10 Great FOSS Linux Games You Never Knew Existed
The criteria for games in my list are that a) The game engine is free and open source b) the game data is freely available and c) It is easily accessed and easily installed.
With that out of the way here is the list of 10 great underrated FOSS games:-
Word War Vi
Word War vi is an 80s style Defender clone but it is hilariously full of Unix/Linux Jokes. You are a pilot of “vi”per craft moving through the core memory and it’s your job to rescue lost swp files and fight the OS defences and defeat the memory-hogging Emacs processes.
If you are running Debian/Ubuntu derived systems you can install Word War Vi by typing “sudo apt install wordwarvi” on the terminal.
Freedroid
Freedroid is a clone of the cult classic C64 game Paradroid, which is one of the best games on that platform. The goal is to defeat the rogue robots on a space station. You can do this in two ways. The first one is to shoot them and the 2nd way is by hacking them and taking them over.
If you are running Debian/Ubuntu derived systems you can install Freedroid by typing “sudo apt install freedroid” on the terminal.
MegaGlest
MegaGlest is a fantasy real-time strategy game. It’s kind of like a mixture between the Age of Empires and Warcraft series. MegaGlest is a fork of the 2004 FOSS game Glest which is no longer in development. You have the option to take 7 factions which are Tech, Magic, Egypt, Indians, Norsemen, Persian or Romans.
If you are running Debian/Ubuntu derived systems you can install MegaGlest by typing “sudo apt install megaglest” on the terminal.
Pingus
Pingus is a Lemmings clone. The game play of Pingus is very similar to Lemmings but instead of Lemmings you got to guide small penguins to safety by assigning different jobs to different type of penguins. The game is as fun as the original Lemmings.
If you are running Debian/Ubuntu derived systems you can install Pingus by typing “sudo apt install pingus” on the terminal.
Extreme Tux Racer
Extreme Tux Racer is the fork of the classic Linux game Tux Racer. You are a penguin and you have to race downhill through a slop and get all the fish in your way.
If you are running Debian/Ubuntu derived systems you can install Extreme Tux Racer by typing “sudo apt install extremetuxracer” on the terminal.
Hurrican
Hurrican is a clone of the classic 16-bit era game Turrican. Blast your way through myriads of enemies, explore the secrets of nine massive worlds and collect tons of powerups to increase your firepower in this highly explosive Run and Gun arcade game.
One way to download the game is from their website https://www.winterworks.de/project/hurrican/
Another more easier way to download the game is via Flathub now as well by typing “flatpak install flathub io.github.hurricangame.hurrican” on the terminal
Micropolis
Micropolis is a FOSS version of the classic SimCity. Its source code was donated by Don Hopkins who ported SimCity to Unix to the One Laptop Per Child program back in 2008. Its SimCity.
If you are running Debian/Ubuntu derived systems you can install Micropolis by typing “sudo apt install micropolis” on the terminal.
Hedgewars
Hedgewars is a turn-based artillery game with hilarious characters and cartoon violence. The game can be played both single-player and multiplayer. The game is inspired by the classic Worms series. In the game, each player controls a team of several hedgehogs. During the game, your goal is to defeat the rival team with whatever weapons are available.
If you are running Debian/Ubuntu derived systems you can install Hedgewars by typing “sudo apt install hedgewars” on the terminal.
Pushover
Pushover is the classic 1992 puzzle platform game. In the game, your goal is to arrange the dominoes in such a way that a single push topples them all to open the door to the next level and before the clock runs out. There are 11 different types of dominoes in the game.
If you are running Debian/Ubuntu derived systems you can install Pushover by typing “sudo apt install pushover” on the terminal.
Shattered Pixel Dungeon
Shattered Pixel Dungeon is a Roguelike RPG game in which you have to choose between 4 different characters. Each level is unique with a random map and random enemies and items to collect. The game is simple enough that anyone can get into it and it provides a lot of depth and nice pixel graphics. The game is highly addictive.
On Linux you can install Shattered Pixel Dungeon via Flathub by typing “flatpak install flathub com.shatteredpixel.shatteredpixeldungeon” on the terminal.
