Hi everyone! So I just switched to Linux and I am a little unsure of what to play on my laptop.
It’s a presumably decent laptop, 16gb of ram and Iris Xe, but I find that it has battery issues trying to play anything fancy like Skyrim.
I’m looking into things like emulation, finally tackling my Itch.io backlog, and bringing out old classics.
I like RPGs and text-based choose your own adventure games, so if you have any recommendations I’d appreciate it!
You must log in or # to comment.
I wouldnt limit yourself to native linux. Check out protondb.com. You can even use non-steam games through steam for use with proton (or if you’re feeling more technical you could use other tools that are more hands on).
Absolutely! Currently running Diablo 4 on the SteamDeck using Proton Experimental. Runs perfectly on medium-high settings at 45-50 fps. It’s insane how far we’ve come. When I first started using Linux over ten years ago, running Windows games was nigh-impossible. And Valve finally released their Steam client for Linux, the selection of games was … very limited.
Yeah, that’s part of the reason why I didn’t re-install Linux until recently. I would install it every few years, but it was only recently that I decided to keep it.
I didn’t quite know about ProtonDB and what it could do, but I did know that a lot more games are compatible lately so I thought I’d try it out. Linux is doing great it seems!
How do you get Diablo 4 to install on Linux? Any help appreciated.
I used this guide: https://www.polygon.com/23750107/how-to-play-install-diablo-4-steam-deck
I read that it is apparently also possible to simply install the Blizzard Launcher from Lutris, but I haven’t tried that personally. The above guide worked without problems for me, though.
Oh that’s cool as hell. I think I was aware this existed but never explored it in depth? I’ll look up how to install it right now and see what my options are. I have a decently sized Steam library so this is nice.
OpenTTD is an open source game based on TTD (Transport Tycoon Deluxe). Basically you just connect cities and industries with each other by different forms of transport like trains, busses, airplanes, etc.
All Steam Deck verified games should play just fine on that laptop. While Intel Xe graphics are not the greatest, Steam Deck is restricted to 15W and you laptop is not.
Wait, what? Is that why everyone’s recommending steam deck games? I assumed Steam Deck verified games required something like, an okay GPU. Its actually the voltage? That definitely makes my life easier, lmfao.
By the Steam Deck’s site, the verification means that:
- It plays well with the Deck’s inputs
- Can use the Deck’s native resolution or similar (1280x800 or 1280x720) without issues
- It “just works” without having to tinker with the game
- Every component of the game is supported by Proton if running a non-native game
Well, the TDP of the chip is only part of the equation; The main thing is that the Deck is limited in performance in ways that your laptop likely is not, regardless of clock-for-clock differences.
Intel Xe doesn’t seem that bad, specially compared to older Intel GPUs (UHD 630-like). Correct me if I’m wrong, but they’re basically low power versions of Intel Arc. I still don’t think they’re on level with a RDNA 2 GPU like the Deck one.
FTL
Second this, FTL also has a pretty decent modding scene too
Stardew Valley is really lightweight and Linux native.
Since you mentioned battery being an issue and that you just switched to Linux, have you looked into using TLP or Powertop to try doing some tweaks to squeeze out a bit more? It’s been years since I’ve used Linux on a laptop, but that’s what I used.
I played Stardew Valley on Switch, but I cannot recommend it enough. One of the best games I’ve every played.
Never actually heard of those software until now. I looked it up and found out something about TLP having default settings—does this mean once I install it, I don’t have to touch it again? Or do I have to do something like go into a terminal and install default settings after I install it?
I installed it, I just don’t know what the next step is.
All you need to do is ensure that the service is enabled. In terminal: sudo systemctl enable --now tlp.service
Pretty much! The Arch Wiki has some decent documentation on it (despite the name, aside from package names, it’s pretty much distro agnostic these days)
Came here to recommend the same thing. It’s very lower-end hardware friendly, and is such a satisfying (and calming) game.
Factorio
Factorio might get a bit rough towards the endgame, but I would recommend it as well.
If you’re into automation games Factorio is perfect. I especially love the quality of life functions, everytime I think to myself ‘there has to be a easier way to do this’ I find out that there -in fact- IS a easier way to do it.
Rimworld is pretty resource light and runs native on Linux. Has the benefit of being one o of the greatest games ever, too. If you’re into to that kind of game (colony resource management and light war crimes)
Rimworld is great, has a massive modding community as well
Not too too sure if I’d enjoy it, however I might…used to play games like Virtual Villagers when I was a kid, so it might be similar? I’ll look into it!
It’s similar to dwarf fortress, though with less depth in the system, less literal depth with no y-levels, and an infinitely better UI and visuals. The DLC are optional, comparable to large very well-polished mods so if you are hesitant no need to grab the full bundle.
Cannibalism, etc.
Hey, DOSBox is available on Linux! There are some hidden gems from the DOS era.
I’ve seen OpenMW mentioned (and it’s fantastic), but you might want to check out Daggerfall Unity as well. The game’s available at no cost, and you can find a zip of the necessary game files on the install guide in the dfworkshop forums.
It’s way better than the old DOS version, and it supports mods, too.
Alright so I was a little confused on OpenMW but it appears that it is, in fact, complete enough to play? Nice. I now finally have an excuse to play.
I completely forgot about Daggerfall existing. I’m just reading through the wikipedia article. “Daggerfall consists of 15,000 cities, towns, villages, and dungeons for the character to explore.” I am intimidated, yet intrigued.
There are a few videos on YouTube of people showing heavily modded Daggerfall, and it looks pretty great. It does seem to have been embraced by a dedication community of modders who provide full instructions of how to get it all set up how they have it.
I’ve completed several playthroughs of Morrowind on OpenMW, and I’ve found it to be superior to the original engine in every way. The only thing that you might have issues with is certain mods may not be compatible with it, but I don’t really use mods.
Daggerfall’s a huge game, but it gives you a ton of freedom in how you play. Once you figure out the basics, it’s a great dungeon diving experience. Although the procedurally generated dungeons aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, since they can get pretty crazy sometimes. I would highly recommend a teleportation spell (mark/recall all-in-one).
There’s a great site for OpenMW Modding here: https://modding-openmw.com/
Highly recommend this “vanilla+” modlist for a first play-through.
And some mods are easily portable to OpenMW, depending on how they’re implemented. I fixed a simple Mana Regen mod just by checking that its scripts were modifying the right variable. The mod editor built into OpenMW is as user friendly as any mod tool I’ve ever used.
I think most mods are reasonably compatible, but I don’t really use a ton. OpenMW even has graphic herbalism built in these days, so the only thing I run now is a mod to delay the Dark Brotherhood attacks. I think the main issue is mods that require the Script Extender (MWSE).
I don’t know where their feature list is anymore, buy I do recall a dev update where they said they had plans to incorporate MWSE or MWSE compatibility into the engine natively. The roadmap had that as a far-future after all native implementations were complete, so time will tell.
Yep, OpenMW is totally playable. There’s also a multiplayer-enabled version of it around, which works surprisingly well.
The Battle for Wesnoth is one of those oldies but goldies when it comes to Linux gaming.
I’d also heartily recommend trying out OpenMW (not just because I’m part of the team there) as a modern way to play Morrowind, though the upcoming release is not entirely finished, there are a few blockers being hammered away at still.The dummy just killed me.
I love it.
Seconding OpenMW! Don’t let the upcoming release being unfinished dissuade you from playing! I played through the whole game back in 2015 with OpenMW on a crappy laptop with about as many bugs as is normal for a Bethesda game.
The did great work to get it to that point back then, and I’m sure it’s even better now.
I’m a fan of card games like Slay the Spire, Dicey Dungeons, and Monster Train run on practically anything. There’s hundreds of hours of fun in there if you’re into these games.
Have you ever played Deep Sky Derelicts or One Step From Eden? I have those two games in my library from somewhere (I presume Humblebundle) so I’m wondering if those two are good?
I haven’t played Deep Sky Derelicts but One Step From Eden is a good time. It’s much more of an action game than a card game though, it’s very fast paced.
This is what I have from Steam on my Linux laptop, similar HW, a bit older:
Baba Is You, The Binding of Isaac, Celeste, Crypt of the Necrodancer, Darkest Dungeon, Dicey Dungeons, Enter the Gungeon, FTL, Hollow Knight, Into the Breach, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime, Monster Train, Opus Magnum, Slay the Spire, Spelunky.
And traditional roguelikes are always good: Crawl, Brogue, Nethack.If you want try Minetest - opensource “Minecraft” clone.
You need mods it is more game engin to build mods on so lots of Minecraft like games.
Mindustry is really good too. Both are on flathub.
Interesting! Would it be very ram extensive by default, or do you think it depends on the mods akin to how Skyrim or Sims ends up being more leggy once you add on mods?
Suikoden I and II are great PSX RPGs, if you can emulate. Shadowrun (Returns, Dragonfall and Hong Kong) are great and Linux native.
Suikoden I and II are required playing for jrpg fans!
But emulation as a suggestion alone is good. You have access to so much of a field of human creativity if you’re okay copying the bits to your drive.
If you want an old classic, I’ve been playing rollercoaster tycoon 2 recently and there is an open source engine for it (openrct2) that has native linux compatibility. The controls take some getting used to, But I think that artstyle looks totally amazing.
Or even the first RCT as it’s written in assembly. Can’t get much more efficient than that, even a potato can run it.
I’m also amazed by it. How can you write a full game that looks as good as Rollercoaster Tycoon when you’re shifting bits left and right on the stack? Some kind of wizardry, that’s what.
Even more impressive when you realize it was coded by one dude primarily, crazy stuff.
