20 Most Exciting Linux Games for 2012

Bastion: An action role-playing game where the player character, “the Kid”, moves through floating, fantasy-themed environments that form paths as the player approaches the edge. Bastion is widely acclaimed for its story, art direction, narration, and music. Price: US$18.99

• Buy Bastion from Ubuntu Software Center

• Visit Supergiant Games Store for more download options.

0 A.D: Unlike all the other games mentioned here so far, 0 A.D is a free and open-source, cross-platform real-time strategy game which is still in very early stages of development. The game is already pretty darn good by the way. FREE

• Download 0 A.D from Ubuntu Software Center

• Visit 0 A.D download page for more options.

Lone Survivor: A psychological survival adventure game with retro-styled 2D graphics. Players control an isolated, surgical mask-wearing survivor of an infection which has turned the world’s population into an aggressive bunch of mutants. Lone Survivor was well received and got widely praised for its storyline and gameplay. Price: US$ 9.99

• Buy Lone Survivor from Ubuntu Software Center

• Visit Lone Survivor download page for more options.

Psychonauts: Critically acclaimed platform game that was released for Linux in May 2012 through the Humble Indie Bundle V. Price: US$ 9.99

• Download Psychonauts from Ubuntu Software Center

• More download options here.

Puzzle Moppet: Ingeniously designed puzzle game with a different sort of gameplay and simple graphics. Due to the game’s failure to generate enough sales and interest (according to the developers themselves), Puzzle Moppet is now available for free to download and use. Game’s source is also available for free download. FREE

• Download Puzzle Moppet for Linux at Zero Cost

Penumbra Series: One of those games which I just can’t play with my headphones on, no matter how hard I try. The tension can gave you an heart attack. Developed by the same Frictional Games of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Penumbra series is just as scary, and very subtle in its approach too. As a matter of fact, Penumbra series was released before Amnesia. Penumbra Series consists of a collection of 3 games. Price: US$ 20.00

• Buy Penumbra Series for Linux

Xonotic: One of the finest open-source first-person shooter games available for Linux (a fork of Nexuiz originally). Gameplay is heavily inspired by Unreal Tournament and Quake. Care for more? Here’s is an elaborate collection of finest FPS games for Linux. FREE

• Download Xonotic for Windows, Mac and Linux

Shadowgrounds: The game is a fast-paced top-down shooter with widely acclaimed graphics and gameplay. Even though the Linux port of this game was released as early as in 2009, Shadowgrounds is still a lot of fun. Price: US$ 9.99

• Buy Shadowgrounds  shoot ’em up for Linux
  

Heroes of Newerth: A multiplayer online battle arena heavily inspired by Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. The game deploys smooth graphics and engaging gameplay, but learning curve can get a bit too steep for casual gamers. FREE

• Download Free Heroes of Newerth Client for Linux

Machinarium: Surprisingly good point and click puzzle game which also won the Excellence in Visual Art award at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival. Price: US$ 10.00

• Buy Machinarium for Linux (32-bit version only)

Savage 2: A Tortured Soul – A fantasy and science-fiction themed game that combines elements of the first-person shooter, real-time strategy, and action role-playing game genres. Both 32-bit and 64-bit downloads available for Linux. FREE

• Download Savage 2: A Tortured Soul for Linux

Prey: Another brilliant FPS game which is as good or even better than Xonotic. Critically acclaimed and supports Linux and Mac OS platforms.

• Buy Prey FPS Game for Linux

World of Goo: One of the finest games I’ve ever played in Ubuntu. Basically a puzzle game with very distinctive gameplay and soundscore. Everything about this game is really light and smooth and you won’t be needing any premium graphics card to run this. Price: US$ 19.95

• Buy World of Goo from Ubuntu Software Center 

• Even more World of Goo download options.

Osmos: Deceptively engaging, cross-platform puzzle game which I really enjoyed playing in my Android. And now it is available in Ubuntu Software Center as well. For me, highlight was the music. It was just perfect. Price: US$ 9.99

• Buy Osmos from Ubuntu Software Center

• Check out more download options and Osmos demo if you like.

Trine: A side-scrolling action platform and puzzle game whose Linux version was released in April 2011. Trine was developed by Frozenbyte, the same company behind Shadowgrounds series as well. Trine will debut in Ubuntu Software Center very soon. Price: US$ 9.99

• Buy Trine for Linux, Mac and Windows

Coming Soon: Left 4 Dead 2 – Now, this is big. Steam client for Linux is not some crazy speculation anymore. Valve has made their plans very clear. Porting of Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) to Ubuntu is already underway and if all goes well, more Valve titles will follow suit. They even got L4D2 to run much faster in Ubuntu 12.04 than in Windows 7 (315 FPS vs 270 FPS). Exciting times to be a Linux user indeed. Watch this space for updates.

Two other Linux games worth mentioning are Botanicula and Shank. They have not been included owing to the lack of proper Linux support. Also, some of the games featured here are currently available in the latest Humble Indie Bundle with the usual pay-what-you-want offer. You might want to check it out too. Thank you for reading.
Screenshot courtesy: pcgamer.com (Amnesia: The Dark Descent)