If you’ve been craving a real-time strategy game that captures the golden age of Warcraft II and III while injecting modern ideas, The Scouring from Orc Group might just be the battle call you’ve been waiting for. Blending classic RTS fundamentals with a unique hero-driven “Action RPG Strategy” mode, robust multiplayer, and full modding support, The Scouring manages to be both a nostalgia trip and a fresh take on the genre.
Two Core Experiences – Classic and Hero Mode
The Scouring offers two primary ways to play:
Classic Mode is exactly what RTS veterans expect — build your base, manage resources, and rally an army to crush your enemies. The formula feels tight, with clear resource management, purposeful unit design, and well-paced escalation toward late-game clashes. Optional NPC undead raids at night add extra pressure and unpredictability.
Hero Mode is where The Scouring starts breaking the mold. Instead of micromanaging every worker and troop, you control a single powerful hero while AI runs your base and army for you. Your hero levels up MOBA-style by defeating enemies, collecting items, and unlocking abilities. The AI handles the macro — gathering resources, training troops, expanding bases — while you focus entirely on combat, dungeon crawling, and tactical positioning. Watching massive RTS battles unfold around you while you dive in headfirst with hero abilities feels like the best of both worlds: RTS scale mixed with ARPG immediacy.
Multiplayer That Scales From Duels to Massive Clashes
Whether you’re looking for tense 1v1 matches, chaotic 8-player free-for-alls, or coordinated team battles, The Scouring’s multiplayer delivers. Match customization is extensive, and the game’s pacing keeps fights engaging without overwhelming new players. The balance of units and buildings leans toward clarity over complexity — each option has a clear purpose, and spam tactics rarely succeed.
And while the competitive side is strong, the cooperative and custom game potential is even more exciting. With full Steam Workshop integration, players can design their own maps, AI scripts, and game modes. That means the community can shape The Scouring into anything from a competitive ladder battleground to a full-blown RPG dungeon crawler.
A New Genre Twist
The Action RPG Strategy concept isn’t just a gimmick — it works. By letting the AI handle base-building while you focus on one hero, the game creates a hybrid experience. You still get the progression curve of RTS matches, but layered with RPG-style loot hunting, skill upgrades, and build experimentation.
The result is a sandbox where replayability comes from two angles: unpredictability of AI-driven armies clashing in large-scale battles, and your own evolving hero strategies. Combined with automated quality-of-life features like potion auto-use and instant respawns, Hero Mode offers all the power-trip highs of a MOBA in the context of a living RTS battlefield.
Attention to Detail and Stability
One of the first things that stands out is the game’s polish for an Early Access title. Unit animations feel smooth, spell effects pop without being visually overwhelming, and destruction is dynamic — buildings crumble, and battles leave the terrain scarred.
Performance is solid, with only minor quirks like a 60 FPS cap and occasional pathfinding hiccups. The UI is functional and straightforward, though the devs have already signaled that improvements are coming. The stability is impressive — especially considering The Scouring’s origins as a solo developer project.
Community-Driven Development and Modding Power
From day one, The Scouring has been built with modders and community creators in mind. Steam Workshop support is fully integrated, meaning maps, modes, and AI scripts can be shared instantly. This isn’t just a nice extra — it’s a game-changer for longevity.
The ability to create survival modes, story campaigns, or even entirely new rulesets makes the game a platform as much as a product. That’s before considering the developers’ active engagement with player feedback through Discord, Reddit, and other channels.
A Promising RTS With a Bright Future
The Scouring is more than just a modern homage to RTS classics — it’s an ambitious experiment that merges the macro strategy of old-school base building with the immediacy and progression of action RPGs.
The Classic Mode is clean, accessible, and satisfying for traditionalists, while Hero Mode offers something genuinely new in the genre. Add in strong multiplayer, powerful modding tools, and a stable launch, and you’ve got a title with both immediate replay value and massive long-term potential.
It’s not feature-complete yet — more races, units, and polish will only strengthen it — but even now, The Scouring stands as one of the most exciting RTS releases in years. If you loved Warcraft but always wished for more direct hero control and endless community-created content, this might be your next obsession.
Pros:
- Two solid core modes: Classic RTS and innovative Hero Mode
- Strong multiplayer scaling from small skirmishes to 8-player battles
- Full modding support via Steam Workshop
- Stable, polished Early Access launch
- Hybrid “Action RPG Strategy” gameplay is genuinely fresh
Cons:
- 60 FPS lock and some minor UI/pathfinding issues
- Needs more unit variety and content for long-term depth
- Hero Mode could benefit from more unique maps and objectives
The Scouring: A refreshing RTS with deep roots in the classics, and a bold twist that could redefine the genre. – Flare
