In terms of stability and flexibility, Linux blew away its proprietary
counterparts a long time ago. What it sorely lacks is developer
interest, especially in the gaming department. But there are signs of a
major revival. To the delight of Linux gaming enthusiasts, EA started publishing games in Ubuntu Software Center
in May 2012. Valve on the other hand is taking things to the next level
by actively developing a Linux port of their popular game Left 4 Dead
2. To celebrate the occasion, we have put together a collection of 20
most exciting games for Linux (not essentially released in 2012 itself
and in no particular order). Hope you like it.
Braid: One of the most downloaded games in Ubuntu. Braid
is a platform game where you manipulate the flow of time to solve
puzzles. "Braid has the potential to change the way you think about
reality. It will certainly change the way you think about video games",
noted Arthouse Games' Jason Roher.
Price: US$ 9.99
OilRush: Real-time naval strategy game based on group
control. Exciting combination of traditional RTS based gameplay with
attributes of tower-defense.
Price: US$ 19.95
- DRM free, Multiplayer support over LAN and Internet.
Amnesia: The Dark Descent - Easily one of the scariest
games I have ever played. 'An experience that chill you to the core' in
every friggin' sense. System requirements are not very steep either.
Price: US$ 20.00
Super Meat Boy: A highly addictive platformer where you play as
an animated cube of meat who's trying to save his girlfriend from evil
Dr. Fetus. The game has more than 300 levels. Level of difficulty might
be a tad too high for normal users.
Price: US$14.99
Bastion: An action role-playing game where the player
character, "the Kid", moves through floating, fantasy-themed
environments that form paths as the player approaches the edge. Bastion
is widely acclaimed for its story, art direction, narration, and music.
Price: US$18.99
0 A.D: Unlike all the other games mentioned here so far, 0
A.D is a free and open-source, cross-platform real-time strategy game
which is still in very early stages of development. The game is already
pretty darn good by the way.
FREE
Lone Survivor: A psychological survival adventure game
with retro-styled 2D graphics. Players control an isolated, surgical
mask-wearing survivor of an infection which has turned the world's
population into an aggressive bunch of mutants. Lone Survivor was well
received and got widely praised for its storyline and gameplay.
Price: US$ 9.99
Psychonauts: Critically acclaimed platform game that was released for Linux in May 2012 through the Humble Indie Bundle V.
Price: US$ 9.99
- More download options here.
Puzzle Moppet: Ingeniously designed puzzle game with a
different sort of gameplay and simple graphics. Due to the game's
failure to generate enough sales and interest (according to the
developers themselves), Puzzle Moppet is now available for free to
download and use. Game's source is also available for free download.
FREE
Penumbra Series: One of those games which I just can't
play with my headphones on, no matter how hard I try. The tension can
gave you an heart attack. Developed by the same Frictional Games of
Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Penumbra series is just as scary, and very
subtle in its approach too. As a matter of fact, Penumbra series was
released before Amnesia. Penumbra Series consists of a collection of 3
games.
Price: US$ 20.00
Xonotic: One of the finest
open-source
first-person shooter games available for Linux (a fork of Nexuiz
originally). Gameplay is heavily inspired by Unreal Tournament and
Quake. Care for more? Here's is an elaborate collection of
finest FPS games for Linux.
FREE
Shadowgrounds: The game is a fast-paced top-down shooter
with widely acclaimed graphics and gameplay. Even though the Linux port
of this game was released as early as in 2009, Shadowgrounds is still a
lot of fun.
Price: US$ 9.99
Heroes of Newerth: A multiplayer online battle arena
heavily inspired by Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The game deploys
smooth graphics and engaging gameplay, but learning curve can get a bit
too steep for casual gamers.
FREE
Machinarium: Surprisingly good point and click puzzle game
which also won the Excellence in Visual Art award at the 12th Annual
Independent Games Festival.
Price: US$ 10.00
Savage 2: A Tortured Soul - A fantasy and
science-fiction themed game that combines elements of the first-person
shooter, real-time strategy, and action role-playing game genres. Both
32-bit and 64-bit downloads available for Linux.
FREE
Prey: Another brilliant FPS game which is as good or even
better than Xonotic. Critically acclaimed and supports Linux and Mac OS
platforms.
World of Goo: One of the finest games I've ever played in
Ubuntu. Basically a puzzle game with very distinctive gameplay and
soundscore. Everything about this game is really light and smooth and
you won't be needing any premium graphics card to run this.
Price: US$ 19.95
Osmos: Deceptively engaging, cross-platform puzzle game
which I really enjoyed playing in my Android. And now it is available in
Ubuntu Software Center as well. For me, highlight was the music. It was
just perfect.
Price: US$ 9.99
Trine: A side-scrolling action platform and puzzle game
whose Linux version was released in April 2011. Trine was developed by
Frozenbyte, the same company behind Shadowgrounds series as well. Trine
will debut in Ubuntu Software Center very soon.
Price: US$ 9.99
Coming Soon: Left 4 Dead 2 - Now, this is big. Steam
client for Linux is not some crazy speculation anymore. Valve has made
their plans very clear. Porting of Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) to Ubuntu is
already underway and if all goes well, more Valve titles will follow
suit. They even got L4D2 to run much faster in Ubuntu 12.04 than in
Windows 7 (315 FPS vs 270 FPS). Exciting times to be a Linux user
indeed. Watch this space for updates.
Two other Linux games worth mentioning are Botanicula and Shank. They have not been included owing to the lack of
proper Linux support. Also, some of the games featured here are currently available in the latest Humble Indie Bundle with the usual pay-what-you-want offer. You might want to check it out too. Thank you for reading
