As you can see, I am a gamer and I have many games on Steam.
However,
The majority of games only support the Windows system.
So, is there a way to enjoy games on Linux?
The answer is, yes!
Wine#
Wine is a magical software package that allows you to run any Windows application on Linux.
However, Wine has a serious drawback, it does not support Direct3D. In this era where there are more and more Direct3D games and big companies are too lazy to make Vulkan, not supporting D3D means that most modern games cannot be played.
The only game I play that has a Vulkan version, "Rainbow Six Siege," cannot be played due to anti-cheat issues. Ubisoft, I'm calling you out!!!
Proton#
Proton is an enhanced version of Wine developed by Valve. It can magically convert Direct3D 9/10/11 games to run on Vulkan. It greatly expands the options for Linux gamers.
Playing Games with Proton#
So, how do you make use of this great tool?
Step 1. Open Steam
Step 2. Search for "Proton" in your library
Then choose a version you like and install it. I'm using Proton 7.0, but Proton 6.3 performs better in some games, like CS: GO.
Step 3. Enable Proton in Steam settings
Step 4. Enjoy your games!
Everything is ready, and now you can play any game using Proton.
To run non-Steam games with Proton, add them to your Steam library and launch them from Steam.
Tips: Proton was developed by Valve for SteamOS, so the above method can only be used on Arch Linux-based distributions. Other distributions may require careful compilation of a usable version.
Controller Setup#
If you are using Ubuntu, your controller should work out of the box. But for Arch Linux users, enabling the controller can be a bit tricky. Fortunately, the versatile open-source community has a solution.
Xpadneo#
Xpadneo is an advanced controller driver that supports various features, including wireless controller battery display.
Installation and Usage#
# Using Linux Mainline kernel as an example
$ yay -S dkms linux-headers xpadneo-dkms
Restart your PC, and now your controller should be recognized by Steam.
Big Picture Mode#
We have all seen the beautiful interface of SteamOS, and now this interface has made its way to major Linux distributions with the updates to the Steam client.
The strong console vibe is here, and I think there's no need to buy a Steam Deck anymore (PS: Windows users need to enable Steam Beta to use the new Big Picture Mode, and there are still a bunch of bugs).
The above content is based on Arch Linux, and some content may not be applicable to other distributions. However,
Holo ISO#
Holo ISO is a project that helps users install SteamOS on their personal PCs. If your distribution is not an Arch-based one or if you don't want to bother with configuring graphics drivers, you can try installing SteamOS on your computer or use Holo ISO's script to automate the configuration of your system.