A group of modders have spent 10 years honing a remake of StarCraft 1 and Brood War in StarCraft 2, complete with remastered cutscenes and custom unit models

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That's rad, but also StarCraft 2 is now older than StarCraft 1 was at StarCraft 2's launch and that makes me feel ancient.

StarCraft Sarah Kerrigan
(Image credit: Blizzard)

StarCraft: Mass Recall is one of those absolutely wild mods: a full remake of StarCraft 1 and Brood War in StarCraft 2, complete with new models and cutscenes. Since StarCraft 2 is now free-to-play, that means this long-running project is as well.

We first reported on Mass Recall all the way back in 2015, when the mod was just one year old. At that time, you could already play the entire SC1 and Brood War campaigns, as well as three "hidden" maps, but the project has grown and developed in substantial ways in the past nine years.

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Back in 2019, Mass Recall showed off its 7.0 update, including in-game cutscenes, maybe one of the mod's most impressive features. Mass Recall also tastefully combines the high-res mission briefing screens from the official StarCraft 1 Remaster with StarCraft 2's full 3D character models. These days, Mass Recall also includes Enslavers Redux, a StarCraft 2 conversion of a highly-regarded StarCraft 1 fan campaign.

I really appreciate the effort that's gone into the units as well: it looks like every unit in the game has gotten a "Retro" remodel and throwback portrait, while most also have an option for unique models and portraits that correspond to the different factions of StarCraft's races as well.

One thing that boggles my mind is that, when Mass Recall started, it was a remake of a classic game in its cutting edge sequel's engine. Now, 10 years later, both are just different flavors of retro. That's not such a bad thing, though, and really just speaks to the dedication of the Mass Recall team.

Mass Recall's last major update seems to have rolled out last January, and you can check out the mod for yourself over on SC2Mapster.

Ted Litchfield
Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.