PC Gaming, what'd I miss?

September 8, 2020 12:28 PM

For my quarantine project I built a new PC for the first time in 10 years. My new machine is more than capable of playing some recent stuff, but where do I start? Difficulty Setting - Linux Only - I'm not planning to install Windows on this machine, so please only games that will run on Linux, either natively or via emulation.

I installed Skyrim again but there's gotta be more recent games I should be looking into, right?
The last games I played and enjoyed were:
Skyrim
Portal 1 & 2
Civ 5 (Huge fan of Civilization, the original almost caused me to fail out of college)
FTL
Diablo 3

I'm not a fan of on-line games as my reaction time is just not quick enough these days.

posted by Eddie Mars to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

Best answer: Steam has some great Linux games that might suit you, including:

Civ VI
Superhot (bullet-time FPS where nothing moves unless you're moving)
The Talos Principle (FP puzzler)
The Binding of Isaac
posted by hanov3r at 1:09 PM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Worth mentioning, in case you aren't already familiar with it, Proton is the new post-WINE hotness as far as emulation goes, and I've seen a *lot* of games work well with it.

There's a lot of neat stuff, but just in "avenues to look into", the FTL devs released Into the Breach, a deterministic turn-based "mecha vs. kaiju" battle-chess type deal.
Diablo 3 => Path of Exile
Civ 5 => Civ 6, naturally

If you haven't touched Slay the Spire, then that. (and then Monster Train)
Noita, in pixel-y roguelike goodness
Hades, as SuperGiant's most recent bundle of fun (and if you aren't familiar with SG, go through their backlog as well)
posted by CrystalDave at 1:14 PM on September 8, 2020 [2 favorites]

I'm currently a huge fan of Crusader Kings III, which just released and apparently has Linux support. If the historical period isn't to your liking, you can check out all the other Paradox titles. THey're wonderful sandboxes.
posted by Alensin at 1:21 PM on September 8, 2020

On the topic of Paradox games, it appears that my current jam, Surviving Mars, is on Linux via Steam. It's a Mars-colony-building strategy game that Paradox made with Haemimont, who did a number of Tropico games. Trailer.

And of course there's Paradox's "Cities: Skylines" which is a delicious city-builder. I mean, city building is great, but dealing with the roads is where the fun is at.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:07 PM on September 8, 2020 [2 favorites]

Also, if you like your strategy sci-fi, Stellaris is another good Paradox game that runs on Linux natively.
posted by Zalzidrax at 2:36 PM on September 8, 2020

Factorio just released 1.0 recently.
posted by oceanjesse at 6:58 PM on September 8, 2020

I've clocked more hours on No Mans Sky than I have on Skyrim, and it apparently runs on linux now, somewhat officially?

I've clocked more hours on NMS than I have on Skyrim (which is saying something, as the hour ticker on both of those is reaching an obscene amount of time over the past few years, and some of the only games I dip back into over and over again). I find No Mans Sky deeply relaxing. I tend to lean more towards exploring, and recent changes in the variety of planets, flora, and fauna have resulted in some really lovely overland treking experiences.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:23 PM on September 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

And if you liked FTL, the same studio put out Into the Breach, which will likely scratch that same itch.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:24 PM on September 8, 2020

Best answer: Witcher 3, if you want something more recent than Skyrim, runs great on Linux.
posted by k3ninho at 12:07 AM on September 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

The lead designer from CivIV, Soren Johnson, is working on a new Civ called "Old world", which is now in early access but already excellent. It is available via the Epic games store, and the launcher seems to run on Linux.
posted by SweetLiesOfBokonon at 1:56 AM on September 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If there are some Windows-only games that won't work with Proton that you really want to play, dual booting isn't necessary these days, if you have the right hardware. You can run Windows in a VM with no significant performance loss. There is a version of Windows 10 floating around that gets rid of Cortana and the telemetry BS, too.

The same technique can be used to run MacOS, so it's an interesting project (at least to me) regardless.
posted by wierdo at 3:02 AM on September 9, 2020