Last Updated on February 26, 2018
It cannot be denied that there remains a paucity of games for Linux produced by the large well known gaming companies. It is sometimes perceived that part of the reason rests with Linux gamers themselves. Given the number and variety of addictive high quality open source games, it is perhaps understandable that many Linux gamers might not appear to want to pay high ticket prices for games. Further, it is a fact that the markedly smaller Linux user base means that sales of commercial titles will inevitably be lower than games released on many other platforms, making ports to Linux less financially attractive.
Neverthless, independent developers with little financial backing have identified that the Linux market can offer real potential. These smaller games, often known as indie games, can be just as addictive and exciting to play as their more expensive counterparts. Hand-crafted indie games continue to blossom on Linux.
Some of the indie developers have experimented with novel ways for encouraging sales. For example, the three Humble Indie bundles offered the opportunity for gamers to pay what they wanted for five or six indie games. This raised approximately four million dollars in sales. Interestingly, Linux users were willing to pay more for the bundles than OS X and Windows users.
This article is the second in a three part series concentrating primarily on identifying the finest indie games available for Linux. The more publicity that Linux commercial games receive, the more it will encourage developers to port their games to this platform.
To be eligible for inclusion in this article each game needed to be:
- Released under a proprietary license with a fee required either to purchase the game, or a monthly charge
- Not require Wine to run. Wine is a compatibility layer for running Windows software
Now, let’s scrutinize the 6 games at hand. For each game we have compiled its own portal page, providing screenshots of the game in action, a full description of the game, with an in-depth analysis of the features of the game, together with links to relevant resources and reviews.
| Commercial Games | |
|---|---|
| Braid | Manipulate the flow of time to solve puzzles |
| Castle Vox | Diplomacy meets Axis & Allies game |
| Atom Zombie Smasher | Wipe out zombies with bombs and bullets |
| Sun Blast | Sci-fi themed, 3D, action-arcade space shooter |
| Awesome Soccer World 2010 | Modern day homage to Sensible Soccer and Kick Off 2 |
| Penumbra: Requiem | Expansion pack to the game Penumbra: Black Plague |
 Read our complete collection of recommended free and open source software. Our curated compilation covers all categories of software. The software collection forms part of our series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. There are hundreds of in-depth reviews, open source alternatives to proprietary software from large corporations like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. There are also fun things to try, hardware, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. |