24 votes

Recommend FLOSS games

I'd like to ask for recommendations for FLOSS (Free/Libre, Open-Source Software) games, playable on Linux or Android. I saw an old thread on this topic, but it's over a year old, so I thought it'd be okay to ask this year. Genre-wise, I'm pretty open. RPG, adventure, FPS, RTS, TBS, 4x, puzzle, sidescroller, platformer, single-player, multi-player, online, offline... whatever. I would prefer not needing to have original (commercial) game assets.

Fine print: I do like a good FPS, but, having played commercial titles on PS3 and PS4, I've found that the FLOSS FPSes I've tried just don't hold a candle to them. Also, I prefer having a short TTK (think: hardcore mode, R6S, BFV), and every FLOSS FPS I've tried has had a long TTK.

I've already played:

Linux:

  • Wesnoth
  • 0 A.D.
  • roguelikes (currently have an active character in Angband)
  • Ur Quan Masters
  • Minetest
  • bzflag (long ago)

Android:

  • SuperTuxKart
  • Pixel Dungeon
  • Andor's Trail
  • Mindustry
  • Pixel Wheels
  • Vector Pinball
  • Minetest
  • Wesnoth
  • HyperRogue

What I haven't played, but might check out:

  • FreeOrion
  • Endless Sky
  • Glest, MegaGlest
  • Warzone 2100
  • Zero-K
  • KeeperRL
  • OpenRCT2
  • Oolite

27 comments

  1. 9000
    Link
    Lexica (Android) - A Boggle-like game. It's a nice relaxing word game. UnCiv (Android/Desktop) - A FLOSS reimplementation of Sid Meier's Civilization V. While it doesn't have all of the win...

    Lexica (Android) - A Boggle-like game. It's a nice relaxing word game.

    UnCiv (Android/Desktop) - A FLOSS reimplementation of Sid Meier's Civilization V. While it doesn't have all of the win conditions or DLC gameplay implemented, it is surprisingly playable and similarly addicting to the original!

    Freeciv (Desktop) - Again, a FLOSS reimplementation of Civ, though this is a much older project. It has a lot of the comlexity that UnCiv lacks, but its UX can be a bit of a barrier for a new player.

    MegaGlest (Desktop) - A Medieval RTS game. It reminded me a lot of Star Wars: Empire at War, from the days I played that. MegaGlest is missing some polish, but I definitely found it fun as well.

    Endless Sky (Desktop) - I definitely also have to echo @The-Toon's suggestion of Endless Sky! It's fun, can be played real-time or not. Has an optional plot. All-in-all, a lot of player choice and pretty graphics.

    Bonus points - Wikipedia maintains a list of open source video games, but it's not easy to determine quality from it, and it seems to mostly target desktop software.

    10 votes
  2. knocklessmonster
    Link
    OpenTTD if you like Chris Sawyer games. It gets surprisingly deep really fast.

    OpenTTD if you like Chris Sawyer games. It gets surprisingly deep really fast.

    6 votes
  3. tannercollin
    Link
    Try Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfenstein:_Enemy_Territory). It was published in 2003 by Activision and the entire source code was released under GPL in 2010....

    Try Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfenstein:_Enemy_Territory). It was published in 2003 by Activision and the entire source code was released under GPL in 2010. There's still quite a few active servers, 68.232.172.16 for example.

    TTK can be pretty long if you aren't getting headshots, however.

    5 votes
  4. [5]
    Whom
    Link
    EDIT: I didn't read the OP like an idiot, please mark this "offtopic". I'm leaving it just in hopes that someone who is interested comes along :P My current obsession is Xonotic, a quake-like...

    EDIT: I didn't read the OP like an idiot, please mark this "offtopic". I'm leaving it just in hopes that someone who is interested comes along :P

    My current obsession is Xonotic, a quake-like arena shooter that's quickly become my favorite of the genre, maybe my favorite multiplayer shooter ever. It's so smooth and fast and even polished, being the most satisfying version of a formula that's already perfect in my eyes.

    I've always been able to find a game, too! That's a HUGE plus for these, this game has had a small but thriving community for a long time. I don't feel like I'm ever in danger of not getting to play this beautiful game.

    If any of you would like to play, I'd love to see you on there. We can set up duels (haven't had a chance to play one yet, I've only been playing for a couple weeks) or whatever else you're interested in. You'll usually find me hanging out on Tiomano's server with @Cleb just doing normal DMs.

    5 votes
    1. [3]
      rmgr
      Link Parent
      God damn Xonotic is amazing! A friend and I were only recently lamenting the fact that the concept of a pure arena shooter seems to dead forever. This ticks all the boxes!

      God damn Xonotic is amazing! A friend and I were only recently lamenting the fact that the concept of a pure arena shooter seems to dead forever. This ticks all the boxes!

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        Whom
        Link Parent
        I'm so glad you're liking it! Where have you been playing?

        I'm so glad you're liking it! Where have you been playing?

        1. rmgr
          Link Parent
          I played a bit last night on a server called "Boner's Overclocked Votable @Sydney, Australia"

          I played a bit last night on a server called "Boner's Overclocked Votable @Sydney, Australia"

          1 vote
    2. Pistos
      Link Parent
      ? It's not off topic... Xonotic is FLOSS. I'll check it out, even if it has high TTK.

      ? It's not off topic... Xonotic is FLOSS. I'll check it out, even if it has high TTK.

      2 votes
  5. [3]
    SkewedSideburn
    Link
    I remember playing a heck of a lot of Sauerbraten back in the day. It's a very fast paced arena shooter, kinda like Quake. It still seems to be alive with somewhat active community. I also adore...

    I remember playing a heck of a lot of Sauerbraten back in the day. It's a very fast paced arena shooter, kinda like Quake. It still seems to be alive with somewhat active community.

    I also adore Neverball it's a clone of a Super Monkey Ball. I also secretly dream that someone will port it to Switch with gyroscope controls.

    5 votes
    1. [2]
      krg
      Link Parent
      Ahh, Sauerbraten! Ha, back then I remember thinking "wow, these graphics seem advanced!" All it took was some shiny water and bloom. Well, looking at certain screenshots, I still think it looks...

      Ahh, Sauerbraten! Ha, back then I remember thinking "wow, these graphics seem advanced!" All it took was some shiny water and bloom. Well, looking at certain screenshots, I still think it looks pretty damn decent. Seems like the engine would be a cool choice for a first-person RPG of some sort.

      2 votes
      1. SkewedSideburn
        Link Parent
        I also wanted to mention Urban Terror since I vividly remembered it being open source, but it turns out it's just the engine that's open source, not the game itself. Still, I've put a lot of hours...

        I also wanted to mention Urban Terror since I vividly remembered it being open source, but it turns out it's just the engine that's open source, not the game itself. Still, I've put a lot of hours into that game

        3 votes
  6. [2]
    Comment deleted by author
    Link
    1. unknown user
      Link Parent
      Better yet: it's perfectly moddable! And there's an community doing the efforts, too, including yours truly.

      Better yet: it's perfectly moddable! And there's an community doing the efforts, too, including yours truly.

      4 votes
  7. [4]
    bloup
    Link
    Does OpenRCT2 count

    Does OpenRCT2 count

    3 votes
    1. [3]
      Pistos
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Sure, it's a legit recommendation (for others to see) but I'd rather not need to pay for original game assets.

      Sure, it's a legit recommendation (for others to see) but I'd rather not need to pay for original game assets.

      3 votes
      1. knocklessmonster
        Link Parent
        You can just grab the RCT2 demo and ORCT2 will run the full game, I think.

        You can just grab the RCT2 demo and ORCT2 will run the full game, I think.

        4 votes
      2. bloup
        Link Parent
        http://cutstuff.net/mm8bdm/ It's just a Doom mod, so if you are on Linux or something you can just install the right version of Zandronum, find the WAD file in the download, and then manually...

        http://cutstuff.net/mm8bdm/

        It's just a Doom mod, so if you are on Linux or something you can just install the right version of Zandronum, find the WAD file in the download, and then manually install it to get it working.

        2 votes
  8. determinism
    Link
    I played a shitload of Spring engine games throughout the last decade, including Zero-K most recently. The Spring engine is one of the more impressive open-source software projects that I'm aware...

    I played a shitload of Spring engine games throughout the last decade, including Zero-K most recently. The Spring engine is one of the more impressive open-source software projects that I'm aware of. It's the only RTS engine that I've encountered that includes simulated projectiles, uncapped unit counts (other than hardware caps of course) and real-time modifiable terrain. Because of the simulated projectiles, terrain plays a significant role but it doesn't have to be some stapled-on feature like a damage bonus for high-ground (as in Age of Empires) or low-high ground miss chance (as in WC3). Projectile weapons can actually reach further from higher ground as a direct consequence of their simulated motion. Different vehicles have different movement constraints based on the steepness of the terrain; It's possible to terraform the ground so that light vehicles can't drive on it anymore. There are robots that can walk on any steepness, medium steepness, amphibious units, etc.

    There were many mods/game variants that utilized the engine, Zero-K is one of the latest and (I think) the most popular. It is probably the best balanced in my experience but they are all fairly similar in game play as "spiritual successors" to the Total Annihilation games. Only two come to mind that were wildly different from the rest: Spring 1944 and Kernel Panic. The former was a WWII-style RTS mod and the other was sort of a retro computer-land themed (I can't think of a way of describing that better) RTS.

    Zero-K:
    Shadowfury333 is a streamer who casts tournaments and other random games. Mostly 1v1. I don't know how entertaining any of these videos are if you aren't familiar with the game. I watch them before I go to sleep sometimes. I think he posted one of my games a year or so ago.

    https://www.youtube.com/user/Shadowfury333

    Spring 1944:
    There's a now defunct YouTube channel that was run by the designers. Some of the games on there are pretty interesting to watch if you want to get a sense of how the economies work and an overview of the strategy.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfVewBTrca4

    There's a video on this channel of a different Spring mod that I don't know much about which was based in the MechCommander universe.

    Kernel Panic:
    I never really played this very much, there aren't very many game play videos and everybody seems to be trying it for the first time in the ones that I've found.

    Promo video:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAZQhRlt5bU

    Others:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn6qsu5hFD0
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8is0K7T3XL8

    3 votes
  9. [3]
    Diff
    Link
    Anodyne on Steam is newly source-available.

    Anodyne on Steam is newly source-available.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      Diff
      Link Parent
      In a similar vein, VVVVV was open sourced a while back if I'm remembering right.

      In a similar vein, VVVVV was open sourced a while back if I'm remembering right.

      2 votes
      1. Crestwave
        Link Parent
        VVVVVV also went source-available, not open source

        VVVVVV also went source-available, not open source

        2 votes
  10. Crestwave
    Link
    Games I've played for at least an hour that aren't on your list: Pingus - Lemmings clone. I liked the Desert level pack; haven't played the others yet. Shattered Pixel Dungeon - amazing Pixel...

    Games I've played for at least an hour that aren't on your list:

    • Pingus - Lemmings clone. I liked the Desert level pack; haven't played the others yet.
    • Shattered Pixel Dungeon - amazing Pixel Dungeon mod, available on both Android and desktop systems
    • SuperTux - Mario-like platformer. I liked it more on Android; the fact that it doesn't use a run button makes it suitable for touchscreen use.
    • Cendric - RPG platformer. Costs money on Steam, but is free and open source.
    • opsu! - Android osu! client
    • Teeworlds

    Assorted games I know of:

    • FreedroidRPG
    • SRB2Kart
    • Lugaru - also costs money on Steam and is FOSS
    • Starfighter
    • OpenTyrian - needs original assets, but they're legally available for free
    • zsdx
    • freegish
    • cyberdogs-sdl
    • boswars
    • lincity-ng
    • powermanga
    • openglad
    3 votes
  11. [3]
    spctrvl
    (edited )
    Link
    Mindustry is pretty fun. It's like a stripped down factorio meets tower defense. It's available on mobile as well, though I've only tried the desktop version. EDIT: Backup recommendation since I...

    Mindustry is pretty fun. It's like a stripped down factorio meets tower defense. It's available on mobile as well, though I've only tried the desktop version.

    EDIT: Backup recommendation since I apparently can't read: Oolite. It's an open source remaster of Elite, with boatloads of mods. Elite, if you're not familiar, is like the original space exploration sandbox, with a focus on combat and trading.

    3 votes
    1. [2]
      Crestwave
      Link Parent
      It's in OP's "already played" list, though

      It's in OP's "already played" list, though

      1 vote
      1. spctrvl
        Link Parent
        Oh whoops. Looked for it in the Linux section rather than the android section. At least it was a good recommendation!

        Oh whoops. Looked for it in the Linux section rather than the android section. At least it was a good recommendation!

        2 votes
  12. [2]
    Diff
    Link
    If you're a fan of Roguelikes, Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup is a great one.

    If you're a fan of Roguelikes, Dungeon Crawl: Stone Soup is a great one.

    3 votes
    1. rmgr
      Link Parent
      Brogue is pretty fantastic as well!

      Brogue is pretty fantastic as well!

      2 votes