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Axiom Verge 2 from Thomas Happ Games has jumped over from the Epic Store to Steam and it comes with Native Linux support and it is also Steam Deck Verified! This was made with Ethan Lee's FNA, so it's another quality port too and uses the Vulkan API.

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You may have played Axiom Verge, or heard it referenced as a benchmark for indie action-exploration games. This long awaited sequel expands on the universe with completely new characters, abilities, and gameplay.

Indra, the billionaire behind the worldwide Globe 3 conglomerate, heads to Antarctica to investigate the disappearance of her daughter, but ultimately finds herself in an entirely different reality, infected by parasitic machines that both aid and confound her. Where is she? Who is the mysterious person goading her from the other end of the computer terminal?

Explore an alternate Earth-like world, replete with the ruins of an ancient, high-tech civilization. Hack machines. Battle monsters. Use your remote drone to enter the Breach, a parallel but connected reality that is filled with its own dangers. You’ll want to search every inch for the hidden items and upgrades you need to survive.

The game seems to run quite nicely across Linux desktop and Steam Deck, which is not exactly a surprise. Any modern port that uses FNA tends to run great. It's another title that feels like it was made to play on something like the Steam Deck for sure with some tight gamepad controls.

Overall it might not reach the heights of excitement that the original did (not many sequels manage it…), but it's still a pretty great game. If you usually enjoy platformer-metroidvania exploration, this is a lovely indie game to pick up and put a good few hours into.

Some footage from Steam Deck:

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Available to buy on Steam.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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ExpandingMan Aug 16, 2022
Kind of frustrating: I had tried pretty hard for months to get this game working on Epic (through Heroic and Lutris) but I absolutely could not get it to run. Then it releases on steam and it launches right away. This understandably makes me pretty nervous in general that I won't be able to get non-steam games running, which isn't a great feeling.
Purple Library Guy Aug 16, 2022
Quoting: ExpandingManKind of frustrating: I had tried pretty hard for months to get this game working on Epic (through Heroic and Lutris) but I absolutely could not get it to run. Then it releases on steam and it launches right away. This understandably makes me pretty nervous in general that I won't be able to get non-steam games running, which isn't a great feeling.
That strikes me as a matter of perspective. If anything more of a good news story. I mean, it almost seems that you're complaining that it launches now and Valve has our back (even if Epic most assuredly does not, but like, we knew that).
ExpandingMan Aug 16, 2022
Quoting: Purple Library GuyThat strikes me as a matter of perspective. If anything more of a good news story. I mean, it almost seems that you're complaining that it launches now and Valve has our back (even if Epic most assuredly does not, but like, we knew that).

No, of course I don't mean it that way! And, for what it's worth, I'm not claiming that I really understood what I was doing when I was trying to get it to run, it's entirely possible I couldn't get it to run because of my own stupidity.

I instead meant to express my general feeling of unease about Valve's dominance. I love the work they've been doing and supporting, but I don't want to be totally dependent on them. (Though this was merely a personal anecdote that may not be representative of the overall situation.)
ObsidianBlk Aug 16, 2022
Quoting: ExpandingMan
Quoting: Purple Library GuyThat strikes me as a matter of perspective. If anything more of a good news story. I mean, it almost seems that you're complaining that it launches now and Valve has our back (even if Epic most assuredly does not, but like, we knew that).

No, of course I don't mean it that way! And, for what it's worth, I'm not claiming that I really understood what I was doing when I was trying to get it to run, it's entirely possible I couldn't get it to run because of my own stupidity.

I instead meant to express my general feeling of unease about Valve's dominance. I love the work they've been doing and supporting, but I don't want to be totally dependent on them. (Though this was merely a personal anecdote that may not be representative of the overall situation.)

I have never tried either of these games, let alone obtained via Epic, but, when trying to get the game running through Lutris, were you attempting to run it with WINE or Proton? Did you try configuring it outside of Lutris? I've never been a fan of Lutris myself. It's been hit or miss for me. I usually setup WINE or Proton directly (I'm a bit more elbow grease).

In regards to the worry of Valve dominance... my comfort is in the general understanding that Proton (the core tool Valve is using) is available independently of Steam and acts the same (as far as I'm aware) outside of Steam as within it. As such, barring a game directly utilizing Steam services which would effectively DRM it to Steam (which may be an issue, but that's aside from the game actually working on Linux) running the game through Proton directly should work regardless of whether it's through Steam or not. Hope that makes sense.
no_information_here Aug 16, 2022
Axiom Verge is one of my favorite metroidvania games. I didn't even know there was a sequel (thanks Epic). Looking quickly at reviews, it seems like it is still good, although the combat might be easier. Has anyone here played it much?
slaapliedje Aug 16, 2022
Quoting: ExpandingManKind of frustrating: I had tried pretty hard for months to get this game working on Epic (through Heroic and Lutris) but I absolutely could not get it to run. Then it releases on steam and it launches right away. This understandably makes me pretty nervous in general that I won't be able to get non-steam games running, which isn't a great feeling.
This is why I mostly have given up on GOG, and have only once briefly given into anything on EGS, which I then refunded and bought later when it released on Steam. Epic's big middle finger to releasing stuff for Linux, except when it suits them makes me also give them a big middle finger.
M@GOid Aug 16, 2022
Interesting. When this came out on Steam, the Linux version wasn't available. Then I saw the reviews and it was not encouraging. But now that I see that Ethan Lee is involved, I found a good justification to grab it, after all, his game track record with me is pretty good.
benstor214 Aug 18, 2022
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Quoting: ExpandingManKind of frustrating: I had tried pretty hard for months to get this game working on Epic (through Heroic and Lutris) but I absolutely could not get it to run. Then it releases on steam and it launches right away. This understandably makes me pretty nervous in general that I won't be able to get non-steam games running, which isn't a great feeling.
Hi, my first post here! Hello y’all!
I registered because I felt the urge to add my 2 cents on this…
While I completely agree why one can be wary of valve’s dominance on this segment of the market (linux gamers), I’d like to add the following thought: every single competitor of valve can start tomorrow with building up their support of Linux in a similar way as valve does. Not a single person or entity prevents them from doing so. They actively choose not to support Linux and by doing this, they leave the entire market segment to valve. Can you blame valve to take up the opportunity?
In my humble opinion, the “fault” (if you can speak of a fault) lies with the competition, i.e. GOG, Epic and all the other stores that don’t support Linux.
It’s valve’s competitors that allow valve to be the dominant actor here.

In other words: Linux gamers are customers waiting to be grabbed/served, you just have to support their platform. If you cede these customers over to your competitor, you have only yourself to blame.

Maybe I’m wrong. What do I know? These are just my thoughts on the subject.
Now convince me that it was a mistake to register on this site. Haha :D

Edit: “this” customers *facepalm*


Last edited by benstor214 on 18 August 2022 at 6:47 pm UTC
Purple Library Guy Aug 18, 2022
Quoting: canichangemyusernamelaterquestio
Quoting: ExpandingManKind of frustrating: I had tried pretty hard for months to get this game working on Epic (through Heroic and Lutris) but I absolutely could not get it to run. Then it releases on steam and it launches right away. This understandably makes me pretty nervous in general that I won't be able to get non-steam games running, which isn't a great feeling.
Hi, my first post here! Hello y’all!
I registered because I felt the urge to add my 2 cents on this…
While I completely agree why one can be wary of valve’s dominance on this segment of the market (linux gamers), I’d like to add the following thought: every single competitor of valve can start tomorrow with building up their support of Linux in a similar way as valve does. Not a single person or entity prevents them from doing so. They actively choose not to support Linux and by doing this, they leave the entire market segment to valve. Can you blame valve to take up the opportunity?
In my humble opinion, the “fault” (if you can speak of a fault) lies with the competition, i.e. GOG, Epic and all the other stores that don’t support Linux.
It’s valve’s competitors that allow valve to be the dominant actor here.

In other words: Linux gamers are customers waiting to be grabbed/served, you just have to support their platform. If you cede this customers over to your competitor, you have only yourself to blame.

Maybe I’m wrong. What do I know? These are just my thoughts on the subject.
Now convince me that it was a mistake to register on this site. Haha :D
I'm actually fairly down with that position.
Come to that, if Valve's Steam Deck and some other developments make Linux a bigger target, perhaps those others will start to compete for it.
Pengling Aug 18, 2022
Quoting: canichangemyusernamelaterquestioIn other words: Linux gamers are customers waiting to be grabbed/served, you just have to support their platform. If you cede this customers over to your competitor, you have only yourself to blame.

Maybe I’m wrong. What do I know? These are just my thoughts on the subject.
I don't think that you're wrong - what you've described here is what happens at the beginning of market disruption. Linux users are currently part of what would be called the "crappy products for crappy customers" phase - that is to say, we're the tiny market that nobody wants to bother with, and even though we're ripe for the picking the other options are still largely ignoring us even though nothing is stopping them.

If you've ever read about the "Blue Ocean Strategy" (something that was popularised by the Nintendo Wii, which took this approach), what I'm paraphrasing is stuff from that.

Quoting: canichangemyusernamelaterquestioNow convince me that it was a mistake to register on this site. Haha :D
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