Two Brutal Truths About Gaming On Linux
As Dawe mentioned above and I can confirm, playing games native to Linux is effortless. What's wonderful about Linux is the possibility of playing literally anything that was not developed for the platform. But now it's time for a dose of reality.
1) Playing Windows Games Might Be Disappointing
"When it comes to playing Windows games on Linux, the first thing to remember is: it's never going to be a perfect experience. Don't go into it
expecting something to work," Dawe explains. "Go in like that and you won't be too disappointed. There's software called Wine
(https://www.winehq.org/) which you can try.
PlayOnLinux and
Lutris are essentially user interfaces to work with Wine to manage multiple titles with it, each with their own special script to set it all up for you."
Dawe stresses that native gaming is generally a better choice than Wine, which is leveraged through tools like Lutris or PlayOnLinux, or whether it's using Valve's Proton compatibility solution on Steam.
"Wine is a stop-gap solution for certain games that aren't on Linux until you either find a replacement for it that is Linux-native or they put out a Linux release," Dawe says. Wine can be great for old releases that are no longer supported though and there are plenty of Windows-only games that do work fine with it. Some developers have even packaged their older games with Wine for Linux users and put them on Steam."
2) Steam Play Isn't Ready For Prime Time
If you've heard about Linux recently in larger outlets like this one, it's probably because of Steam Play. It's why I see an endless deluge of posts on Reddit and Twitter from people ready to make the switch from Windows to Linux.
So as a newcomer to Linux and someone who's becoming a staunch advocate for the platform, this one is tough to admit. While the technical possibility of playing the thousands upon thousands of Windows-only Steam games on Linux is a revolutionary leap forward, it's far from perfect. When it works it's
amazing. When it doesn't it's an exercise in frustration.
Though whitelisted by Valve, DOOM isn't perfect for everyone and may require tweaking.Steam Play Compatibility Reports
I've spent the past two weeks downloading dozens of games to test, and many of the ones Valve has whitelisted do indeed perform well without any hiccups. But some, like 2016's DOOM, simply won't launch. The game works for the majority of people who've submitted their experience to the Steam Play Compatibility Reports website, but for many others, it does not.
Valve can't whitelist a game and take Steam Play out of beta (it's now available to everyone using the Steam for Linux client) until every title they've put their seal of approval on works for everyone who launches it -- provided they meet the software and hardware requirements. I think the worst possible outcome is to see reports of gamers who've wiped out their Windows partition and parked themselves gleefully in the Linux camp, only to be frustrated that the experience they expected isn't happening.