WARDOGS
WARDOGS
Game
Game2025
The Scouring
Developer Orc Group
The Scouring is an RTS with fast pace, high attention to detail and next generation experience. Lead humans or orcs in a Classic Mode or use one of powerful Heroes to fight for victory! Play alone or with friends. Use our modding tools to create maps and custom game modes! Join The Scouring! From the Steam store page
239 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
85
LovedLoved
181 positive · 32 negative
95% range 80–89%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 181 | 32 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 1 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
582 of 650 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
87% recommend · 180 yes, 28 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 208 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (1,183 of 1,351 positive).
Players widely praise the game as a modern take on classic Warcraft, especially Warcraft II and III. [1][2][3] Many note the game is early access with limited content, needing more units, factions, and polish. [4][5][6] Some reviewers criticize balance issues, clunky controls, and a lack of strategic depth. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
Believe me when I say that I wanted to love this game, I really really really did! It's just a little too simple, vanilla, limited and clunky, and it reaches points where you essentially can't win. You can literally rally endless waves of units to a battle, but units self-heal so quickly out of combat that if you're against anyone with even the most basic micromanagement of wounded units and you're fighting in …
- [3]
As a former Warcraft III player, I find in *The Scouring* everything I loved back then—and even more. Come have a blast, it’s an absolute banger.
- [15]
Good : It's a fun game. If you like Warcraft 2, this is the closest thing to a direct sequel we'll get. It has a surprising amount of attention to detail that you don't really get in the RTS genre. I find myself spending time playing a custom game just because the core gameplay loop is fun. The dev updates the game often and have a roadmap they stick to. Bad : It is still for the most part a very vanilla game that …
- [6]
For an early access game it is oke. Gameplay wise it looks cool and feels quite fluid. I will still give it a positive review. But you can clearly see that it is not fully developed though and why it is early access. - Only 2 races (Orcs and Humans) and they are identical, except for the art style. - Missing depth. Adding heroes might make a big difference here already. - The UI is missing some polish as well. As an …
- [1]
The potential is there, I am grateful that someone is trying to make Warcraft IV
Summarised from 34 of the 236 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 12, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
The Scouring sits at 85% positive across 213 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 239 · most liked firstThe potential is there, I am grateful that someone is trying to make Warcraft IV
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its Warcraft 4. Finally this company undid what blizzard did to me 2 decades ago with WOW- abandon making good games for a cash grab addicting nerds to a terrible looking MMORPG.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a former Warcraft III player, I find in *The Scouring* everything I loved back then—and even more. Come have a blast, it’s an absolute banger.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolutely miniscule amount of content in here, but what it does have is this: - Ragdoll physics - You can make a mod with notepad Amazing start; more units, more spells, give us more of what you just did, keep up the great work
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Believe me when I say that I wanted to love this game, I really really really did! It's just a little too simple, vanilla, limited and clunky, and it reaches points where you essentially can't win. You can literally rally endless waves of units to a battle, but units self-heal so quickly out of combat that if you're against anyone with even the most basic micromanagement of wounded units and you're fighting in anything resembling a chokepoint, it's very literally an endless unwinnable…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →People who say that this is better than Warcraft and basically Warcraft 4 are extremely delusional. This game is incredibly basic and breaks the basic rule o RTS - secured areas never stay secure because of those random enemies spawning at night. So basically you don't strategize, you just make a big army ball and then whoever outmasses the other wins. That's about it when it comes to strategy. QoL wise, it's even worse. Legacy hotkeys are the default. In a 2025 game. Camera is zoomed in too…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The core idea of the game is great and it has a lot of potential, but right now it feels unbalanced and pretty much unplayable as Humans. The developers added air units for one faction but not the other, which makes farming much easier for that side and creates a big advantage. Until both factions have similar options, the gameplay just isn’t fair. I hope this gets addressed soon because the game could be a lot of fun with proper balance.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Next project is the Scouring of the Shire, which I'll be running as a participation game at a future game weekend. Nothing like taking out a classic set of metal models and getting to work!
neutral · AI labelView post →RTS month continues with a freshly dropped early access RTS made by a solo dev - THE SCOURING! I know there's been buzz about this game since the demo released a while back, so now I'm giving the EA release a peek Twitch -> day9tv
neutral · AI labelView post →This game is at about 1/5th of the way to where it needs to be, to be great. Don't misunderstand, what it does, it does very well. But it needs more units, more depth, more variety between factions and more badassery. That last point sounds silly, but I mean it. It doesn't FEEL cool. It needs that extra sprinkle of magic to really help it stand out. Do I think it will get there? Hopefully someday. The foundation is here. I look forward to future updates. In the mean time, I had to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →FFA ai will cheat. if you get tempo and try to attack an ai the others will attack you instantly because they see you attacking through fog of war. happened 3 times in less than an hour. blatant unfair cheating. not to mention the anti air counter building without seeing my army. why even have fog of war on at all at least let us engage in the shenanigans too. unfun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good : It's a fun game. If you like Warcraft 2, this is the closest thing to a direct sequel we'll get. It has a surprising amount of attention to detail that you don't really get in the RTS genre. I find myself spending time playing a custom game just because the core gameplay loop is fun. The dev updates the game often and have a roadmap they stick to. Bad : It is still for the most part a very vanilla game that is retreading waters from the 1990s and not really adding much to the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a grown up warcraft 3 but it needs a lot more work from the devs. This is not fully baked and to be honest I am not sure if the community will support it fast enough as of today I'd say its 45% done.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Warcraft 2 on steroids. Bug free thus far and plays very smooth. Negative is the low content but this is in the very early stage and the engine runs very well and mods to add done perfect. The new naval combat is a huge bonus and boat animations are fantastic. Still wish we had some better sound for each unit to make them unique. Hoping comes in the future. Love the day and night concept and way you can use buildings for high ground bonus yet enemies can scale them. This RTS has a ton…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL:DR Review [Out of 10]: Gameplay: 5; Story: ?; Visuals: 10; Sounds: 4; SteamDeck Compatibility: 8; Value and Considerations: 5. Currently the game needs to bake in the oven quite a bit more in order for me to recommend your time and well-earned money. It is not all bad, and it is great to support an Indie team. However, if you have access to OG Warcraft 3 CDs, or play Dawn of War, there is not much reason to play this game as it gets updated units, costs, etc. Issues are in the Gameplay…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a big fan of the Warcraft series especially Warcraft III, and the Souring is kind of like a modern reimagining of Warcraft II, also integrating some aspects of WC3 such as neutral creeps in skirmish mode, and aspects of other RTS games like unit experience and unlimited control groups. The unit pathing is okay, it's more forgiving than the brutality which is WC3 but units also don't flow like liquid as in Starcraft 2. Unlike in WC3, units will try to shove other units out of the way, but…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Asked for refund 2 hours after purchase. the improvement since prerelease are somewhat in the right direction, but the game just feels.... not worth money yet. I see another too early price tag on an alpha. I don't see things improving in ways that make me think I want my money sunk into a maybe completed title. I hope it gets better. I won't be finding out
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been looking for an RTS to jump into instead of sc2. The other classics like wc3, bw, aoe and aom didn't feel right to me. This, however, ticks all the boxes. Love the game <3
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →93% positive reviews but somehow no one is playing it when you go try to join or make a multiplayer match. Something is way off here.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Play Ithaca in the Cards - the one game that does not give a shit about dropping the ring into Mount Doom and instead is concerned with playing out the walk home and the Scouring of the Shire. www.kickstarter.com/projects/ehr...
neutral · AI labelView post →Unplayable garbage after the recent updates. The AI has completely ruined the game over the last six months. Playing in hero mode with an AI ally is now an exercise in pure frustration because it actively sabotages everything you do. Here is how the game breaks: 1. Economy and Item Sabotage: Every single opponent builds the 'Staff of Blinking' for 750 gold. You, however, can never buy it because your AI completely drains the treasury, constantly wasting gold so the bank stays stuck at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Twas the days before Yuletide, when all through the week Cai was still brimming with big adventures to seek There'll be spreadsheets and an Illithid psychic bond, Chatting with friends and The Scouring of Mithlond. 🧵 Digital playspace creation ⛵ The Scouring of Mithlond 🏰 Free the Bear 🏳️⚧️ Chaos Chat
neutral · AI labelView post →I absolutely love the original Warcraft 1 - 3. This feels great, but from what I've experienced so far in the early stages of the build, you get smashed unless you just build out massive amounts of cavalry. I'd really like to have a slower build to the onslaught, so I can strategically build my base with appropriate orientation to the environment. I won't return the game, but I'll pause until they can slow it down... just a bit for us planners/strategists. I'll definitely change my…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For an early access game it is oke. Gameplay wise it looks cool and feels quite fluid. I will still give it a positive review. But you can clearly see that it is not fully developed though and why it is early access. - Only 2 races (Orcs and Humans) and they are identical, except for the art style. - Missing depth. Adding heroes might make a big difference here already. - The UI is missing some polish as well. As an example: Hovering over queued units in the building does not add a cross, the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The best take on a modern Warcraft-like so far imo. Pathing is great, and actually optimized well for an EA game (You can have lots of units on the screen with no lag). Modding works straight out of the box and has some cool game-modes. Not a lot of players currently, but this game definitely has a bright future for what it's offering!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really amazing modern Warcraft-1-like. The gameplay is outrageously good. Full thumbs up. I played a few skirmishes, and the game balance is spot on. There are currently a few units (worker, soldier, tank, archer, cannon, mage, flier) but ... the game is great as it is. The balance is very good, and the game is full of tactical choices. Let me give a few examples: The barracks (or towers) can be garrisoned by soldiers and archers. Archers can shoot from on top, soldiers can defend from melee…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have been reading LOTR aloud to my sons, and it has really been hitting me hard in the era of Trump 2.0. Tonight we got to "The Scouring of the Shire," and...oof. Just gutting. But I did enjoy meeting the hobbit named Tom Cotton(!) who's game to get in the streets and drive the fascists out!
neutral · AI labelView post →Asked my husband about his take on the cozy hobbit sim game and now he's pulling out special editions of the books and unfolding maps and explaining to me about using the Party Tree to date when the game must take place and how the final battle of the war was part of the Scouring of the Shire
neutral · AI labelView post →Game has very low content. This is warcraft 0.5. Right now, i suggest waiting. Take a look at hours played in the comments. But there are lots of mods. So you can get some of them and enjoy a little more. This is early access. Hope we get more things in the future , so i´ll change my analisys.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Orc faction is clearly favored in this game, they are significantly stronger than the humans.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wasn't going to purchase this yet as not a fan of EA titles. But after having played the demo, it gave me such a nostalgic feeling of playing Warcraft over 30 years ago at the age of 8, that I simply couldn't resist the chance to support this project further and help it along. It's got that classic feel of an RTS, a genre that has largely been left behind - plays great and has some modern twists such as your opponents not being the only thing you should be worrying about on the map. It's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I guess the first 1000 hours are fun...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is FUN and I really don't like that many games. Just waiting for it to have more factions and units but the gameplay is amazing. It feels like the old Warcraft but with a modern twist. Kudos to the developers, this game is a hit!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played some Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. My Hobbits took on the Ruffians in the Scouring of the Shire campaign. At this point in the campaign, it's pretty even between the two sides. #WarhammerCommunity #MESBG
neutral · AI labelView post →A promising RTS held back by frustrating AI, sluggish unit movement, and a lack of content Disclaimer: This review is based solely on playing against the AI in the singleplayer classic and challenge modes, not the hero mode or multiplayer. ✅ Fun modifiers There are some really fun modifiers that can completely change how you approach a game, and these have been one of the highlights for me. The most recent one I beat after multiple attempts essentially spawned increasingly stronger goblin…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Any RTS fan should at least try out the demo. A very promising RTS game that stands out and has character.It looks beautiful and the performance is solid. Stylish and easily readable UI. The newly added Naval combat has a great feel to it. Which brings us to probably the strongest part of this game, the engine itself. The way the projectiles work,the movement, the knockback on attacks,THE CLIMBING ON BUILDINGS, literally everything has a weight to it, all while the controls still feel…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this game really to support mudrunner series development, this is not quite my genre of games, I tryed it, as expected, not particularly interested, I kinda also dislike how the game uses the standart Spintires the game and Mudrunner menu and visuals, this basically being a game of this sorts on a engine designed for bad terrain trucking simulator, which is really funny, it'd be funnier if they ad transport between buildings and they constantly worsen the path they take behaving like…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very ealry to the point where it doesnt have much playability
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hello people, I really like this game. It reminds me a lot of Warcraft 3, which is already a big win for me. The game is playable in its current early state, but it definitely needs more spice. Right now, the unit and building variety feels limited. Also, orcs seem a bit too strong in the late game, so balance could use some attention. It would be great to see new races added in the future, like elves. One funny thing I noticed… there are no female characters at all. Not even villagers. Come…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great warcraft 3 vibes. appreciating resources simplicty to gold and wood. looking forward campaign story, hope it will have same quality as W3, which I think has one of the most engaging stories ever in gaming Enjoying following: - mod w/o heroes - hero mode controlling only Hero - idea that Ordinary unit can buy health potion instead of using healing units - Goblin / Lich scenarios as part of game - artillery cannot attack in same line where friendly unit stays. (starship troopers game)…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really like the Scouring. It's a great Real-time Strategy game with the unique feature of having units actually be visible garrisoning the structures that you use to produce them. It reminds me a lot of Warcraft 3 gameplay, and art style. I really like the community and the creativity of the maps created by players. The two factions - Orcs and Humans could be more asymmetrical and different from each other as right now they are almost similar in gameplay mechanics. But a third faction, more…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Find a way to play Warcraft 1 or 2 instead of this. It is so simplified there is barely a game to be played. Pathfinding is terrible, babysit your group as moving further than half a screen will result in them scattering into combat ineffective little groups. All while the AI is cheerfully enjoying massive bonuses to seem like it can play the game better than you. The simplicity of Warcraft 1 trying to obey under the rules of Warcraft 3 while just being thoroughly lacking in map design,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have waited for something like this for a long, long, time. I grew up with Warcraft II and hated when they went away from the RTS formula. I basically left the franchise because of the change in formula. This scratches that itch! I absolutely love the game, it feels like old school Warcraft II, I am super hopeful for the future of this game. As it stands right now, this game is well worth the investment and I can't wait to see where this goes. Highly recommended.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love that games like this are still being made. They're so nostalgic. That being said, this one still needs a good bit of work. If you're wanting to be in for the ride I don't think you'll be disappointed, but it may also be good to wait for a more finished product.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is awesome. OF course it is not finished and need many things still, but the gaming is great. Wanted to state that outside the orc vs human theme (which many games use besides WC3) does not make it automatically a successor of WC3. The game is kind of unike in its play, have good things of many other classical RTS: - Units are highly responsive, - Units kind of bounce and loss actions when hit (which really give a contact feeling) - micro, rotation and physics of units are very cool. -…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too Bare bones for now. *Fixd* V-sync can't be turned off and is set to 60(check notes below). It looks nice and it got nice features, however its not worth almost 25 bucks. Its kind a shallow and limited, so it gets samey quick. I'm sure they will do there best to flesh it more out, but its not there yet. Its not warcraft 4, its more like a warcraft 1-2 mod for a different game. So i cannot recommand it as of now. Edit: More infometive tool tips are needed, and Heros are in there own mode,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a game with insane potential so i highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic rts. Its as if this got me back into old frozen throne days
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Soothes my hankering for old school Warcraft. Wish there was more voice over lines for units instead of grunts but I get it. Fun game so far. Loving the different modes. Can be quite the challenge on hard but that's the way its suppose to be!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I made a bundle of 7 RTS games that you can buy for CHEAP! | Zade [direct link to bundle in the post]. Here's the bundle with Zade's link: https://www.digiphile.co/collections/rts-renaissance?linkId=lp_354132&sourceId=zade-95&tenantId=digiphile And [without](https://www.digiphile.co/collections/rts-renaissance) if you would prefer zero tracking. Though Zade gets a small cut if you use his link. (Presumably out of the platform cut?) 7 games, each unlocked at progressively increasing prices in…
neutral · AI labelView post →Banger game, super fun and reminds of warcraft 3. In this state of EA, the dev/devs are very active so looking forward to improvements! Wishlist: * More units and more clear counter units (at the moment orc wyvern is super hard to counter) * More strategic choices to make during games. At the moment it's just throw units until someone wins. Would be nice to have tech/unit trees that take longer to reach with good rewards, that would need some actions to be countered, things that would promote…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ imitation of warcraft 2. the AI is really dumb but works efficiently to over power you. What i mean is that if you help your AI allies they run away and the AI allies will never come aid you when you are attacked. But the AI is so efficient at micromanagement that you always lose the edge. lets say you go attack a base; after that all of a sudden the AI knows you don't have defenses and every AI enemy forces will come attack you and it only works in that way; it doesn't…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played it 2 years ago when it released as a beta, what actually attracted me is that it seemed to not be the traditional RTS reskin and had the twist of being actually realistic in the weight of artillery, like wow, even in the fantasy setting Artillery is King. I bought it again now but have found that they have since turned this game in a very generic RTS, rock paper scissors game and Artillery is just a niche build and not that backbone of the Army. With few unique gameplay changes, most…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you liked Warcraft II, damn this game is for you. There is new mechanics bit it is a really good spiritual successor !
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Scouring seems to be promising RTS title that is in development, at the moment that game is very basic with limited units, building options but it seems to be on the right path on where it is going. Especially that the game performs great, and already has a map editor for the community to create content! Cons: My biggest issue with this game so far is the small areas you can build in, making it feel very limited on what you can build in each area and it just feels claustrophobic. Health…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gonna give this one a 6/10 after requesting a refund. I might revisit it after 1.0 release, but for now the itch has been scratched. It's not a bad game per se, it's just not for me at the moment. My biggest complaint is that the combat lacks nuance. There's no way to modify unit behaviours (Agressive, Defensive - so units keep on chasing enemies across the map), and once the screen gets busy with units fighting, I'm not really sure what to do other than drag select and hope most of my army…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I haven't played a game like this since Battle for Middle Earth 2. I highly recommend trying this game and supporting its development.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's a hell of a game in there somewhere but atm there's just not enough content/variety to justify £20 You can tell the devs are putting heart & soul into this - wish them well for the rest of the dev phase
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is fun to play from the start. If they get the lore right, they have a chance a taking the Warcraft spot in my gaming library.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, love it, I never write reviews on games because I am lazy and just do not care too, however this RTS game is awesome, the AI is great, the game play is smooth, I am sure that is more to come like upgrading units etc, one thing is I wish I could pick my team color prior to the start of a match, overall, this game is fantastic, I hope the campaign as some sick lore/story. 5/5 stars
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →By far the most exciting RTS release I have played in years. Actively updated, great workshop support. It does not hide it's clear inspiration of Warcraft II and III, however is not afraid to introduce new ideas. Extremely fun, full of unique game modes. It does have a high price tag, but with the content planned with the road map, I believe it will be well worth it. A must have if you were burnt by Warcraft III: Reforged.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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