Gaming

Proton is a compatibility layer for Windows games to run on Linux. Running a Windows games is mostly just hitting the Play button within Steam. It’s that good that many games now run faster on Linux than on native Windows. That’s what makes the Steam Deck the best gaming handheld of the moment. But a compatibility layer is still a layer, so you may encounter … incompatibilities. Ember Knights is a lovely game with fun co-op multiplayer support. It runs perfectly on the (Linux-based) Steam Deck, but on my Ubuntu laptop I encountered long loading times (startup was 5 minutes and loading between worlds was slow). But once the game was loaded it ran fine. ...

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time. I certainly agree with that sentiment. At its core, The Witcher 3 is a action-role playing game with a third-person perspective in a huge open world. You develop your character while the story advances. At the same time you can freely roam and explore as much as you like. The main story is captivating and the world is filled with with side quests and lots of interesting people. Fun for at least 200 hours, if you’re the exploring kind. If you’re not, the base game (without DLCs) will still take you 50 hours to finish. ...

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a surprisingly fun game. At its core it’s a role-playing game. But you wouldn’t tell because of the amount of platforming, the quantity and quality of small puzzles and -most of all- the funny self-deprecating dialogue. As the player you control Mario and Luigi simultaneously and that takes some time to master. As you learn techniques along the way, each character get special abilities allowing you to solve new puzzles and advance on your journey. It’s not a shot game for a handheld, taking around 20-30 hours to finish at the minimum. ...

Like many games of that time, Snow Bros. is a simple game that can be mastered with practice (or rather, coins). It’s fun all the way, specially when playing with 2 players (in co-op). The gameplay is somewhat reminiscent of Bubble Bobble, but instead of bubbles you shoot snow to bury enemies in snowballs. Push the snowball to get rid of all the enemies on its path! ...

Time can be cruel for games. Some games don’t age well. The advance in computational and graphical power is painfully clear. But time can also be a filter to separate great from mediocre games. If a game survives for decades, there is a big chance it’s a great game. Games are released to run on very specific hardware and operating systems. Older games do often not run out of the box on modern computers. However, this does not mean that running them is impossible, or even challenging. There are several options to play these games, depending on what you find important or achievable. ...

Firewatch is a single person adventure that I enjoyed from the beginning to (almost the) end. Certainly recommended. My only point of criticism is the rather abrupt ending. The game is short (around 5 hours), but the story is by no means rushed. Your life, as the protagonist, is in shambles. What better way to get your thoughts straight than wandering all day in nature while spotting wildfires? As a firewatcher in a very remote area, your only lifeline to the outside world is a warm and friendly voice through the walkie-talkie. You really look forward to those conversations. But when you’re alone with your thoughts, the majesty of the landscape shows there is a difference between solitude and loneliness. ...

A Short Hike is a small indie game. And by small, well, I mean small: you’ll finish the story in around 1 hour and half. You can spend a few additional hours to 100% the game, but there isn’t much incentive to do so once you finish it. That said, the game is a great example of a cozy game. The artwork is beautiful, the mechanics are good and the quests are easy. There are no wrong choices: you can’t die. A Short Hike wonderfully keeps the sense of discovery alive, resulting in a Zelda-like game with no stress whatsoever. ...

Is a game released on 2017 still retrogaming? It is if you played on a Wii-U, the abandoned last-generation console of Nintendo. Yes, it was also released on a Nintendo Switch, as exactly the same game with a very small bump in resolution (from 720p to 900p). Originally it was planned as a Wii-U exclusive, but it took Nintendo a few extra years to get it right. And they did. ...

Misfortune Ramirez Hernandez, a cute 8-year-old girl, loves to tell the world she is “a little Miss”. Little Misfortune is more than a wordplay on the story of the child. It’s a lovely, funny and sad little adventure game. All at the same time. It’s about a child’s sense of wonder and about the loss of innocence. Although short (I finished it around 3 hours), it’s rewarding. No need to make it longer just for the sake of it. The Artwork is beautiful and strengthens the story. While the price is steep for an indie game, it’s certainly worth it (or just wish-list it and wait for the cyclical Steam sales). ...

A fun, kind of realistic tennis game. Best for playing in Quick Tournament mode (the history mode is silly). Not easy, but certainly worth it. Handhelds like the rp3+ can upscale it to about 3x the original resolution. My old 2016-Celeron NUC with Batocera can upscale it to 1080p without any issues. Have a look at “How to play retrogames?” if you don’t know how to play retrogames. ...