We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Available really cheap until September 18th, Titanfall 2 has one of the best FPS campaigns around and some great multiplayer with the Northstar mod too. 

It's rated Steam Deck Playable and does work just great on desktop Linux. If you want to use Northstar, it may be best to use the latest GE-Proton, as one of the recent updates to GE-Proton added some helpers for Northstar. What exactly is it though? Northstar is a modding framework client that allows users to host their own Titanfall 2 servers using custom scripts and assets to create custom content, as well as being able to host vanilla content. Once again, modding keeping a game alive after the original developer moves on.

The Ultimate Edition is currently 90% off making it only £2.49, which is a ridiculously good price for such a great game. So many hours of fun can be had for that.

It turns out I hadn't actually done a Steam Deck video of the game yet, although I did previously do some footage on desktop Linux back in 2020 where even then it was running exceptionally well. So here's some footage running on Steam Deck with Proton Experimental, followed by a guide to set up Northstar on Steam Deck because this was a good excuse to play some more:

YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

Buy a copy on Steam. Don't miss out on this fantastic deal.

Have you picked it up again or will you buy it now? Let me know in the comments.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
14 Likes
About the author -
author picture
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.
See more from me
21 comments
Page: «2/3»
  Go to:

damarrin Sep 9, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: benstor214You are perfectly right, but do I want to 'infest' my linux machine with the EA app?

If it helps any, you’re just infesting a wine prefix with it and can purge it completely in just a click.
benstor214 Sep 9, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: damarrinIf it helps any, you’re just infesting a wine prefix with it and can purge it completely in just a click.
It does help, as I am anything but an expert in regards to wine/proton prefixes.
So the EA is completely containerized inside of the prefix and will leave no traces lingering on my system (years after purging the pfx from my home directory)?
Is the click you are referring to as easy as clicking uninstall in steam?

I’m sorry if I’m bothering you with stupid questions. To me, proton is still some kind of black magic.
damarrin Sep 9, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
"Completely containerized" is maybe going a bit far, a wine/proton prefix is just a directory with all the windows files for the game in it, but basically yes.
Grogan Sep 10, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Quoting: damarrin"Completely containerized" is maybe going a bit far, a wine/proton prefix is just a directory with all the windows files for the game in it, but basically yes.

I also wouldn't say it's "completely containerized", but it's more than that... Proton runs in a bwrap (firejail bubblewrap) container, with the steam runtime and the libraries it supplies. The wine prefix is not in a container.

P.S. I'm replying out of context here, I see. What you said made perfect sense in reply to the question. ("basically, yes" etc. that there will be no trace of the EA App once the wine prefix is deleted.)


Last edited by Grogan on 10 September 2023 at 9:07 am UTC
Grogan Sep 10, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
I had to get the EA App and its games the hell out of Steam, because Proton kept breaking it. I have zero problems with the EA client in a Lutris prefix with Wine (currently my trusty Wine TKG 8.6.1 build) and what Lutris calls "D3D Extras"... the d3dcompiler dlls and stuff. The user interface works and displays correctly, it downloads and installs games and finalizes/activates content correctly.

Thus, I have an EA subscription to avoid re-buying a bunch of games so I can try Titanfall 2. I don't really get great value out of the EA sub, because I don't like a lot of their games, just that the ones I do are important to me. Trying new games like this is the justification for keeping it :-)

I also already had some EA games that I had rebought on Steam, to get them the hell out of Origin (Steam used a thin Origin client that was less problematic and irritating). Now the tables have turned, and using the EA App in Wine is a better experience.
Pecisk Sep 10, 2023
If you look past all online DRM bits - which fair, Titanfall 2 was released with considerable MP component - campaign was short, sweet, with excellent weapons and shooting mechanics, jaw dropping levels, solid mech gameplay, and story while formulaic, is elevated by performances and pacing. It is genuinely good example of what triple A studios do best - giving shine and feel of Hollywood professionalism to such blockbuster titles.

So yeah, it is more than worth that asked sandwich money.

I wish EA would take that franchise, see what clicked so well with players in TF2, and expand on that. Also happy for studio with their success with Apex Legends. As they share same universe with Titanfall...maybe who knows, they are already working on something.


Last edited by Pecisk on 10 September 2023 at 10:43 am UTC
Jarmer Sep 10, 2023
As everyone else said, it is a HUGE pain to get the trash ea app running, and I also hate infesting my system (even if it is just the prefix folder) with all that drm garbage, but ... man .... the game itself is just SOOOOOOO GOOD that if you haven't played it yet, and are even a tiny fan of fps', it's so worth it. Amazing game, and even more so at that price.
Frawo Sep 11, 2023
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
I think this was the first game I played on the Steam Deck, and still one of the best experiences so far. Great game, and it never dipped below 60 FPS on high settings... Source engine ftw!
PJ Sep 16, 2023
on my end - can't recommend. While it's a nice game on my linux box I can't get past this figgin EA launcher.


Last edited by PJ on 16 September 2023 at 4:37 pm UTC
pseudex Sep 17, 2023
Bought it just for the campaign. It was worth every penny. Did run very well on my fed38. In the beginning I switched to proton Experimental otherwise this ea crap app wouldn't work.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
Login / Register


Or login with...
Sign in with Steam Sign in with Google
Social logins require cookies to stay logged in.