Whether or not you are going on a vacation this summer, it is always good to take a break. And if you are using Linux, what is better than playing video games under the sun? (Except going out, of course.) So, in continuation with Travis’ work, let me present you five more games to distract yourself during the summer. From action to reflection, and through racing, these games are assured to bring you the fun that you deserve. And to add to the cocktail, all of them are completely free!1. Mari0
Let’s begin with my personal favorite: an incredible crossover between Mario and Portal. It’s called Mari0 (with a zero instead of the “o”).
As you can expect from a crossover like this, you control Mario in the traditional levels, while wearing a portal gun. And what is really awesome is that every aspect of the portals is used: you can warp yourself to evade enemies or gain time, jump higher using loops and gravity, transport the enemies straight into a pit by creating a portal under them, etc.
My personal favorite, even if hard to master, is creating portals to throw back the weapons to the opponents. However, it takes some time to get the habit, and a lot of you will die very quickly because we tend to open portals everywhere at first and warp an enemy on ourselves. Yes, pretty stupid but so frequent.
2. Speed Dreams 2
Another good racing game! If you like TORCS, you will love Speed Dreams, now in version 2.0. As a fork of the former, Speed Dreams 2 presents decent graphics with a high sensitivity control, and a lot of interesting aspects.
One of them is the possibility to configure the races to a high extent: player’s difficulty, circuit, time of the day, cars, cloud, rain, distance per lap, etc. The only thing that it lacks may be the multi-player game, which is yet to come.
3. Xmoto
Still about roads and races, Xmoto is a stunt game for bikers. With advanced physics and a plethora of levels, it is a must in terms of biking games.
It even proposes a multi-player mode and games on the network. The levels are well distributed as packs and frequently updated.
And as a bonus, you will compete in each of them against the champion’s ghost. I also appreciated the languages pack and the extensive options on the menu. On the downside, the bike seems very sensitive, and it may require a lot of practice in order to master it fully. Meanwhile, the levels may seem a bit repetitive and some are less aesthetic than others.
4. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Infocom Adventure
Once in a while, we all like to go back to our roots. And if you are a true gamer, you will surely remember that your roots are the console, way before graphical games. For the command line, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Infocom Adventure is a must have game.
Inspired by Douglas Adams’ work, you will incarnate Arthur Dent in his adventures. I had some doubts in the beginning, but the program is really well thought out and it is a pleasure to give orders from the terminal. The adaption time is relatively short and the plot evolves quickly. The only weakness arises if you are not very familiar with the English language, as the puzzles are already hard enough.
5. Me And My Shadow
Finally, Me And My Shadow is a more modern reflection game. The base principle is quite original, as you are able to record and make your shadow execute certain actions.
The graphics are really sober but it only gives a good atmosphere to the platform part of the game. Again, the levels are distributed in packs, helping the player to progress and gain control of the commands.
The gameplay is simple and yet very efficient, while the puzzles are gradually harder. The developers did a good job of bringing everything that we expect from a good platform game (spikes, switch, moving blocks, etc) and combining it with the shadow-control ability. For example, your shadow will be necessary as a partner in order to jump higher, or to walk on some special blocks that are only solid for her.
Conclusion
With that, you should be ready to spend the summer with excitement. It is always amazing to find such fine games for free. The only thing to add is congratulations to the developers: thank you for creating professional quality games like this and sharing them among the community.
