxiety attack trying to perfectly execute a laundry list of moves as fast as possible.”
“SC2 always had smoother patching and better programmed "flocking" behavior.”
“SC2 was more successful in taking out APM and "Deathball" mechanics”
“there is a reason Starcraft is such a cultural phenomenon”
“Starcraft 2 and it's 2 expansions all broke 1 million sales in less than 24 hours”
“Starcraft2's problem was that it was 3 separate games with incredible patches that completely changed everything.”
“SC2 is free to play, great game, and still barely gets any players.”
“SC2 is my favorite game of all time”
“perhaps to this day the best RTS ever made”
“I love this super responsive controles and its the only thing i will settle for in terms of controles”
“I appreciate Blizzard keeping SC2 pretty much the same the most.”
“game breaking bugs introduced into StarCraft 2 in recent patches”
“SC2 achieved this with balance patches - Blizzard paid close attention to the meta and when it got stale/boring, they adjusted things”
“controlling units was too difficult: the only thing I could do is to send entire army to fight.”
“Somehow Starcraft 2 emerged from the other side of esports mostly unscathed”
“It's still quite an achievement.”
“Even Starcraft2, run through proton, works well.”
“Starcraft 2 and diablo 2 both work very well”
“And tools they packaged with SC2 weren't bad either.”
“you even needed to connect to their servers to play the fucking single player campaign”
“The always online model was heavily hamfisted by Activision Blizzard who wanted to launch their esports ambitions with SC2”
“how is anybody gonna play SC2 or any of the always-online games?”
“the intense loathing we had for how incredibly difficult Blizzard had decided to make it to actually play the game you had paid for”
“you have to go all the way through the internet even if you sit right next to each other”
“once you're studying various metas rather than having fun you need to take a step back and reevaluate”
“No lag that I could discern. The multiplayer also worked just fine, although the matchmaking system seemed to think I was an expert level player”
“StarCraft 2 worked, oddly enough, run from Steam as an external program.”
“With a few UI conveniences StarCraft 2 could have been just as accessible to newer players”
“I love Starcraft 2, but it is legitimately the most mentally demanding game I have ever played”
“in SC2, I have to be caught up on the latest balance patches to appreciate anything”
“the campaign didn't stick as Brod War's did, even if the gameplay was superior”
“the scion of the series, SC2”
“they'd probably be correct given how its still played so much today”
“Mutators are about the only thing keeping Starcraft 2 Co-Op players going in 2025”
“the campaigns of StarCraft II are amazing”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.