GamersOnLinux

Who doesn't know the story of Geralt and his monstrous adventures helping the people of Nilfgaard searching for his daughter? Play as the famous Witcher again and slay all kinds of hideous monsters who lay waste to the realm. Craft weapons, upgrade, use runes and wield magic at your disposal. The story and cut-scenes are cleverly engaging... even the side-quests are interesting and full of unexpected surprises.


I did a bit of research on ProtonDB before downloading and testing The Witcher 3. In most cases it ran beautifully, but I did see a bunch of posts about a Steam Launch Option to skip the "Launcher"

I have only experienced a handful of crashes, probably because I'm constantly taking screenshots, but other than that, it runs great with almost all the settings on Ultra.

Specs:
Mint 21.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 535
Proton GE 8-4

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Play as Kate Wilson during the Great Population Flood and take on the terrorist group the Malthusians in a Tomb Raider-ish game with action, puzzles, climbing and amazing water effects.
The Hydro Engine was designed for Hydrophobia to create realistic water effects as you find your way through epic linear maps completely flooded in water. Kate even wields an interesting physics water gun with unlimited ammo cool down. This makes for some interesting puzzle solving with the surroundings.



https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/92000/

Hydrophobia is a pretty short game, but full off action and crazy waves of water everywhere. Proton was able to handle this 2011 engine without any serious issues. There were a few random crashes, but the game auto-saves everywhere, so just launch and continue playing. I've made a step-by-step guide for Hydrophobia years ago in PlayOnLinux, but now with Proton, it just runs without any extra...

In the Titanfall 2 campaign you will learn the bond between human and titan. Play as Jack Cooper and fight to save your commanders abandoned titan BT-7274. You will experience first person shooter and mech styles of gameplay throughout the campaign. Fight in your titan and also fight alongside your titan. Both styles bring unique gameplay as you communicated with BT-7274 and escape the enemy.


I initially tested Titanfall 2 with stable versions of Proton and EA Play failed to launch the game. But as expected... Proton Experimental paved the way! Now the game runs beautifully and the singleplayer campaign is pretty amazing! I was able to play with most settings on high and hardly any frame stuttering or frame rate issues. What a beautiful game!

Specs:
Mint 21.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 535
Proton Experimental 8




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Gunslinger is another instance of the Call Of Juarez franchise with a story-tellin emphasis. Literally! Play as the narrator who slays famous outlaws of the old west. Utilize old classic weapons like The Winchester, Colt, shotgun and more... Play epic one-on-one showdown shootouts in slow motion!


Gunslinger has a great graphics style almost like Borderlands and it runs really well in Proton! Unfortunately the game is fairly linear and sometimes the story halts right in the middle of a firefight to introduce an enemy animation, dialog or simply change the story. Other than that, you won't get to use a lot of creative weapons or loot... mostly run-n-gun using classic western guns. Which is still pretty fun!

Specs:
Mint 21.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 535
Proton GE 8-4

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Blizzard finally created a free-to-play MMO for Diablo! Currently in Beta, join your friends and live the story between Diablo II and III. Choose a deadly male or female class:

• Blood Knight
• Barbarian
• Crusader
• Demon Hunter
• Monk
• Necromancer
• Wizard

Battle all kinds of forest minions all the way to hell demons! Also expect the typical environments like Gothic graveyards, deserts and epic castles. Help other players and expect random encounters!

I was able to install Battle.net in PlayOnLinux with ProtonGE8 and run Diablo Immortal. Honestly it will require some patience because of the random crashing. I was unable to run the game on any other version of Proton. The game will consistently crash at start up, but don't give up, just use the System Monitor to kill DiabloImmortal.exe and then launch again. If that doesn't work, just kill all processes in PlayOnLinux and run it again.

For the most part, once it...

Deep Rock Galactic is a Dwarf-ish spelunking mining extravaganza where you and 3 friends will dig for resources while surviving mobs of alien/bug-like monsters. Each Dwarf has a unique blend of weapons and tools, so it is important to work together! As you explore massive caverns or twisting caves keep an eye out for health because you will be attacked with random monster invasion and even bosses.


Its been about a year since I played over a free weekend and since then I've been waiting for a Steam sale. It finally happened and I picked up 3 copies! With 3 PCs running Linux Mint I didn't have any issues with two of them, but the third one caused a bunch of issues with Vulkan Shaders. Every time we ran it, those stinking "Processing Vulkan Shaders"!!! Then the game would freeze or crash! After some research and setting Processing to background we set Proton to version 7 and ran as "Safe Mode" it finally worked.
Now works flawlessly every...

Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is an action RPG much like Grim Dawn-meets-Diablo 3-meets-Warhammer 40K Chosbane. Traditionally its is a top down looting, melee, projectile, magic slaying monsters game, but once you level up... there are a lot of features to choose from.

• Skill Tree
• Special Abilities
• Character Stats

For the most part, Wolcen ran really well in Proton. There were a few instances where our character started moving really slowly and couldn't attack. But it was so infrequent we didn't research how to fix it. Probably something to do with bandwidth or ping speeds.

Honestly Wolcen was much to easy for my wife and I playing in co-op. We were able to connect over Steam and play the same campaign, which is pretty long... but there was a sever update which completely removed all of our skill tree selections. As a reward for this unfortunate event, they gave us both 400K coins which meant we could purchase anything we...

Once again, Dunwall is under threat but this time the empresses half-sister Delilah is threatening to take power as an evil sorceress. Play as Corvo or Emily and explore a whole new world: Karnaca capital of Serkonos. A new enemy lurks in the form of robotic soldiers and witches, but expect to learn some new deadly stealth skills as well.


I picked up Dishonored 2 on a GOG sale and naturally tried to play using PlayOnLinux. But I was unable to even launch the game with Wine or Proton. So I tried Steam "non-steam" game and it ran fairly well. Every once in a while I would get a stuttering frame rate issue probably related to Vulkan shaders, but other than that it was a beautiful game! I was able to run almost all the settings on high. Also one of the best looking skulls I've ever seen in a video game!

Specs:
Mint 21.164-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 530
Proton Experimental 8.0

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Valheim has sold millions of copies with millions of players exploring the massive map, creating Viking cities, slaying monsters, collecting loot and crafting gear. But where did it all start? The free-to-play beta of course!


Sadly I've had a hard time tracking down a download for Valheim Linux beta. I've kept it from years ago and it still runs pretty well and is still a lot of LAN co-op fun! If you still don't want to spend money on Valheim and want to play with limited features, give it a go, but have fun finding an installer.

I was able to host a listenserver and my daughters both joined on Mint PCs
Every once in a while there is a slight performance stutter. Part of it is the automatic save, but the other part may just be optimization issues. Either way, a lot of fun!

Specs:
Mint 21.164-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 530

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The world is not what it seems...
Enter a terrifying world where humanity is at its end, WAU monsters have taken over and you are the only one left to save us. Creatures roam in the dark you can run, you can hide, but the only way to stop them is to become one of them? Explore massive underwater facilities spanning across an ocean. Hear resonating memories from objects and bodies, figure out who you really are and work with Catherine the computer AI.

https://www.gog.com/en/game/soma

I've had SOMA for a few years on GOG and finally broke down to give it a try. I'm a big Amnesia fan so I knew I would like this horror thriller by Frictional Games. I wasn't disappointed! Not only does it run native in Linux, it ran beautifully and the visual effects are AMAZING! The monsters are pretty terrifying and your only defense is hiding, closing doors behind you and running. Enjoy!

Specs:
Mint 21.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX
1650 Nvidia 530

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Fallout 76 is the newest version of the Fallout franchise, but now you can play online with friends in a post apocalyptic world full of zombies, mutated creatures and environmental events. Craft your own camp, loads of loot, countless guns, armor and of course... pop caps. Based on the famous Fallout 4, explore all kinds of biomes, run down buildings, schools, airports and much much more! Level up with experience cards and trade all kinds of loot with your buddies. The world is massive and there for you to conquer!


I was so happy Fallout 76 was finally on sale! I played once during a free weekend and even with some performance issues, I thought it was a lot of fun! Now with Proton Experimental my daughter and I are playing co-op and exploring the world of Fallout together.... finally!

Of course there are still performance issues, but I expected this and spent some time tweaking the settings in the .ini file to get it to run smooth...

Path of Exile is a free-to-play action RPG with large maps, dungeons, tons of loot, bosses, skill tree and all kinds of upgrades! Pick your class, join up with friends and slay minions, mini-bosses in creepy super detailed worlds! This game is worth it! The monsters are very creepy and smart. They sometimes run away and find cover, other powered-up monsters are almost impossible to kill. Use your skill gems and load up and armor/damage to take them out!


Once again it was time to re-visit Path of Exile and play co-op with my family. Initially I tried through Steam but for some reason I was having all kinds of problems. So naturally I went to PlayOnLinux and used ProtonEXP and installed the client. No issues or performance problems these days and it is a lot of fun with my family!

Mint 21.1 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 515
Proton Experimental 7 P
layOnLinux 4.3.4
DXVK 2.1

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Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor was an amazing action game following the epic adventures of Talion. In Shadow of War its basically the same game but with some new skills and ability to recruit captains into your own army and take over strongholds. Play again as Talion and utilize the wraith skills of Elven Lord Celebrimbor. Slay thousands of orks, ride caragors and encounter drakes. Even the nemesis system still exists when you are executed by a captains, warchiefs or overlords. Discover their weaknesses by interrogating worms and exploit them by slaying with fire, stealth-kill, poison, creatures and even cause them to run in fear!

When you recruit a captain into your own army, later they can be upgraded and moved from stronghold to other strongholds. The combinations are limitless. Even the combinations of wraith skills are limitless.


Specs:
Mint 21 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia...

Synergy is a community made mod for Half-Life 2 that allows you to play through the campaigns with your friends:

• Half-Life 2
• Half-Life 2: Episode 1
• Half-Life 2: Episode 2

Re-live the epic adventure/nightmare as Gordon Freeman against the Combine republic! Experience silly gravity bugs and interesting effects while solving puzzles and goofing off with the gravity gun! Its endless fun!


There are a few progress-breaking bugs in Synergy and the only solution is to skip the rest of "said map" but over all the experience is really fun and long! So many enemies to kill and fun ways to crash into each other in the buggy or hovercraft. Proton handles Synergy nicely! Its hard to tell if Half-Life is running natively or as Winodws executables?

I played through with both of my daughters offline with a single Steam account and it was a lot of fun! Thank you Synergy!

Mint 20.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 515
Proton...

Sable is a nonviolent open world 3rd person exploration and adventure game. Discover the remnants of an ancient civilization with advanced technology on your hover bike roaming the world. Interact with characters and puzzles and unfold an epic story!


Before I gave Sable a "go" I did some research on protondb first. There were many reports of stuttery, lagging frame rates when exploring on the hover bike and I can confirm they are correct. The stutters were not horribly bad or unplayable, but I definitely noticed them. I really enjoy some of Sable's abilities like slowly hovering down in the orb or riding in the hover bike crashing into things.

Mint 20.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 515
Proton Experimental

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Unreal Tournament 4 has been on hold for a long time as Epic develops other games. Thanks to the Linux community there are some dedicated developers who have made Unreal 4 available for us to play again!

Source:
https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/1111t8g/unreal_tournament_4_saved_by_ut4uu_community/


Following the instructions in the reddit post, I was able to download, install, launch and sign in. Then I could play my own singleplayer training maps or local LAN maps. Thank you for including LAN!!!

I noticed some serous stutter or lag when initially playing. This must be some caching issue with Linux, Vulkan or OpenGL. Not really sure, but it sure is annoying during the first match. Once the issues are loaded up, then it plays just fine afterwards!

Specs:
Mint 20.3 64-bit
GeForce GTX 1650
Nvidia 515

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Helldivers is a 3rd person twin-stick action shooter with upgrades, co-op and medium sized maps with missions. One interesting element is the online players help each other overcome enemy solar systems by completing objectives on each planet. If you play co-op with 3 friends and complete all the planets in the solar system, then online players no longer get to play these maps until all of them are complete. If your team dies and you quit the game, other players can try the objectives themselves. So the war continues as long as players are online beating maps.


Helldivers is made by the same developer who brought us Magicka and Magicka 2. Unfortunately there is no native Linux port so we have to play with Proton. As expected it runs beautifully on 3 of my computers as I've been playing co-op with my daughters. I was unable to grab screenshots due to the game engine capturing the mouse so operating system keyboard shortcuts didn't work. At...

I made a collection of my recent game tests and attached my favorite PNG screenshots in HD 1920x1080

Click the screenshot you want to maximize, then right-click and Open Image in New Tab to download

Enjoy!

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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...

Rage 2 is a second installment of the Rage franchise boasting epic firefights, car battles, bosses, and apacalyptic views!


There is no shortage of loot and action here... everything a FPS action gamer wants! If you have played the first Rage, then Rage 2 is an absolute upgrade! The open world is HUGE... many roads, biomes, elevations and loctions to slay bandits, mutants and soldiers.

In many ways I think Rage 2 is what ID Software wanted for the first game. Not sure if budgets were tight or the fact Bethesda was purchasing the developer, but Rage 2 is by all means EPIC!

Luckily I was able to pick it up for free on Epic store. I waited a few months as I was testing other games and had no idea how amazing this game was. Finally gave it a chance and found that it was buggy with a lot of crashing in Proton. I'm using Heroic Launcher which handles the download and Proton/Wine version perfectly. There are even other settings like...