It’s been 15 years since StarCraft 2 launched, and honestly, I still think it has the best RTS campaign ever made. Hey there, I’m Ash, and today I want to break down what makes it so special, and why it’s still worth playing all these years later.

A gentle push

The biggest problem most RTS campaigns face is getting players out of their base. Left unchecked, most of us will just sit tight, build up a deathball, and then steamroll across the whole map. The usual solution is a timer - and while that works, using it too often can make the gameplay feel stressful. Players need some time to breathe, after all.

Video version of this retrospective (~12 minutes)

There's this mission early in the Terran campaign where you have to purge infested buildings during the daytime, and then bunker up and defend against waves of zombies during nighttime. It might sound standard, but the design is actually surprisingly clever. It starts you off with a couple of units and a clear objective - go out, explore and clear infested buildings. Then when nightfall comes, you have to pull back, man the bunkers and prepare for the siege. Since there isn't much you can do but watch the carnage, you naturally use this downtime to build up your base and recruit more units.

By the time dawn comes you’re itching to push out again - but this time the cycle has a new twist. Scattered across the map are hidden Infestors that only emerge at night, and taking them down gives permanent campaign upgrades. And suddenly, the night isn’t just about surviving - it’s also about taking calculated risks.

Because of this you're constantly engaged - you're fighting, you're building, you're always moving forward. The mission design pushes you to play the game in the most fun way without actually forcing you. Sure, you could turtle and build a massive army, but why would you? You've got brand new Hellion to play around with, plenty of zombies to roast, and shiny upgrades out on the horizon.

And this isn't just one clever mission. This kind of thoughtful design runs throughout the entire campaign, and while not every mission is this active, there's always some reason to push out and explore the world.

Even the most basic missions can be made interesting with a couple of twists

Every mission is unique

Another thing that became clear by the time I reached the Protoss campaign is just how unique and varied the missions are. Even when you're doing standard RTS stuff - building a base and attacking the enemy fortress - StarCraft 2 throws enough curveballs at you to make each mission feel distinct.

A good example is a Terran mission where you're pushing through a Protoss base while a gigantic wall of fire obliterates everything behind you. It's a classic base-building mission with a timer, but it's elevated by the fact that Terran buildings can... well, elevate themselves!

You're not forced to abandon everything and rush headfirst into danger. Instead you constantly migrate between different base locations, hunting for side objectives and clearing out pockets of Protoss defenders. And to help you with this, the mission gives you Banshees with the cloak ability, letting you soften up enemy fortifications before moving in with your ground forces.

Because of this, a simple "build a base, recruit units, attack the enemy" setup becomes something far more exciting. You're playing Metal Gear Banshee in the enemy base, trying to squeeze out a few more units before fleeing the supernova, and carefully choosing you routes since you don't actually need to kill everyone - the firewall will happily clean up for you.

Then your next mission can have you playing cowboys and robbing heavily guarded trains, or ditching base-building entirely to exploring a ruined facility with powerful hero units. There's always something new and different to look forward to. And it's this variety, this clever mission design, that makes StarCraft 2's campaign such a joy to play and replay.

As a bonus, watching the firewall destroy base after base is very therapeutic

A unit for every occasion

But it's not just the mission variety. You also have tons of options in how you approach them. Beyond StarCraft 2's already hefty base roster, there's a bunch of unique, campaign-exclusive units to spice things up. Plus upgrades that can drastically change how units operate. You can turn zealots into melee blenders with AOE damage, make them support units with stuns, or turn them into tanks that revive once after dying. Needless to say, this is a very large and impressive arsenal of toys to play around with!

StarCraft 2 is quite clever in how it introduces these options because you don't get a dozen units dumped on you at once. Instead, each mission highlights a single unit and gives you time to learn their strengths and weaknesses. By the time you're done you'll know exactly how they fit into the roster, how to use them effectively, and whether you actually enjoy their playstyle.

That last part is especially important, because while StarCraft 2 encourages you to use each unit in their spotlight mission, you don't actually have to. Take the Zerg mission where you defend Kerrigan, for example. The game gives you swarm hosts since their endless waves of locusts are great for stalling enemies. But if you don't like their static nature, or just think they look kinda icky, you can bounce around with roaches and hydras, go full glass-cannon with mutalisks, or build the world's largest wall of turrets.

They're all perfectly viable options, even on the hardest difficulty. I'm fairly certain you could beat the entire game just using each faction's most basic unit and maybe a few support tools. And that flexibility is what makes the campaign so fun: no matter how you play, it always feels like you're doing things your way.

Spam enough of them, and turrets become a nearly impassable wall

The right kind of challenge

Another key layer of customization is the difficulty. StarCraft 2 caters both to players who want a relaxing, story-focused experience, and to those who crave a brutal, punishing challenge. That second part is especially noteworthy, because very few RTS campaigns manage to be genuinely difficult without relying on cheap tricks.

In StarCraft 2 this is handled by making the AI smarter, more aggressive, and more efficient. On Brutal difficulty they'll send far more attack waves, contest every objective, and tech up quickly to gain an edge over you. Most importantly, the AI will use better tactics and micro, so they'll actually make good use of spellcasters and specialists in order to make you stumble.

That's why I love Brutal difficulty so much. It's tough enough to make you utilize every tool at your disposal, but not so hard that you're locked into one specific strategy. Even in late-game missions like All In, where the enemy never gives you a moment of peace, I still managed to win in different ways every time I replayed it.

That kind of challenging-but-fair difficulty is what keeps a campaign feeling fresh. You need that pushback from the AI to make the 'strategy' part of real-time strategy actually meaningful, and StarCraft 2 nails this.

Mistakes often hurt, but you can recover from pretty much any disaster

An immersive presentation

The thing that ties all of these distinct elements together and truly makes them shine is the presentation - that hard-to-define immersion that makes you care about the characters and the world. Even if you don't follow the story closely, everything feels subconsciously better when you're onboard with what's happening.

StarCraft 2 does this really well. The characters are simple but entertaining, so even if you skip the optional dialogue you'll always understand who they are and what drives them. It's not a complex narrative by any stretch, but those little details add up to create a fascinating and downright cool world - one you'll likely find yourself thinking about long after the credits have rolled. And I should know! I've been obsessed with StarCraft ever since I was a kid.

Now, let me preempt some criticism: yes, StarCraft 2's main storyline is messy. It starts off strong with Wings of Liberty, but by Legacy of the Void it descends into cosmic threats and prophecies, mishandles fan-favorite characters and mostly just fails to stick the landing.

But the main plot isn't everything. The side content and character beats are much better. Without the shackles of galaxy-spanning threats, the writers are able to tell genuinely interesting tales about weird characters, and that's my favorite part. I could listen to Abathur ramble about nonsense for literal hours. It's little details like that where StarCraft 2’s personality really shines.

And visually? The game still holds up. The units have a colorful, cartoony look with plenty of detail, so unless you're specifically hunting for flaws, you might not even realize it's 15 years old. And because RTS is usually viewed from a distance, these colorful designs and clear silhouettes matter far more than any fancy textures. Because of this, I think StarCraft 2 has a timeless look that will likely still hold up even another 15 years in the future. And in a genre that often sacrifices detail for scale, it’s refreshing to play a game that cares about the small stuff.

Abathur is a weird, condescending bug - and I love him for it!

Old but gold

And that's why, even fifteen years later, I keep coming back to StarCraft 2. Not because of any one feature or mission, but because every piece - its variety, its challenge, its presentation - combines together into something unforgettable.

The story might wobble toward the end, but the core experience never does. And in a world where RTS campaigns often feel like extended tutorials for multiplayer, StarCraft 2 shows how much potential the genre has and just how good a strategy campaign can truly be.

So whether you’re diving in for the first time or returning after many years like I have, StarCraft 2’s campaign is still worth the journey. I've spent weeks replaying it for this video, and I'm already planning to give it another try - maybe with a few self-imposed challenges this time around. And that's the mark of something truly special!