Here a quick run down of PC gaming in general and the state of it on Linux.

PC gaming has boiled down to Clients which will manage your games, this would be your Steam, EA App, Ubisoft Connect, GOG Galaxy, and many many more. These Clients act as both the Store to buy your games, the Game manager to install and delete your games, the online client to let you play online with friends, and the DRM to ensure that you and only you can play your games. Out side of GOG most PC games will not run without a client installed.

In Linux there is only officially Valve’s Steam which is compatible. You can find Steam as a Flatpak or as a Package in your distros Package Manager. Thanks to Valve’s Steam Deck console there is a shocking number of Linux native games to choose from, however thanks to Steams implementation of Wine called Proton, many native Windows games are also compatible. Proton can be enabled for all games in the settings, though the results cannot be guaranteed.

Hardware wise, your default controller is your mouse and keyboard. But Linux is compatible with, from my testing, any modern controller compatible with Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo systems. For certain generas of games you may want to consider getting a controller if you find your mouse and keyboard is frustrating to control your game with.

In terms of games it really depends on your tastes so a recommendation is difficult. I’d look at what TV Shows, books and other forms of entertainment you’d like to discover titles which you prefer. If you aren’t afraid to raise the Jolly Roger you may find some classic games on older video game consoles online as ROM files which you can play on open source emulators. Linux is compatible with a wide array of them, though Retroarch is used as a hub that has a minor learning curve but is compatible with everything. (Just make sure to install the Flatpak version or the steam version).

Last piece of advice, Humble Bundle bundles is a good place to find a lot of games for cheap. Not all the games are bangers, but often can include games from small developers than can often fall between the cracks of many user recommendations. You can find them here: https://www.humblebundle.com/games

Here are some game recommendations which I feel would be fun to anyone who wants to play games.

• Antichamber A Fun Indi puzzle game which twists reality and loop back onto itself.

• Fallout 3/The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim - Some of the more critically acclaimed games, both are adventure games in the same style, but Fallout has guns and based in the Post Apocalyptic Future, while Skyrim is more like Dungeons and Dragons.

• The Stanly Parable - A Hysterical narrative adventure with no combat. A YouTube playthrough will explain the game better than I could.

• Team Fortress 2 A Team Based First Person shooter, also the first Free game here. It’s an older title but it still holds up and can be a lot of fun once you get the hang of it.

• Besiege A sandbox medieval weapon construction game. The tutorials will get you going and you can many many silly things.

• Portal/Portal 2 Puzzle Platformer shooter, where you play with physics to solve puzzles. It’s a must play and is often on sale.

• SimCity 3000/Cities Skylines A City Building game where you can build and manage your own City. SimCity is an older title but holds up well IMHO but Cities Skylines is a more modern game (Skylines 2 is a buggy unoptimized rushed mess. Avoid it for the time being)

• Civilization 6 Strategy game where you can build an empire. I prefer 5, but 6 is the go to game right now.

• Rollercoaster Tycoon/Rollercoaster Tycoon 2 Make your own theme park, from the rollercoaster to the rides. OpenRCT2 has a more modern look to the classic.

Now just because I am recommending Steam doesn’t mean the other launcher won’t work in Linux. Lutris and Bottles can be used to install and manage your Windows apps, with varying degrees of stability.