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My favourite 2021 games played on Linux

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Here we are, the year is ending so here's a few of what I consider to be my favourite games played on Linux that had a release during 2021.

As always, these are highly personal and are only based on what I actually played. There's masses in my backlog I haven't yet, that I will likely kick myself during 2022 for not getting around to earlier. The trouble is also, that most of my favourites were released back in 2020 and earlier - because newer simply isn't always better! So many games had huge upgrades across 2021 too that sucked me back in. However, these are my personal standouts.

Valheim

I had to include this, to not do so would be a big fat lie. Valheim is absolute magic from such a small team and absolutely absorbed me for a great many hours. I woke up wanting to play it and went to bed thinking about what I would be building next or what I would discover next. Valheim is a great example of how games don't need to have next-gen AAA ray-tracing realism.

Playing Valheim was truly a breath of fresh air. Such a sense of freedom, with no real goals to achieve outside of taking down bosses. While you do progress towards that as you go, it doesn't feel like it ever pushes you to do so. It doesn't really push you towards anything and that's why I like it so much. The scale of it is impressive too and I truly cannot wait to see more from it. For a year that in many ways offered so little fun, Valheim was a needed break.

The co-op aspect of it too is excellent. While you can play it alone, and I've done plenty of that, sailing around with friends in a big boat is an absolute blast. Just watch out for those dastardly Deathsquitos, they'll get ya.

Also, the Swamp is thoroughly spooky at night.

Valheim is available to buy on Humble Store or Steam. Linux native.

Loop Hero

Even the demo of Loop Hero had me totally hooked on it. It really doesn't look like much at all and the pixel-art isn't even especially great on it but it does still look good enough. The pull though is quite literally - the loop. A game that requires you to do the same thing over and over again to progress in it, which might sound a little boring but it's so finely-tuned to get you to keep doing it. What's really going on? You want to find out.

Build up a deck of cards that you place down to change the world, while your little hero travels around a loop battling creatures and collecting equipment. It's weirdly intoxicating. Then there's the parts outside of the loop, where you build up a little village and unlock more of the game from cards to characters. Then you realised there's lots of secrets to find and — it just keeps looping in your mind.

You can buy Loop Hero on GOG.com and Steam. Linux native.

Voxel Tycoon

Honestly I end up burning out pretty quickly on games that need you to keep building up and micro-manage business stuff but Voxel Tycoon is something that feels a bit special. In some ways, it feels like a next generation of Transport Tycoon. Not quite hitting every mark on that just yet but the promise it showed right out of the game was remarkable.

There's a lot you can build in it already and the world can be huge, although to really hit the promise of the infinite world, it's going to need plenty of optimizations.

You can buy Voxel Tycoon on Steam. Linux native.

Despot's Game: Dystopian Army Builder

Another game that's very much like Loop Hero, with a supremely satisfying loop that makes you itch to come back for more. Catching me thoroughly by surprise with the weirdness, it's a mixture of a dungeon crawler with an auto-battler where you build up a squad of completely ridiculous people from someone wielding Excalibur stuck in the stone to someone that looks like Dr. Otto Octavius from Spider Man, there's a lot of very fun variety here.

You can buy Despot's Game: Dystopian Army Builder on Humble Store and Steam. Linux native.


I imagine things are going to look very different by the end of 2022 and not because I'm expecting anything in particular in regards to new releases. With the Steam Deck approaching, which I am thoroughly excited for, I do honestly expect my gaming habits to change a little with it as it's a device I can genuinely see myself using plenty. The amount of evenings I've wished for such a device to relax elsewhere with - what joy it will bring.

What did you enjoy the most for gaming on Linux during 2021? Let us know in the comments and perhaps a bored reader can find their next favourite.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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Anza Dec 22, 2021
Quoting: StalePopcornGame referenced in thumbnail, Valheim?

That's what I said. If you know Valheim, it's quite clear. It's swamp at night, with bunch of skeletons attacking. One of the screenshots in the article is from Valheim too.

Thumbnail is clearly not from any other game discussed in the article.
denyasis Dec 23, 2021
For me this year:

XCOM:EW - very fun, I like the mix of story and random maps, even if I got a few repeated maps.

Witcher 1: Good Story. Feels a little more believable than the generic save the world quest line of other games.

Factorio: first play since it's "release". Very nice gameplay.


I think I gonna continue Factorio a bit longer and then move on to perhaps a strategy game. Not sure which.
wvstolzing Dec 23, 2021
I've played close to no games this year, sorry to say. I bought Superliminal in a recent sale, and didn't launch it once. It will be the first thing I'll be playing when I'm able to.
Liam Dawe Dec 23, 2021
Quoting: demencia89Hi! What is the game on the thumbnail?
Thank you!
Yup, Valheim. Added it in to be clearer.


Last edited by Liam Dawe on 23 December 2021 at 10:38 am UTC
Liam Dawe Dec 23, 2021
Quoting: GuestHow many of these are actually GNU+Linux native games?
All my picks were Linux native.
grumpytoad Dec 24, 2021
Quoting: JanneI started Subnautica and got partway through, but now I'm a little lost as to what to actually do, so I've left it again.

The answer is... go deeper. and deeper..
BlackBloodRum Dec 31, 2021
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I have to agree with Valheim... I was given a Steam £20 voucher and a bottle of rum (Old Woods Navy Rum, 52% vol ) for xmas.. people know me so well..

Part of that £20 and rum has been spent on Valheim.. so far I've sunk 19.1 hrs into that game....

Crazy.

Playing solo though (my friends don't play it anymore, I was late to the party) and trying to figure out how things work.. mostly I've just built a 3 story house by the beach, with a basement for spare wood/stone in the meadows (LOL)

I know I'm supposed to go fighting bad guys.. but I've just been building.. and repairing after rain..

I do love that there is no forced "you must do it by this time, you must beat this guy now" - you can work at your own pace and peacefully hunt deer, those strange tree guys and build up etc.

Very good game imo.
keturidu Dec 31, 2021
Started the year with classics - Baldur's Gate Enhanced edition + self compiled megamod. It's like a meditation to handpick all those mods and still enjoy original idea of the game. Playing this game for >20 years and still haven't finished Throne of Bhal or played for evil character. I just enjoy that fresh start feeling, and then again, and again. Killing every bad guy and making all side quests before starting the main is what i'm playing BG for.

Later on i realised again that i have an addiction to EU4 and Stellaris. I'm playing EU4 (and EU3 before) for many years, but Stellaris for me was some kind of surprising revelation. Still no feelings for HoI and CK series.

Summer was HoMM III time. Played lot's of hours, also together with my son. It's becoming like a tradition to play a hotseat when traveling on vacation.

Got Geforce Now, so may play some demanding games on my Lenovo calculator. This year it was Witcher III (didn't finish, played for a month and then just stopped and never got back), No man's sky (absolutely amazing graphics, but after ~30h of playing i still don't understand a bit what should i do there, so just travel between planets).

After ~800 hours of Rocket League playing in 2018-2019 completely forgot this game, sadly. Got into level that is more demanding than giving fun.

So, no surprises this year. Except Pathfinder Kingmaker i got freeby from Epic Games. 0 expectations, but this game is looking really amazingly similar to BG series for me. Loving every detail of this RPG.
Vasya Sovari Jan 5, 2022
Quoting: Anza
Quoting: undeadbydawn
Quoting: scaineZiggurat 2

Holy wow. A legit Linux-native non-pixel art full 3D FPS? How the hell did I not know this game exists?

It's mostly flying under the radar. It's in bit of a niche genre, but within rogue-lite shooters it's pretty good one.

Otherwise if you look for Linux natives, you have to appreciate what indie industry is able to produce. Those teams can be pretty small, so if they want to actually release a game, they have to cut corners somewhere.

Bought Ziggurat 2 and, while impressed with how well the game is made, got bored very rapidly. The 'tiny arena' format just didn't work for me. I refunded but may buy again on a much deeper sale
Vasya Sovari Jan 5, 2022
Quoting: KoopacabrasAward of bug fest of the year... and the winner is: Cyberpunk 2077.
Valheim bugless gameplay and clean mechanics laughs at you. And it's still in Early Access lol.

C2077 is still a clunky mess, but vastly more fun than I expected.
I stopped playing and uninstalled ~20 hours in cos certain issues were killing for me (the major one getting stuck in Delamain HQ after going back in for Legendary components) and it seemed wise to put it off for the next major round of updates & fixes. It has legit potential to be one of my favourite games ever, and fill the void left by Deus Ex
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