I hope I’m wrong; market success on this could stand to break at least some of the corporate living room triumvirate (though I’m not sure how popular Xbox is anymore tbf) and further development for Linux as an “it just works” system in a more mainstream context.

It’ll be an extremely niche market - the narrow range of nerdy PC players who don’t want to buy a laptop or a regular prebuilt, and don’t want to bother building their own.

A huge chunk of the Deck’s success is in its form factor. I don’t see much ROI on the Machine in that aspect.

I have high hopes for the Frame though.

The Ea-Nasir of thermal paste

All positive publicity is good, the more people outside our little niche bubble are exposed to it the better.

Killing Windows influence in gaming wherever possible is an improvement.

Oh god I’m sorry modding on Linux is painful. I did it some years ago but it’s been a minute - my best guess would be to use LOOT (Load Order Optimization Tool) since that spits out very specific package/dependency issues in text form.

Hopefully you can get it sorted, Godspeed in the meantime. /gen

Does Sable count? It has ~6k reviews on steam. It’s a really unique environmental exploration game with a sweet story (to minimize spoilers) and there’s a lot you come across accidentally and it feels satisfying and like it’s your own journey, in a way.

Also Mudborne. It’s about $8 and has 620 reviews, and the breeding mechanics are fun and tinker-y. Unlocking areas and figuring out puzzles in the name of frog conservation!

Garden Story is also a cute, easy enough, Zelda-like as is Ogu and the Secret Forest, with about 1k reviews each. Less “weird” and more “adorable” but still enjoyable.

Last but not least, I will always recommend Jazzpunk. it’s 6k total reviews across 11 years so hopefully that’s obscure enough but it’s super duper weird in the best way. Play it at least once and you’ll never forget it.

Only insofar that it’s free.

It does suffer from FOSS (fully open source software)-iness, since you have to install Luanti, then go into the content downloader (like Minecraft’s mod store) and install Mineclonia.

There’s also less documentation on Luanti than on Minecraft but Mineclonia is pretty 1:1 so you can use the MC wiki for pretty much everything.

So actually now that I write it out yes lol, that way you’re not having to pay $30 to see if you like a game.

ETA: Luanti also has Voxelibre, which started as a Minecraft clone but has diverged into its own game. Also less documentation but if you want different gameplay there’s a lot more you can install for free!

I’ve been on a Luanti (formerly Minetest) kick past few days, mostly playing Mineclonia.

It has some small QoL upgrades over the original imo. Could benefit from controller support but scratches the itch well enough as a palate cleanser.

After this probably looking at Dungeons of Hinterberg in my backlog.

When you’re done with your first playthrough, get Revision and The Nameless Mod.

I believe Revision is available on steam but if not, both are on ModDB.

Also, don’t be afraid to explore, learn your play style (it’s meant to be stealth heavy but run-and-gun is also an option), and don’t sink all your skill points into swimming lmao.

The tutorial (“training” option in the main menu) is pretty fun and will get you familiarized with all your basics and tips pretty nicely.

I may have strong nostalgia glasses on but the mechanics still hold up really well and it’s still one of my favorites of all time. I have it on at least 3 platforms and regularly gift it to friends/family when it’s on sale.

I’ve played some of the 4th game but it’s not the same feel really, more akin to Watchdogs ime. The second game got review bombed on release but seems like a decent game from what I’ve heard from other fans. I have it but haven’t played it yet, probably should lol.

Thanks for reading my text wall 😅 /gen

I’m (also pleasantly) surprised most of those arch derivatives are listed separately.