A Hat in Time is a polished and vast 3D platformer, with great art and a sense of humor. Kid friendly, too. It runs natively via Proton and can be purchased from Humble, Steam, GoG, and likely elsewhere.

Video trailer, if you're not familiar:
https://youtu.be/um_3_cmnSmg?list=PLhZHP3kfQzzcea74hYvSCDWUn7zvEjXzl

Last edited by Chuckaluphagus on 5 March 2024 at 5:43 pm UTC

Just wanted to quickly drop in and say a great big thankyou to all of you for adding so many games! You have no idea how cool it is for me to see it continuing to be proven that the "Nintendo-style" of gaming can be done entirely without Nintendo. I've ended up wishlisting some titles that I didn't know about, too!

I originally dropped a couple of games from my list because they're Capcom titles and I didn't feel comfortable recommending them because the company has gone back and added undeclared DRM to them. However, in the interests of the fact that not everyone will be bothered by that (they do still work fine via Proton, and it's probably not a big problem if you're restricting them to a gaming-only machine like the Steam Deck), and that this list might be handy for users of other platforms as well, I figure that I may as well add them also;


Mega Man 11 (Proton)
Cutesy-robot platformer with various difficulty and language settings, where you can steal the bosses' powers to use for yourself. An accessible jumping-on point for this long-lived series.


The Disney Afternoon Collection (Proton)
A collection of six Disney-licensed games by Capcom, originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System. Save-states, retro graphical filters, and new time-attack and boss-rush modes are available, and two of the games offer 2-player co-op.

Last edited by Pengling on 5 March 2024 at 3:00 pm UTC

A Hat in Time is a polished and vast 3D platformer, with great art and a sense of humor. Kid friendly, too. It runs natively and can be purchased from Humble, Steam, GoG, and likely elsewhere.

There's a native Linux version available somewhere? Or did you mean something else?

A Hat in Time is a polished and vast 3D platformer, with great art and a sense of humor. Kid friendly, too. It runs natively and can be purchased from Humble, Steam, GoG, and likely elsewhere.

There's a native Linux version available somewhere? Or did you mean something else?

You're right, I misspoke above. I would have sworn it was a native build and not running through Proton, but I just went back and checked. I'll go back and fix my post.

A couple I would throw my hat into the ring and mention:

• Terraria (native, and a damn good native port at that), which is a sandbox survival game, often simplified as "2D Minecraft". The passion the devs have for this game is nigh unmatched at this scale, still delivering content updates 12 years later. More than just being very accessible, it has the same kind of design finesse Nintendo are often credited for.


• Portal 2 (native, might actually even use DXVK Native now for its graphics). The story-driven puzzle game, it isn't even close. Valve are often hailed in terms of game design as the Nintendo of PC gaming, and Portal 2 (as well as Portal 1, while not being as all-ages) are the most all-ages way to get into this. Of course, its predecessor, Portal, and the parent series Half-Life, contain fantastic games, but they are not quite as all-ages.


• SuperTuxKart (native). The kart-racer that has a dedicated following. This one is a ton of fun and good for anyone looking for an all-ages Mario Kart replacement.

Last edited by sonic2kk on 5 March 2024 at 5:56 pm UTC

Terraria (native, and a damn good native port at that), which is a sandbox survival game, often simplified as "2D Minecraft". The passion the devs have for this game is nigh unmatched at this scale, still delivering content updates 12 years later. More than just being very accessible, it has the same kind of design finesse Nintendo are often credited for.

I recommend getting tModLoader on Steam to use with Terraria for mods. It's free, and it works on Linux, Mac, and Windows like the game.

SuperTux (Native, FOSS)
A Free, Open Source 2D jump-and-run game like the original Super Mario Bros.

SuperTux is also on Steam for Linux/Mac/Windows.

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Pingus is a good Lemmings clone.

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Extreme Tux Racer is a really good racing game.

I'll forever have the music from Tux Racer burned into my brain. I remember playing the original on
Mandrake 8.2 Pro with the keyboard arrow keys. That distro came with Tux Racer, SuperTux, and Pingus. 🐧

I almost forgot about TuxPuck! That was another one that I used to play back in the day. lol

Was going to make another joke post, this time involving yakuza, but I actually have a nice suggestion:

Donut County (proton)

Good natured, bite-sized game with some katamari-vibes (gameplay-wise), though it is far more relaxing.

Regularly on sale over at gog, including at this very moment. Grab it while it's still hot.

Last edited by emphy on 7 March 2024 at 2:58 am UTC

I'm getting slightly ahead of myself here since the game isn't released yet but I just finished the excellent Inspector Waffles and noticed that the announced sequel belongs here. It releases not just on PC but on Gameboy and Gameboy Color!




Inspector Waffles Early Days (PC, GB, GBA)

I guess technically it's a combination de-make and prequel. Taking place before the events in the original Inspector Waffles (but not going back as far as to kittengarten!). Very cool project!

@whizse, you've reminded me that some of the new indie/homebrew retro games are getting released on Steam as well. Goodboy Galaxy is an excellent puzzle metroidvania, it's been released for the Game Boy Advance already but is getting a Steam release later this year. It would have been a top-tier GBA game when the system was current, it's great.

Top stuff guys - thanks so much for adding more games! Keep 'em coming!

Goodboy Galaxy is an excellent puzzle metroidvania, it's been released for the Game Boy Advance already but is getting a Steam release later this year.

It's also available for the Evercade, which is a Linux-based cartridge-driven console platform.

Last edited by Pengling on 27 March 2024 at 1:28 pm UTC

I'm getting slightly ahead of myself here since the game isn't released yet but I just finished the excellent Inspector Waffles and noticed that the announced sequel belongs here. It releases not just on PC but on Gameboy and Gameboy Color!

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Inspector Waffles Early Days (PC, GB, GBA)

I guess technically it's a combination de-make and prequel. Taking place before the events in the original Inspector Waffles (but not going back as far as to kittengarten!). Very cool project!

@whizse, you've reminded me that some of the new indie/homebrew retro games are getting released on Steam as well. Goodboy Galaxy is an excellent puzzle metroidvania, it's been released for the Game Boy Advance already but is getting a Steam release later this year. It would have been a top-tier GBA game when the system was current, it's great.

I sure do hope that the Inspector Waffles prequel comes with the GameBoy Color ROM in its Steam release. Goodboy Galaxy won't iirc, and it's always really super annoying when games don't also include the ROM with their Steam releases. D:

Last edited by Linux_Rocks on 27 March 2024 at 11:00 pm UTC

I've got an excellent contribution from Mrowl over in a news-comment. (I've split it up to prevent the forum from shrinking the quotes.)

Yes, I have 2 games, you should definitely add to the list:

The first is Palworld. It bears so much similarity to Pokémon that Nintendo and the Pokémon company were investigating a possible lawsuit.

The general idea is that it's "Pokémon with guns" and it's basically an open world survival game, like Ark and Rust, etc. So quite different from Pokémon, but still features "cute" monsters that you help you fight, etc.

It has already sold 25 million+, mostly on Steam, but it's also on Xbox and coming to more platforms.

It's the first truly objective sign that a Pokémon style game can be a massive success outside of Nintendo hardware in today's era. It also runs okay'ish (about 30fps) on Steam Deck.

The next is also a Pokémon-like, though we've heard very little on its development for the past 3-4 years. It's being developed by Pearl Abyss, the team behind Black Desert Online, so I don't think it's vapourware just yet.

It was one of the most talked about trailers of GamesCom 2021; it's Dokév:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Xlr_EQysA

This looks absolutely insane, and graphically far more ambitious that any Pokémon game. And again, they're aiming for a multiplatform release.

Last edited by Pengling on 5 April 2024 at 2:07 am UTC

Panel Attack is a FOSS clone of Panel de Pon (aka Tetris Attack, aka Puzzle League, aka Puzzle Challenge, aka oh my god Nintendo please just pick a name and stick with it). Features online play with rollback netcode, and some basic modding support for custom characters/stages/music/themes.

Last edited by missingno on 5 April 2024 at 4:52 am UTC

So I recently went looking for alternatives to Breath of the Wild, because Nintendo are at it again, and the way the fandom gushes over that game gives me the impression that you can't have that on PC.

I found:
Immortals Fenyx Rising (Proton, Steam Deck Playable)
Kingdoms of Amalur: ReReckoning (Proton, Steam Deck Verified)
Pine (Native Linux, Steam Deck Verified)
Thanks to a YouTube video I watched recently.
I would put Genshin Impact here as well, but that's not an option for Linux gamers due to the anti-cheat.
There's also Veloren, a FOSS game inspired by Cube World, but which also takes inspiration from Breath of the Wild.

If you want 2D platformer games featuring cute characters, there's Commander Keen, Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure, Hocus Pocus, and Monster Bash.

Commander Keen runs perfectly on the Commander Genius source port/engine, Monster Bash HD runs natively, and the other two run perfectly in DOSBox.

And if you liked Hocus Pocus, you should check out Hocus Pocus Doom.

Also, I know the OP said:

no emulation because that would be cheating and a total cop-out

However, DOSBox doesn't require illegally-ripped ROMs, unlike most other gaming platform emulators.

Last edited by Talon1024 on 30 April 2024 at 3:05 am UTC

Thanks so much for the contributions, everyone!

Also, I know the OP said:

no emulation because that would be cheating and a total cop-out

However, DOSBox doesn't require illegally-ripped ROMs, unlike most other gaming platform emulators.

That's totally fair! I threw that in there mainly to ward off the possibility of "Just emulate their current stuff.", which would defeat the point of voting with our wallets for the alternatives and cutting Nintendo out of the picture entirely.

Thanks so much for the contributions, everyone!

Also, I know the OP said:

no emulation because that would be cheating and a total cop-out

However, DOSBox doesn't require illegally-ripped ROMs, unlike most other gaming platform emulators.

That's totally fair! I threw that in there mainly to ward off the possibility of "Just emulate their current stuff.", which would defeat the point of voting with our wallets for the alternatives and cutting Nintendo out of the picture entirely.

I'm glad I didn't completely ignore the rules then. XD

Since Commander Keen was mentioned, we can't forgot about Jazz Jackrabbit or the sequel. There's also a source port for them too.

Last edited by Linux_Rocks on 29 April 2024 at 8:32 pm UTC

Fairtris 2

I realize now that I should've posted about this game on the present thread, rather than here, as I did a couple of days ago: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/forum/topic/6068/

https://github.com/furious-programming/Fairtris-2-UC

This is a subtly enhanced clone of NES Tetris written in FreePascal; it requires the Lazarus IDE to build; & depends on SDL2.

They have a detailed readme, and a github wiki, where you can find implementation details, screenshots, etc. - https://github.com/furious-programming/Fairtris-2-UC/wiki/Gameplay

Since Commander Keen was mentioned, we can't forgot about Jazz Jackrabbit or the sequel. There's also a source port for them too.

Looks like OpenJazz is only for the first game. For JJ2, there's Jazz 2 Resurrection.

Saw this thread and wanted to share some of my favorite Nintende-esque games for PC, and all the games I've listed here are free of cost as well.

The Adventures of Square (Native via GZDoom)
This is a cartoon-ish FPS game made in GZDoom, and I think it really captures that mascot platformer vibe that was prevalent in the 90's and early 2000's. It's a standalone mod so it doesn't require any original doom data files to run. Currently only episodes 1 and 2 are finished, with the episode 3 release TBD. This has to be one of my favorite doom total conversions, alongside the Golden Souls trilogy which was already mentioned here, and Ashes 2063 (although that one doesn't really fit the whole "Nintendo" theme).


Sonic Robo Blast 2 (Native)
3D Sonic fangame made in a heavily modified Doom engine. The gameplay is more similar to classic 2D sonic translated into 3D than more of the official modern games, and it actually plays really well IMO. The game has a development history going back 20+ years, but it received an update around 2020 that completely redid the graphics, levels and music. There's also a kart racing mod of this with online and splitscreen multiplayer called Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart, which is arguably even more impressive.


You Have to Win the Game (Native)
Retro PC styled metroidvania with simple but challenging gameplay. It has a really cryptic feel to the exploration and puzzle solving, similar to the first Zelda and Metroid games. Also comes with a neat CRT filter


Princess Remedy in a World of Hurt (Wine)
Cute stylized RPG about healing creatures from wacky ailments. This one is pretty short, beatable in around 1hr if I remember correctly. When you enter into a battle, the game turns into an arcade style top-down shooter, which is pretty unique and fun.


Hero Core (Wine)
This is one of my favorite games from the old yoyogames sandbox days, and it's an earlier game from developer that made Princess Remedy. It's another metroidvania with super simple monochrome pixel graphics (which I personally think really adds to the atmosphere of being on an alien planet). It recently got an update with a new game plus mode, so I've been meaning to return this one eventually.


AIR RPG (Wine)
Super short and sweet NES-styled metroidvania with rpg mechanics, and another favorite from the yoyogames sandbox days. Also has an awesome chiptune soundtrack.


Last edited by bluecipher on 9 September 2024 at 2:29 am UTC