is the scotch game actually a good opening?

I'd say its a good aggresive opening. You can really easily go to 1400 rapid elo by having an advantage from the opening. I managed to play the scotch till 1800rapid. But now it just doesnt work ,,,, so I changed to the spanish

I am not a fan of scoth game as white. At higher level it is known to lead to fairly easy equality.

At low level, 4. ...Qh4?! ( the Steinitz variation) seems to give White a lot of headache. It is considered dubious, but is very tricky to counter, and what's more important - not in taste of many a white player. Too often even if White happen to have looked up the supposed refutation, he usually fails to prove anything with it.

in all honesty the scotch game is very solid where both sides have ideas and potential to win, the only issue is that black isnt as under attack or pressured as he typically is, so take that into consideration

I'm currently playing the Scotch Gambit on 2000 Elo in Rapid: technically you can play the Scotch at any level, but there's a reason it's not played at the top level... (it's just hard to keep your winning odds up with it).

If only Kasparov knew this back in his day. He certainly wouldn't have played the Scotch against grandmasters. Beating them, also.

It's too forcing and formulaic, I think it sucks tbh.

Stockfish, as black and white, usually plays the Scotch.

e4,e5,nf3,nc6,d4

Scotch is good against inexperienced players as it's easy to get early advantage if black doesn't know the right moves and even win a bishop through tactics very early if black plays passively. I keep playing it even now against 1700-1800 players, but I will have to change my opening honestly, because I am starting to hate Scotch as it always put me on defense very early. If black initiates exchange, as white you'll always end up with queen and 1 more or less isolated pawn in the center, so your position is just not great, not against good players who will harass both your queen and the lonely center pawn. And if both of you play well, the game is just symmetrical, boring, no options to play, everything is just straight forward like with London system.

If you want a real opening play the italian.... and if you want a really real opening play the bishops opening. But never the scotch, it is dung-beetle dung rolling up a hill and back down repeatedly

As noted the Scotch is pretty forcing and the mainlines go into totally unfamiliar positions compared to normal e4 e5, or even e4 e6 openings (Ruy Lopez, Italian, Vienna, Bishop's Opening). Ba6 and then c4 to block it, it's all a little crazy and not in a good way. Qe7, Qe2, Ba6, c4 - what even is that.

I think maybe people like the drink Scotch, which is a very strong drink, and like Scottish stereotype thinking Braveheart, and think it looks a bit like the sicilian for white, and maybe confusing it a bit with the Scotch gambit which is a typical traditional type of game, when in actuality the Scotch without the Scotch Gambit is a bit mundane.

Yes, it is good enough- either the Scotch proper, or the 4 knights Scotch.

The scotch game was in Kasparov repertoire (Former world champion, top GMs). Such a great agressive opening for those who likes an open position, some complicated lines and an underrated opening. So, many of your oponnents haven't any idea of how to play against it (well, if we're talking about 1200-1600 elo).

The scheveningen was also in Kasparov's repertoire 40 years ago

Any opening line that leads to a clear advantage for one side or the other will not get played at the top levels and both players will know how to avoid that line of the opening. So in the end, don't worry if an opening leads to equality with best play. What you want to look at are the positions that arise as you follow that best play line, and just answer the question "Does this look like a position I would be comfortable playing?" Can you see a plan to work towards? If the positions that arise from the opening are middle games that you are happy with, and you have an idea of how you might improve your side relative to your opponent, then experiment with that opening. The good thing about something like the Scotch Game is the options are fewer, so you'll get to those positions more frequently, giving you more opportunity to learn those positions better and work out what the best plans are, and you will get better at recognizing if and when tactical opportunities arise if your opponent deviates from theory. 
So basically, it can be good to have an opening that is straightforward for both players early on. You know you will probably get to the same decent position in many games, and by playing on from that position, your handling of the middle game will improve. And that better middle game skill will transfer when you start to explore more complicated openings, where there may be multiple lines you have to try and learn, each ending up with different positions to work from.

There is a huge misunderstanding here.

The Scotch, especially in the 4...Nf6 lines, is NOT an aggressive opening. Actually it is Black the one who gets active play to compensate for the slight structural disadvantage after 4...Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6.

And even in the main Bc5 line (4...Bxc5 5.Nxc6 Qf6 6.Qf3) white is aiming at expoiting the less than ideal Black Queenside structure.

In the computer era, 3.d4, 3.Bb5 3.Bc4 and 3.Nc3 lead to approx. equal positions with mutual chances.

But anyway, the Scotch is a very principled opening, and I don't see why it should be inferior to The Ruy, or Italian.

I'd say the Scotch has value. Maybe it's a little one-eyed strategically (look at how often the same stuff happened in the K -v- K World Championship matches 1984-1990 and how Nigel Short danced his pieces to active equality or better for Black in the 1992 "World Championship"*) but at a less exalted level there are many pluses. Easy to learn for the busy player whose chess study time is impinged upon by nasties such as "The Toad, Work" and often Black is less well prepared for the Scotch than for the Ruy Lopez or Giuoco Piano. Bias alert: it was the Scotch that cured me of replying to 1. e4 with 1..., e5. I found something fun to play as Black against pretty much everything else...but not against the Scotch. *I have no intention of expressing an opinion on who was World Champion in the "split title years": that's a debate for another time and another place.

No, it's useless.

@ShikshaWithPraveen Again,I take my life in my hands here because it is clear you are a far better player than I am or could ever hope to be. "Useless" is a bold statement. What's your slam dunk prescription against it? I am genuinely interested here and honestly not "playing to the gallery": I'd love to be able to resurrect the rest of my 1. e4, e5 repertoire for Black by learning something really good against the Scotch.

While my 'useless' comment might have been a bit blunt, let me clarify. The Scotch Game (1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4) is certainly a respectable opening, especially at club level and for players who enjoy open, tactical play. The opening offers White the chance to fight for the center immediately, and it avoids some of the more well-trodden paths of the Ruy Lopez.

However, at higher levels, the Scotch can lose its bite. After the main line with 3...exd4 4. Nxd4, Black can develop comfortably with moves like 4...Nf6 and 5...Bc5. Black gets fast, natural development and often equalizes quickly. The resulting positions tend to be symmetrical and don't give White the sustained initiative or long-term pressure that other 1. e4 systems, like the Ruy Lopez or the Italian Game, might offer.

In modern chess, especially at higher levels, players are often looking for an opening that provides enduring tension, more asymmetrical pawn structures, and long-term strategic play. The Scotch, while not outright bad, can sometimes leave White with limited prospects beyond equality if Black knows what they're doing.

So, while it's far from 'useless' and can lead to sharp positions, particularly in rapid or blitz games, I wouldn't rely on it as my main weapon in classical games against well-prepared opponents.