5 Best FPS Games For Linux

For so long Linux users filled very excluded from the gaming world, with a lot of games for other OSes and almost no games for Linux. For playing good Linux games with good graphics the solution was to use wine but, wine never worked very well out the box. Most of the games were small in size and not too good in graphics, the developers didn’t think of porting or creating games for Linux because of its small size of users.

Linux is growing every day in size and quality and it can be noticed when you see new non-FOSS organization express their love for Linux. So what to expect for Linux games? Are there any good games for Linux Distros? Playable online with other Operating Systems? The answer to all this is a big YES.

​So let me give you 5 best FPS games for Linux. To play these games without much hassle, install any Linux distro for gaming. We’ve covered 5 best Linux for gaming so take a look here.

1. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

​This multiplayer first-person shooter was developed by Hidden Path and Valve Corporation and it was released on 21 August 2012 but only was available for Linux users in September 2014 for Linux users. It was previously developed as a mod for Half-Life.

counter strike for linux

​​The cross-platform play is only possible between users of MacOS, Linux and Windows excluding console users because of its update cycles on the consoles. This Linux game includes four game modes.

Counter-Strike Game Modes

Classic: Competitive

This is the most famous mode that made CS famous. It’s five against five online battle on a best 30 match. With options to join your team or be queued and be added in a random team when there is a free space to join.

counter strike classic competitive

Classic: Casual

For users who don’t want the options of the first mode which is the best of 30, can find a match and play at their own pace. they automatically receive body armor the defusal kits and get bonus reward for kills.

Demolition

Demolition is fast-paced gameplay where the player takes turns in defending a bomb site from attackers with a starting weapon. If you get a kill in every turn your weapon is changed for a better one and the end is a powerful sniper rifle.  

Arms Race

This mode is a gun progression mode, where the user gets a new improved weapon as soon as the register a kill. And when you reach the most advanced weapon on the list you get a golden knife and you win the game.  

System requirements for Counter Strike

OS: Ubuntu 12.04
Processor: 64-bit Dual core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 8600/9600GT, ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600 (Graphic Drivers: nVidia 310, AMD 12.11), OpenGL 2.1
Storage: 15 GB available space
Sound Card: OpenAL Compatible Sound Card

2. Borderlands 2

borderlands 2

Borderlands is a blend between first-person shooter and role-playing games creating a role-playing shooter genre created by Gearbox an independent developer organization.

The game allows the players to play in a campaign that consists of main missions and optional missions with you as a four-player group of treasure seekers searching for “The vault” on a planet called pandora. It can be played as a Co-op online campaign game with other online users being the three remained player of your game. This game was released on September 18, 2012. Build with unreal engine 3 and PhysX Technology.

Borderlands 2 Gameplay

The game revolves around completing the main missions and looting (weapons, shields,  skins, etc). The four players of the games each have own ability.

  • Axton – Can summon a turret to provide offensive support;
  • Maya – Can trap the enemies for few seconds with a sphere of energy;
  • Zer0 – Can temporarily become invisible and spawn a hologram decoy to distract enemies;
  • Salvador – Can temporarily wield two weapons simultaneously. So imagine holding two rocket launchers to your enemies.

The game was well received by critics and given a 9/10 by IGN regarding the game sense of humor, world structure, and RPG System.  

System Requirements For Borderlands 2

Operating System: SteamOS, Ubuntu 14.04
CPU Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad, AMD Phenom II X4
CPU Speed: 2.4GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Hard Disk Space: 13 GB
Video Card (NVidia): Geforce 260
Video Memory (VRam): 1GB
Intel Integrated video chipsets and ATI chipsets are currently unsupported for Borderlands 2 Linux.

3. Team Fortress 2

team fortress 2

This is one of the most highly rated and most popular games of all time and it is free. It’s a team based First Person online multiplayer Shooter developed and published by Valve Corporation. It’s frequently updated and mods, maps, equipment are also updated frequently, Communities also contribute with updates to the game. It was ported to Linux on February 14, 2013.

To play the game, you join a team of nice character class battling against other teams in different game modes (Including Capture the flag and King of the hill).

Team Fortress 2 Gameplay

In the game’s fiction, each team is formed by mercenaries hired by two brothers to protect the company assets belonging to one brother while trying to destroy those of the other. The teams are represented by the name of this brothers – RED (Reliable Excavation & Demolition) and BLU(Builders League United). You can play by choosing one of the available nine characters with his special abilities and weakness.  

Team Fortress 2 Game Modes

Capture the flag

The objective in this mode is to obtain a briefcase of intelligence and return to your base while preventing the other team from doing the same. The player carrying the case can drop it at his own will or when is killed. By doing so it starts a two minutes timer that returns the briefcase to its place if the opposing team doesn’t get it in time.

​The winning is defined by the highest score and when time runs out.

team fortress 2 capture flag

Special Delivery

On this mode, only one briefcase is available and the teams have to fight to deliver the briefcase on some location. The only member of the team with the briefcase can carry it until either it successfully delivered, or the drop timer expires and the briefcase is returned to its start spawn point.

team fortress special delivery

King of the Hill

The objective is to get control of the single point in the center of the map. And defend it from the other team for a certain time.

When the match begins the place stays locked until you reach the score points to unlock it and reached and after that it’s possible for the teams to occupy it. When you occupy it, it starts a countdown where the other team has to re-capture it from your team to stop it and start the countdown for their team. The game ends when the timer for the team that captured the point reaches 00:00.

team fortress king of the hill

Team Fortress 2 System Requirements

OS: Ubuntu 12.04
Processor: Dual-core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 8600/9600GT, ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600 (Graphic Drivers: nVidia 310, AMD 12.11), OpenGL 2.1
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Storage: 15 GB available space
Sound Card: OpenAL Compatible Sound Card
Additional Notes: Mouse, Keyboard

4. Metro 2033 redux

Metro 2033 Redux is a first-person shooter video game developed by 4A Games and published by THQ. The game story is played by Artyom in the ruins of a nuclear war in Moscow, a man who must defeat the evil mutant race called the dark ones.

metro 2033 redux

The enemies of this game can also be humans and sometimes to avoid being caught easily is better to use stealth to avoid enemies and silent kills.​Metro has received a favorable critic with 6.9/10 from IGN.

Metro 2033 Gameplay

Most part of the game is played within the Moscow Metro System with a few missions on the surface where it was devastated by a nuclear weapon. It is a single player campaign game with important plot moments shown in cutscenes. The game features traditional guns (revolver, shotguns). For ammunition, the user must scavenge for it or search dead bodies.

There are two types of enemies, humans, and mutants, while humans can take cover when attacking the mutants stay in the open trying to bite them.

​For playing in the tunnels with almost no light the player need a lantern for being able to see the way and because there are some missions on the surface he needs a gas mask also that can get damaged when in combat forcing the player to find a new one.

Metro 2033 Requirements

Minimal

OS: 64-bit Ubuntu 12.04 or 14.04 or Steam OS
Processor: Intel Core i5 2.7 GHz (or equivalent AMD)
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce 460 / AMD 5850 with 2GB VRAM
Storage: 10 GB available space
Additional Notes: Due to OpenGL 4, Intel video cards no longer supported

​Recommended

OS: 64-bit Ubuntu 12.04 or 14.04 or Steam OS
Processor: Intel Core i7 2.5 Ghz (or equivalent AMD)
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce 680 / AMD 7870 with 2GB VRAM+
Storage: 10 GB available space
Additional Notes: Due to OpenGL 4, Intel video cards no longer supported

5. Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2)

Is a cooperative first-person shooter video game developed and published by Valve Corporation? The game was released for Linux in July 2013.

left 4 dead 2

This focuses on four survivors fighting against zombies, knowns as infected, who develop severe psychosis and act extremely aggressive. The game is monitored by the AI Director that monitors the player and adjust the game scenario for more challenging gameplay.

Left 4 Dead 2 Gameplay

The game presents five campaign composed of three to five smaller levels, each campaign is presented in menus and loading screens as a film starring the four survivors.   For the players to know each of his/her teammates statuses the players are shown each one’s health status and when must be cautious about friend fire and swing weapons near teammates.

​Game Modes

Left for Dead 2 includes 5 possible game modes:

Campaign

Up to four human teammates have to make their way through campaign stages. Other survivors encountered during the game are controlled by the CPU.

Singleplayer

The difference with campaign mode is that your teammates are controlled by CPU.

Versus

Up to four human players control four special infected to prevent survivors from completing the stage. The two teams swap sides once per stage and are scored based on their stage progress as Survivors.

Survival

Survivors are trapped in a section of the campaign maps and must try to survive as long as possible.

Scavenge

A new 4-on-4 mode that requires the Survivor players to collect and use as many fuel cans scattered about a level to fill up a power generator, while the Infected players attempt to stop them.

System Requirements For Left for Dead 2

OS: Ubuntu 12.04
Processor: Dual-core from Intel or AMD at 2.8 GHz
Memory: 2 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 8600/9600GT, ATI/AMD Radeon HD2600/3600 (Graphic Drivers: Nvidia 310, AMD 12.11), OpenGL 2.1
Storage: 13 GB available space
Sound Card: OpenAL Compatible Sound Card

Conclusion

Linux during all these years is being noticed by game industries and to make it less excluded from the gaming world. To be a Linux user is not like before anymore like other OSes uses to say “Linux is just for programmers on anything related”.

Today you don’t need a dual boot to play games, the options still limited but growing every day. What is your preferred on the list? Leave your opinion in the comment section below.

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5 Comments Text
  • Doom is probably the best shooter out there (I am speaking about the new one, this → https://rawg.io/games/doom ). And it turns out it works extremely well on Linux through Steam’s beta of Linux compatibility. They basically have a built-in version of WINE and Doom is one of the few whitelisted games that is in the program.
    They launched it last summer, I hope they will expand this idea soon (although unofficially most of the games already work through it).

  • I’ve downloaded, installed, and played the following FPS games this past week. The best part is Steam is NOT required!
    (Accurate as of May 1, 2022):

    Assault Cube (portable – download thru its website)
    BZ Flag (via Flatpak)
    Cube 2 – Sauerbraten (via Flatpak)
    EDuke32 (via Flatpak)
    ET Legacy (via Flatpak)
    FreeDM (via Flatpak)
    Freedoom Phase 1 (via Flatpak)
    Freedoom Phase 2 (via Flatpak)
    Nexuiz (portable – download thru its website)
    Open Arena (via Flatpak)
    Open Spades (via Flatpak)
    Red Eclipse (via Flatpak)
    Rexuiz (via Snap)
    Shadow Warrior (free download via Galaxy of Games)
    Tremulous (via Flatpak)
    Unvanquished (via Flatpak)
    Urban Terror (via Snap)
    Warsow (portable – download thru its website)
    Wolfenstein – Blade of Agony (via Flatpak)
    Xonotic (via Flatpak)

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