sandbox games

Magica is a unique and original sandbox action game with 100s of spell combinations in a co-operative wizard of magic and comedy. There is no other game like Magicka! This is no typical dual-stick or RPG this is magic chaos at its best!


Use QWER & ASDF keys to weild water, heal, sheild, ice, shock, death, earth and of course... Fire!
But the real trick is to combine these elements by loading up to 5 slots of available spell combinations. The results are fantastic and epic! Not to mention each of the enemies also have strenghts and weaknesses related to these elements. You will fight other wizards, bosses and engage in a quirky story with clever dialog.

About 10 years ago I tested and posted a exausting step-by-step guide on how to run Magicka in PlayOnLinux with Wine
https://www.gamersonlinux.com/forum/threads/magicka-guide.354/

Today, it runs OUT-OF-THE-BOX with Proton! Its unbelievable, but don't take my word for it, try...

I kept hearing the hype about Stardew Valley and thought it was just another farming/crafting game like many others. I did notice there is LAN co-op available which is always great for playing with the family.
So I finally checked it out... I love it!

Farming is the main feature of the game, but there is still a lot to do. Cut trees, mine rocks, plant seeds, water crops, fish, meet towns people and much more. There is even fighting in the caves or at night!

Like many crafting games you have a short list of available items to craft, but you can learn recipe's and level up your skills to be more efficient.


The developers were nice enough to provide a Linux version for us and everything works perfectly! I was able to host a co-op game and my wife-n-daughters joined with out any problems. The game runs smoothly and there are plenty areas to explore and events to do together.

Specs:
Mint 20.2 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 470...

Assassin's Creed Unity takes place in France during the French Revolution. Make your way through the streets alone or with 3 friends and free the lower class from oppression by assassinating key figures in power. Purchase costumes, gear, skills and even co-op boosts to complete the single-player campaign or co-op missions.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/289650/Assassins_Creed_Unity/


Unity runs really well in Linux Mint but there are times when it might randomly crash. Sometimes we had a hard time connecting a co-op session because one computer appeared offline for no apparent reason. Other than that, I was able to crank up the graphics to Very High and still enjoy a decent frame rate. Expect to see "Processing Vulkan Shaders" from time to time.

I was only able to play Unity in E-Proton7-9 (Glorious EggRoll) as other versions would crash UPlay/UConnect

Specs:
Mint 20.2 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060 & GTX 950
Nvidia 470
E-Proton7-9...

The Survivalists demo is top-down retro survival game on a mysterious island. You are shipwrecked and alone, but you meet a trusty monkey to help you gather, harvest and craft the resources you need to survive. Night-time bring creatures out of the dark and exploring the island can be treacherous with natives and caves. No matter... still lots to do and lots of crafting to be done.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/897450/The_Survivalists/


Proton as able to handle the demo without issues! The game played perfectly and is quite fun. You can train your monkey to gather and harvest for you. Keep an eye on your hunger and explore as much as you can. There is even a hosting option to invite your friend, but I haven't tried it yet.

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Proton 6.3-7

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Abriss demo is all about destruction! It kinda reminds me of the Matrix where the robots have taken over and protect their nests. In Abriss you can construct all kinds of apparatus's for demolishing these robot breeding grounds. The demo includes multiple levels and a sandbox mode where you create your own hybrid with lasers, gears and all kinds of smashing structures.

Everything is physics based and it is a lot of fun watching epic structures go down in misery!

https://randwerk.itch.io/abriss-demo

Abriss is made with Unity 3D engine which runs really well in Wine. I didn't have any issues with physics or performance.

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 470
PlayOnLinux 4.3.4
Wine 6.3 staging 64-bit

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SuchArt Creative Space is a free-to-play sandbox artist game! Create custom paintings on canvas using brushes, rollers, palette knife, smudge tool, spray paint and even a pain gun. Receive requests from customers and receive money to buy new painting gear. That's not all... you can pain any surface in the game, create custom size canvas and interact with any object. Make a mess of your whole studio... who cares? Just have fun!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1469280/SuchArt_Creative_Space/


Proton handles SuchArt pretty good... every once in a while there is a stuttering-effect while painting but its tolerable. The only thing I'm not happy with is the lack of tablet support. As an artist, I would love to use my tablet and actually paint detailed art instead of abstract shapes. I assumed that my Wacom tablet (which acts just like a mouse) would work, but once the game is launched it doesn't. Stuck with painting only using...

Stellar Overload is a crafting, harvesting, story-based action game in the same vein of Minecraft. Each planet is a massive cube and gravity falls according to each side of the cube. Find your brother in the resistance, mine for resources to craft your weapons, protect the colonies from the evil robots and build your own structures.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/397150/Stellar_Overload/


Sadly Cubical Drift left this game in eternal beta. It is a crowdfunded game with some epic goals, one of which is a Linux version. I was able to play natively in Linux without any issues. I could crank up the graphics and view distance to almost high and play with a decent frame rate. Too bad its no longer for sale on Steam.

Specs:
Mint 20.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 460

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Elteria Adventures is a minecraft-sandbox clone with high poly characters and monsters. Explore massive floating islands, mine for resources and craft your hearts desires. At night skeletons appear and the passive creatures become hostile. The alpha Linux version is currently free and you can join huge online islands with your friends.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/744200/Elteria_Adventures/


The current Alpha edition runs very well in Linux. I initially noticed the audio was pretty quiet and thought that it wasn't working, but turn it up and all the sound effects are there. Also, there is a bug where you use the teleportation device and end up in the same location... but if you quit the game and restart, you will transport to the new location. Other than that, it runs great and is pretty dang fun! I've played Minetest for years with my family and co-op is always funner because you can mine, craft and fight together...

Tiny and Big is one of those game you will never forget!
In a surreal sandbox world where underpants give you super powers... traverse towers and bridges made of stone... which of course, can be cut apart, dragged and pushed anywhere with powerful physics. Nevermind the dude with underpants on his head trying to kill you...


https://www.gog.com/game/tiny_and_big_grandpas_leftovers

The developers of Tiny and Big provided a native version on Steam and GOG. It runs beautifully on my GeForce GTX 1060 without any issues. It is a great sandbox puzzle platformer with some great physics moments. Cut almost any object into huge slices or small pieces. Use these objects to climb around and reach the end of the level.

Specs:
Mint 19.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 460

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Ever wanted a farm? A farm with slime animals? No, sorry that is all you get in Slime Rancher!
Play as a slime farmer collecting different kinds of slime animals and earning money from their plorts to expand your farm, exploration and tools. Watch out for the contaminated slime!


https://www.gog.com/game/slime_rancher

Slime Rancher has a native version on GOG and runs nearly perfectly! My GeForce GTX 1060 handles is without issues and I'm planning to try a co-op modification in the future. I was also able to successfully play the multi-player mod with three computers in a LAN.
https://satypardus.itch.io/slime-rancher-multiplayer-mod

Specs:
Mint 19.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 460


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Blastronaut is a space procedurally generated resource gathering sci-fi game. Use your blue goo gun and jetpack to break apart blocks on the planet and find precious resources. Upgrade your machines in order to buy fuel and other abilities and tools.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1392650/BLASTRONAUT/

I played the beta demo in Steam and never saw a SteamPlay warning... so I'm not sure if it was a native version or not? But either way, the game played beautifully! I was able to maneuver with my jetpack and dig down into the planet to find the best resources. Be careful not to waste your fuel... otherwise you might not make it back to the surface.


Specs:
Mint 19.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 440.100

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Terraria (GOG) has been a family favorite for a few years now. The four of us will play co-op via LAN for hours each week and eventually get tired of it... then a few months later we'll create a new world and start playing a few hours a week again.


This game is never ending. You can explore, build, craft and fight all kinds of creatures forever. There are costumes, special events, bosses and all kinds of biomes. There is never a dull moment as long as you enjoy digging. You will spend hundreds of hours digging for ores and crafting them into bars to build your weapons, tools, armor and much more.

Terraria has re-invented the platform game with its huge sandbox worlds and non-linear exploration. Go anywhere you want, avoid traps and hordes... store all of your loot and go looking for more. What else could you want?

Quests?
Yes, Terraria has that too...

Tower Defense?
Yes, Terraria has that too...

Trading?
Yes...

Every Assassin's Creed game I've played has run in Linux with the help of Wine and DXVK. I've always used PlayOnLinux and installed a legacy version of Uplay because of Windows XP compatibility. You can find those step-by-step guides here on GamersOnLinux. There are a LOT of steps and sometimes Uplay will run and other times you have to start over. Once you get the game downloaded you run Uplay offline otherwise a simple update will break it.



Not Any More!!!

Steam and Proton handle downloading Assassin's Creed Origins and running Uplay without issue. Somehow its painlessly compatible with Proton and I was able to run the game first try! That is impressive after all the previous steps I used to run one game.

Thank you Steam!


Assassin's Creed Origin runs great in Mint with my GeForce GTX 1060 and Proton. Frame rates are smooth and traversing around the cities is stunning! I have only taken time to explore...

Janga is a silly yet clever sandbox game. You begin on a white planet and begin to plow the surface with your blow pipe. Strange huh? Yeah well, turns out it is a lot of fun. These random heads (called Gluttons) that you can shoot and explode to help you change the surface. Then you can eventually get new pipes like a earth pipe, love pipe, grass pipe, vacuum pipe, tree pipe and plant pipe... maybe even more.

https://concretegames.itch.io/janga


One of the coolest features is gravity. You can eventually jump and as you bring life to your tiny planet you can run faster and jump higher. At some point you will be able to leap out of orbit and float to another planet.

Mint 19.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1060
Nvidia 440.59
Proton 5.0-9

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Ever wanted to play Minecraft?

Nope, because I've been playing Minetest. Its an open source free-to-play Minecraft clone. Of course its not quite as polished, but the vanilla game has a lot in it:

• Endless world (almost)
• Exploration
• Resource Gathering/Farming
• Crafting
• Building
• Day/Night Cycle
• Host/Client - LAN Connection

Host your own world, invite your friends and explore, build and craft cities together. Its educational and very fun to explore huge cave systems, massive mountains and vast oceans.

There is even a community developing mods to improve the base game with all kinds of new features.

Customize Minetest

In Mint you can use the software manager to install Minetest vanilla, but also a bunch of amazing mods to make it more functional and interesting.

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Valheim is a Viking survival sandbox game. Full of creepy minions, crafting and even bosses. The beta is completely free an works online and local LAN:
https://dvoidis.itch.io/valheim

Summit is a short project full of physics puzzles and platform jumping. Made with the Unreal engine you have to reach the top of the summit by using whatever means possible. There is more than one way to reach the top!



Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Summit in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

Note: This guide applies to the itch.io version of Summit, Other versions may require additional steps.

Tips & Specs:

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained

Mint 19 64-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.3.4
Wine: Proton-4.15-GE-4
DXVK: 1.4.4

Wine Installation

Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"



Look for the Wine Version: 4.0.2
Select it
Click the arrow pointing to the right



Click Next...

Cult Of The Abyss is a horror survival game where you play a child surviving in a apocalyptic world. Gather resources, explore the wasteland, cuddle with your dog and avoid mutated creatures. Keep a close eye on your needs because death is around every aspect of the game.



Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Cult Of The Abyss in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

Note: This guide applies to the Itch.io Alpha version of Cult Of The Abyss. Other versions may require additional steps.

Tips & Specs:

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained

Mint 19 64-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.3.4
Wine: 4.15-staging
DXVK: 1.4.4

Wine Installation

Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"



Look for the Wine Version: 4.15-staging...

Dude Simulator is a sandbox free roam FPS where you can interact with just about anything in the game. You actually have objectives, but who follows those anyways? Mess with the dudes by commanding them to follow and watch them trip over eachother... or kill them, make them angry, pee on them or just do stupid things that dudes love to do. It never gets old!



Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Dude Simulator 3 in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

Note: This guide applies to the free itch.io version of Dude Simulator 3. Other versions may require additional steps.

Tips & Specs:

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained

Mint 19 64-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.3.4
Wine: 4.0.2

Wine Installation

Click Tools
Select "Manage Wine Versions"...

Build the city of your dreams or build the city you live in. In Cities XL Platinum you can select maps from continents across the world in many different environments. Micromanage the economy, workers, entertainment, marketplace and more... there is always something to build.



Follow my step-by-step guide on installing, configuring and optimizing Cities XL Platinum in Linux with PlayOnLinux.

Note: This guide applies to the Steam version of Cities XL Platinum. Other versions may require additional steps.

Tips & Specs:

Try SteamPlay before using this guide as Valve now uses a fork of Wine called Proton and should run most Windows games.

To learn more about PlayOnLinux and Wine configuration, see the online manual: PlayOnLinux Explained

Mint 18.3 64-bit
PlayOnLinux: 4.2.12
Wine: 2.0.3

Wine Installation

Click...