Cave Story+ 2026 major update out now - Native Linux version dropped

The highly rated action-adventure platformer Cave Story+ now has the massive "Cave Story+ Update 2026" available but they dropped the Native Linux version.

You'll now have to use Proton by default for the Steam version. If you have Steam open, restarting it will have it swapped over to whatever Proton version you have set overall. Valve previously rated it as Steam Deck Playable with Proton 7. Looks like Valve need to give it a re-test for the new update and newer Proton versions as that's pretty outdated now.

This update was released in Beta back in April, but now it's out for everyone. There's a lot it adds to the game including a 2-player mode, mod support, enhanced visuals, and much more. It's mostly bringing over all the modern console port changes to the PC version. Expect to see the best version of it yet if you go diving back in.

You could also try the doukutsu-rs project, which is a reimplementation of the Cave Story (Doukutsu Monogatari) engine with many quality-of-life improvements. They're working on support for the big new update.