The Best Linux Games of 2021

We are already in 2022 and not only that: today we celebrate the Day of the Magi, a very beloved holiday here in Spain because that is when the gifts arrive, although for some time now, he has been in fierce conflict with Santa Claus. Be that as it may, this holiday allows us to publish a special like the one at hand, in which we collect the best games of the year for Linux, screening through, yes.

This special Linux Play we select a list with The 10 best games that came out for Linux in 2021, which should be clarified, because what is said to play on Linux can be done in many ways and with quite a few guarantees: you can play the most outstanding releases through platforms of streaming like Stadia or GeForce Now, you can play more and more titles with better quality through Steam and Proton …

However, in this Linux Play: The Best Games of 2021 only native games are includedNot because there are great differences between playing one or the other, beyond the details of each platform, but, as we have always done, for consistency, but also for “necessity”: native games are the most significant indicator of the health of Linux gaming… Although in the last couple of years the appearance of the aforementioned Proton has destabilized everything.

This year many very good games have been released for Linux, as you can see by taking a look at our monthly releases section Linux Play, but practically everything has come from the sector indie; the great titles have done so through the channel that Proton promotes. Thus, the list that you can see below is a bit irregular a priori, at the level of franchises and triple A games, while being short because it is reduced to ten titles.

Following our modus operandi habitual “The selection criteria is based on the specialized Metacritic notes, contrasted and screened with the scores of Steam users”, the most objective and consistent method that we have considered, despite which the result will never be to everyone’s taste . After all, dozens of Linux games come out every month and, as noted, there are very good ones.

To all this, it has been seven years since we published this special with the best games of the year for Linux, so do not miss the previous ones if you are looking for good games to point on your list, or simply out of curiosity. There you have them:

Now, let’s go with …

The best games of 2020 for Linux

As we also do every year in our sister publication MuyComputer, one of the Christmas specials was that of The best games of 2021… according to MC. An article in which the editors of the site collaborate with personal recommendations, including two of the games that feed the list at hand and which, as is evident, were the choices of the two MuyLinux editors, Eduardo Medina and myself same. In case someone is interested in reading an opinion apart from the brief descriptions that follow.

Metro Exodus

Metro Exodus It is the third and at the moment last installment of the popular action franchise. It came out in 2019, but the native bearing arrived this year on Linux and has not lost an iota of intensity. This is my recommendation, by the way.

Valheim

Valheim it was one of the balls indie of the Year, an open-world survival game that has made everyone so excited, it made us break our rule of not including Early Access games in Linux Play.

Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice

Shadow Tactics: Aiko’s Choice came out at the beginning of December, but this continuation of the real-time strategy of the magnificent Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun It has taken little time to hook the staff.

Griftlands

Griftlands is the latest from Klei, the study indie responsible for delicacies like Shank, Crypt of the NecroDancer, Invisible, Inc., Don’t starve together or Mark of the Ninja… Needless to say, they have done it again, again in a multidisciplinary way.

Paint the Town Red

Paint the Town Red It is, on the contrary, one of the surprises of the year, a multiplayer full of action and blood that shows that the most important thing in a game is not its graphics, but the fun it brings.

Wildermyth

Wildermyth It has been another of the debuts that they have conquered in 2021, an RPG of the most sui generis The only stain of which is not having been translated as appropriate for a title of its quality.

Huntdown

Huntdown is a tribute to the good old days of arcade action machines, a title with a retro influence that, however, has gathered a good legion of followers in the middle of 2021. Among other things, Eduardo Medina himself.

Imposter Factory

Imposter Factory is another RPG that has already captivated thousands of players since its launch last September. Of course it has a trick, and that is that we are talking about the last sequel to date of the phenomenon indie To The Moon.

Skul: The Hero Slayer

Skul: The Hero Slayer, for its part, takes up the retro-style action in a similar way to how the platformer did at the time Shovel knight, but with greater frenzy and with a touch more of roguelike.

pureya

pureya closes the list with arcade minigames and retro looks, but don’t be fooled, because it was another of the surprises of the year that we just left behind, precisely because of how simple, direct and accessible it was.