Linux gaming has come a long way. Ever since the first Humble Bundle
in 2010, a steady stream of new titles has graced the platform. This
trend accelerated when Valve, owners of the biggest digital publishing
platform on PC, decided that gaming on Linux is the future and
made
Steam available for it. Since then we’ve seen a number of AAA games find
a home on Linux, and if Valve succeeds with their SteamMachines, it’s
entirely imaginable that most games will have first-day Linux support.
However, let’s not forget the wonderful open source games that were
there when even the indie scene didn’t care about Linux. This article
showcases both the open source titles and the triple A monsters by
choosing a worthy representative of various gaming genres – from arena
shooters and kart racers to MOBA and management simulators. The list is
separated into eight open source games and seven AAA titles.
List of 15 Best Linux Games For 2015
1. Battle for Wesnoth
Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game. Its
familiar fantasy setting, sixteen races and hundreds of unit types will
keep you busy for a long time. Once you’ve finished the single-player
campaigns, you can set off into multiplayer lands, both local (hotseat)
and online. The gameplay could be described as a mix of Heroes of Might & Magic and Fire Emblem, and fans of either will likely find Wesnoth very appealing. It comes with a map editor, so players can create their own maps and scenarios.
Availability: Free , Distributions: Ubuntu, Mint, Arch, Fedora, SuSe
2. Xonotic
Xonotic (previously known as Nexuiz) is an arena-style first-person shooter reminiscent of Unreal Tournament.
It features what you’d expect from such a game: many different weapons
with alternate firing modes and a bunch of mods and maps. There are also
some novel twists like laser jumping, wall lasering and weapon
comboing. Like most free software games, it’s very configurable.
Although there are many arena shooters for Linux, Xonotic stands out for its frequent updates, high level of polish and an active user base – you’ll easily find people to blast away.
Availability: Free
Distributions: Arch, Fedora, Ubuntu (via playdeb.net), SuSe
3. Voxelands
Voxelands is a fork of Minetest, which was itself inspired by Minecraft and Infiniminer. While Minetest didn’t have much except for the voxel sandbox, Voxelands
is an attempt to add gameplay – and fun – to the barebones engine. Its
progress has been very fast – it features hundreds of block, tool and
item types, creatures, humongous maps and both single-player and
multiplayer. Unlike the game that inspired it, it also runs very well on
nearly any computer. If Minecraft ever struck you as overly resource-hungry, give Voxelands a try – you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Availability: Free
Distributions: Arch (AUR), Chakra (CCR), Fedora, Slackware
4. The Dark Mod
Despite the name, The Dark Mod is not a mod, but a stand-alone game. It started as an attempt to recreate Thief in the Doom 3 engine, but eventually grew into a full-fledged game. You’ll find it very similar to the Thief
series – its gloomy, steampunk gothic world and stealth mechanics are
clearly inspired by the much-loved Looking Glass game, but it doesn’t
reference Thief directly, and its setting is a universe for
itself. The game offers a couple of tutorial missions, but many others
can be downloaded from the official website.
Availability: Free
Distributions: Arch (AUR)
5. SuperTuxKart
As you can probably deduce, SuperTuxKart is a kart racing game, similar to Mario Kart or Wacky Wheels.
Unlike those older titles, it’s a 3D game, and it features various FOSS
mascots as characters – play as Tux, GNU, the PHP elephant or the BSD
daemon. The game has over 20 tracks, a half-dozen game modes and
split-screen multiplayer. New content is often added – the latest
release brought a couple of new characters and game modes, as well as
graphical improvements. Work is also being done on networked
multiplayer, which means you’ll soon be able to annoy your online
friends by shooting them just before the finish line.
Availability: Free
Distributions: Arch, Ubuntu, Mint, Fedora, SuSe, Debian, Gentoo
6. Tales of Maj’Eyal
You may have seen this title on various digital game stores. You
might not even be aware it’s an open source game – but it is. ToME is a
roguelike RPG. As with any roguelike, it features turn-based combat,
permadeath, and randomly generated dungeons. But it also boasts a wealth
of classes, races, and items, a rich mythology drawing upon Tolkien and
Lovecraft, an overworld map, different starting points for different
races, and much, much more. You could play ToME for months and not run
out of things to do and try. If this sounds a bit overwhelming, don’t
worry, it’s also one of the most accessible roguelikes – it’s fully
graphical, supports mouse controls, and has a very intuitive interface.
Availability: Free
Distributions: Arch (AUR)
7. Hedgewars
If the description “turn-based artillery game” reminded you of Worms, you’d be right. Hedgewars
doesn’t feature pink worms, instead opting for pink hedgehogs, but
otherwise it’s quite similar to the game that inspired it. Teams of pink
critters battle it out on randomly generated maps using a large number
of weapons, ranging from conventional to completely silly. The game
offers local and networked multiplayer, as well as AI opponents. There’s
a staggering amount of content available for free download – 55
weapons, hundreds of costumes, minigames, 25 game modifiers, and a ton
of community content packs for your further amusement.
Availability: Free
Distributions: Arch, Ubuntu, SuSe, Fedora
8. 0 A.D.
Although it’s still in alpha, 0 A.D. has already positioned itself as
one of the finest open source game projects. It’s an real-time
historical strategy that began as a mod for Age of Empires II,
but eventually became a separate project with its own identity. A number
of historical civilizations fight in a time period that never existed
in reality, and you can pit them against each other at their prime.
Every civilization is completely unique in regards to gameplay and
appearance, and the game features many historically accurate details –
unit formations, maps based off real geography, building and landmarks
appropriate for a given civilization, and there are plans for a more
realistic approach to naval warfare. Being alpha software, not all of
the features have been implemented yet, but it’s playable and promises
to be a very worthy addition to the list of free Linux games.
Availability: Free
Distributions: Arch, Ubuntu, SuSe, Fedora
9. Dota 2
Dota 2 is the sequel to Defense of the Ancients, the Warcraft III
mod that jumpstarted the multiplayer online battle arena genre. It’s a
free-to-play title, available exclusively on Steam. Despite its high
learning curve, it’s one of the most popular titles in the genre,
numbering as many as 800 000 players daily, which makes it the most
actively played game on Steam. The gameplay consists of two five-player
teams trying to destroy the other’s stronghold, while leveling their
heroes and collecting items to help them in this quest.
Availability: Free-to-play, Steam
10. Borderlands 2
Borderlands 2 is a cross between a first-person shooter and
an action RPG. It’s well-known for its randomly generated arsenal of
weapons and distinctive cell-shaded graphics. It features randomly
generated loot (weapons, shields, items), various classes with different
play styles and online collaborative campaign play. A couple of weeks
prior to the release of the Linux port, the newest game in the series, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! was released simultaneously for Linux, OS X and Windows.
Availability: Commercial, Steam
11. XCOM: Enemy Unknown
A re-imagining of the classic 1994 game, UFO: Enemy Unknown, XCOM
is a tactical turn-based game which tasks the player with planetary
defense against an alien invasion. In addition to controlling a team of
soldiers during tactical missions, the player also needs to research new
technology and keep track of the organization’s funds, which adds a
strategic layer to the game. The game and its expansion pack, XCOM: Enemy Within, were ported to Linux in 2014.
Availability: Commercial, Steam
12. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
CS:GO is the fourth title in the Counter-Strike series of
tactical first-person shooters. Like its predecessors, it’s an
objective-based multiplayer shooter featuring two opposing teams, the
Terrorists and the Counter-Terrorists. Depending on the game mode, the
teams must fulfill various goals – in the Classic mode, it’s either
defusing a bomb or saving hostages, which are sure to be familiar to
returning CS players. There are other mods, such as Arms Race or
Demolition. Playing against bots (AI-controlled opponents) is also
supported.
Availability: Commercial, Steam
13. Sid Meier’s Civilization V
The latest numbered addition to the acclaimed Civilization series of 4X (“eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate”) strategy games, Civilization V
brings the same type of deep and complex gameplay, where research,
diplomacy and military conquest all feature prominently as the player
guides a civilization from prehistoric times into the future. It also
introduced some changes like hexagonal tiles and a revamped combat
system. It was ported to Linux in 2014 along with the expansion packs,
followed by the latest title in the Civilization series, Civilization: Beyond Earth, a spiritual successor to Alpha Centauri.
Availability: Commercial, Steam
14. Metro: Last Light Redux
The sequel to Metro 2033, Last Light is a
post-apocalyptic first-person shooter with dashes of stealth and
survival horror. The (somewhat atypically presented) dark atmosphere is
its greatest feature, as it aims to immerse the player in post-nuclear
Russia, a life spent mostly in the metro, threatened by mutants, hostile
factions and scarcity. Redux was released one year after Last Light (2013) with graphical improvements and all the DLC.
Availability: Commercial, Steam
15. Football Manager 2015
The final title on this list, Football Manager 2015 proves
that Linux is becoming a consideration for large publishers – this is a
Sega title, after all. In this football (soccer) management simulation
you buy and sell players, negotiate and renegotiate contracts, scout out
new faces, and do whatever it takes to make your club successful. It
was released in November 2014 across all platforms, making it one of the
newest additions to the rapidly-growing catalog of Linux games.
Availability: Commercial, Steam
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