The Scouring is a fantasy RTS game where you face off against enemies in a skirmish of units, tech, and combat. Read our review of its early access build to see what it did well, what it didn't do well, and if it's worth buying when it fully releases!
Everything We Know About The Scouring
The Scouring Story
The Scouring presents a straightforward real-time strategy experience that prioritizes gameplay over narrative or setting. Its units feature simple 3D fantasy designs, and while the game currently lacks named characters or an overarching storyline, a campaign mode is planned for inclusion in its full 1.0 release.
The Scouring Gameplay
The Scouring delivers a classic real-time strategy experience, drawing inspiration from genre staples like Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, Crusader Kings, and Stronghold Crusader. Each game centers on the basic principle of destroying the enemy base before they can do the same to you, requiring careful resource management, tactical unit production, and strategic upgrades.
Players must secure and defend key locations to gather wood and gold, construct the right buildings to unlock new unit types, and research technologies to enhance their forces’ effectiveness across a variety of situations.
A vast selection of maps supports up to eight players in large-scale battles, alongside distinctive scenarios such as a dedicated base defense mode where players fend off escalating waves of orcs. The game also offers ranked competitive multiplayer, with a campaign mode planned for its 1.0 release.
The Scouring Release Date and Time
Released to Steam Early Access on August 12, 2025
The Scouring was released on Steam Early Access on August 12, 2025. The game’s 1.0 release window is yet to be fully revealed, with at least 3 more updates in the works before its full release.
We’ll update this article with the game’s 1.0 release date as soon as that information is available.
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| Price | $24.99 | ||||
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The Scouring Review [Early Access]
Basic, And No Worse For It
Real-time strategy is a genre defined by its fundamentals more than almost any other, maybe with the exception of FPS and RPGs. It’s the kind of genre where 80% of what you know from one game will carry over to the next, giving you a decent shot at success… or at least adequacy. That’s because, in recent years, the only real contenders in this ongoing genre-wide game of pick-me have been the classics that built the genre’s foundation, their remakes, or the occasional truly baffling outlier. The rule seems simple: be first, be different, or fade away.
The Scouring, however, is neither new nor different. In fact, it’s all fundamentals—like the RTS equivalent of Blender’s default cube. It’s not particularly unique in presentation either, and yet, I can’t quite explain why it didn’t just vanish into the sea of RTS obscurity. But that’s exactly what we’re here to figure out, so let’s get back to basics, why don’t we?
Pretty Sure This is Warcraft or Clash of Clans, But Okay
Let’s start with how the game looks—because, trust me, talking about the gameplay won’t take long. The Scouring carries the same blocky, vibrant fantasy aesthetic you’d expect from a mobile strategy title released sometime after Clash of Clans. You know the type: oversized, chunky features, cartoonish proportions, and a world that looks vaguely violent and painful yet somehow also like it’s made out of plastic.
Mix in a dash of World of Warcraft’s rough-and-tumble style—chunky bevels, deep gouges in the metal, blocky architecture—and you’ve got the picture. None of this is a bad thing, at least not in my opinion, but you see where I’m going with this. It’s not exactly built to stand out in any meaningful way because it looks exactly like the archetype of modern fantasy game design. You’ve seen this game before, even if you’ve never heard of it. Whatever you’re picturing right now, you’re probably right.
On its own, this isn’t a damning critique in the slightest. Standing out aesthetically isn’t everything, and, as I’ve stated before, gameplay really matters more in RTS than anything else. Speaking of, it’s time we broke down what this game has to offer by way of content. It won’t take long.
A Crash Course on RTS Staples in More Than One Way
I’ve already spent plenty of time talking about how basic this game is, so let’s actually get into it. First off—your goal? Simple: destroy the enemy base before they destroy yours. How do you do that? By sending enough troops to give the game’s pathfinding an aneurysm, or otherwise just overwhelming their defenses. How do you get those troops? By gathering resources like Gold and Wood using your gatherers (called Peasants here), you can construct the buildings that churn out units.
Is that all you need? Of course not. Your units are people too, which means they cost resources just to exist, specifically Food. Your Peasants also eat, but at least they can produce the Food they consume. And if you can’t beat the enemy with your current army? Odds are you’re using basic, under-upgraded units. Gather more Wood and Gold, then beef them up and giving them the ability to charge, hit harder per shot, fracture the earth beneath the enemy’s backline, and so on.
What else can you do? Well… uhh… excellent question. Not much, really. That’s the long and short of it for most of the game. Sure, you’ve got the standard RTS tools—unit commands, grouping—but those are baseline features, not anything worth bragging about. You can garrison troops in buildings if they’ve got slots, and you can throw up some defensive structures to station ranged units like cannons and archers. Nice enough, but hardly unique—and definitely not proactive.
If we’re digging for what makes the game even slightly heartier than bare-bones RTS fare, it does launch with a decent wealth of maps, some supporting up to eight players, and others offering specific scenarios. There’s also an AI assistant to help new players learn the ropes, though it’s just as useful for veterans—mainly because there’s no proper tutorial at all. What you do get are pop-ups and an archive of tips that, for some reason, don’t pause the game while you read them. Needless to say, that’s nowhere near enough to serve as an actual tutorial… but as an RTS player myself, I didn’t find it too troubling.
It’s a Canvas Just Waiting to Be Painted On
So what’s keeping this game afloat if neither its visuals nor its gameplay stand out in any meaningful way? Potential. I know that sounds like a lazy non-argument you could throw at any game from any genre. But hear me out: this game is pure, distilled potential. It’s a blank canvas, devoid of any unique hook, sure, but all the more versatile for it. I get the feeling the devs haven’t played their full hand yet and might be on the verge of delivering something genuinely fun once it gets a few more updates.
Do I think it’ll ever be an RTS great, standing shoulder to shoulder with StarCraft? No, of course not. That game has decades of history and a universe of lore behind it. There may never be another RTS quite like StarCraft. But I also don’t think this one will fade away with a whimper. No, I think it’ll build on its solid grasp of RTS fundamentals and grow into something niche, but beloved by the people who stick with it.
The pieces are here, after all. Resource gathering is uncomplicated yet satisfying, with enough structure to plan around. The units, while limited in variety, cover the essential archetypes every RTS needs, and can only expand from there. The framework for a great system is already in place, backed by plenty of maps and dedicated mod support. Could it fail? Sure. But if it does, it won’t be for lack of effort or quality, and it won’t be in obscurity.
Asking a Bit Too Much Right Now
That said, potential only goes so far. I can appreciate what a game could be in the future—maybe even hold out for that reason alone—but that’s not enough to justify its appeal to the wider audience. It takes a fair bit of RTS knowledge and appreciation to invest in something that isn’t much now but might be later. And at $24.99, which is standard fare for a finished AA title, The Scouring may be asking for too much.
I get it, greatness takes time and resources, and I think enough RTS diehards like me would pay that price. But if you’re new to the genre, or even just casually fond of it, this might not be something you’ll want to drop money on just yet.
Even with its healthy map count, ranked multiplayer, and ready-to-go mod support, you can’t expect everyone to buy from the bare foundations of a store, so to speak. Give it time—a few months, a couple of meaningful updates—and maybe, just maybe, the most basic RTS you’ve ever played could be worth it. For now, though, there is much work to be done.
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Game8 Reviews
The Scouring Product Information
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| Title | THE SCOURING |
|---|---|
| Release Date | August 12, 2025 (Early Access) |
| Developer | Orc Group |
| Publisher | Orc Group |
| Supported Platforms | PC (Steam) |
| Genre | Strategy, Simulation |
| Number of Players | 1-8 (Online Competitive Multiplayer) |
| ESRB Rating | RP |
| Official Website | The Scouring Website |
