# Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness

51 Hacker News commenters recommended Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 8 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its deep, varied real-time strategy gameplay, memorable soundtrack and strong nostalgia. Critics note the races feel nearly identical and the game is unbalanced against humans late on.

## Why people recommend it

- Strong nostalgia and fond memories (7 comments): "Those were probably some of the most enjoyable moments I ever got out of dial up internet." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46208719)) "Warcraft II was what I LAN played the most so it has a special place in my heart though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46205509)) "Grew up with the Warcraft II Battle Chest and it was a vibe" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46985748))
- Deep gameplay with unique units (5 comments): "the old games like Settlers, HoMM 2 or Warcraft 2, that are no worse than modern ones gameplay wise" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47722522)) "Warcraft II really gave each unit a unique character and the strategies for almost endless." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46205746)) "the WarCraft II experience really took things to the next level with far richer gameplay" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46213138))
- Fun campaigns and multiplayer (4 comments): "Warcraft II was what I LAN played the most so it has a special place in my heart though." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46205509)) "I loved the campaigns so much that I spent many dollars to play with the campaign editor" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46205802)) "The only RTS games I could truly enjoy were Warcraft II and III." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46215511))
- Memorable soundtrack and artistry (3 comments): "Still my favourite RTS to this day, with a fantastic soundtrack that I will never forget." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46218469)) "every single one of them was thought about and considered by someone with artistic merit" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46211334)) "Good gameplay, OST, graphics... never experienced a glitch or performance issue." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46207640))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Beyond All Reason](https://hackerapproved.com/p/beyond-all-reason.md): 76 recommend
- [Total Annihilation](https://hackerapproved.com/p/total-annihilation.md): 48 recommend
- [StarCraft](https://hackerapproved.com/p/starcraft.md): 36 recommend
- [StarCraft II](https://hackerapproved.com/p/starcraft-ii.md): 32 recommend
- [0 A.D.](https://hackerapproved.com/p/0-a-d.md): 30 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness", https://hackerapproved.com/p/warcraft-ii-tides-of-darkness/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).