My main PC is a Ubuntu machine that I use for work (development) and gaming. Over the last several years, PC gaming on Linux has graduated from a long-shot to a nearly commonplace certainty. Games working well, and working for multiplayer are the norm even if some of them need some tinkering – made easy by sites like protondb.com. Even more shocking is that for one of my main gaming groups, they often like to mod games and while I generally resist doing that, in the cases where it was necessary I’ve even managed to get mods working. It’s been so nice to no longer be left out of the cooperative gaming scene, and my husband and I have really enjoyed adding cooperative PC gaming to our console gaming origins.
Note that I don’t really play competitive PC games. So I very rarely have to deal with any anti-cheat situations which I know can trip up Linux players.
There are a lot of great co-op games out there, but this is a list of the ones I’ve personally played, enjoyed, and found to be very stable and playable on Ubuntu.
Without further chitchat, here’s a list of some of my favourite co-op games that I’ve played entirely on Ubuntu (20.04). See Protondb if you need help getting some of these to work (sorry, I don’t provide support!).
This post is a living document that I will continue updating over time. Check back again in the future!
Open-World Survival Crafting
Green Hell
Punishing jungle survival game in an unforgiving environment.
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Core Keeper
Kind of a top-down 2D Minecraft this is one of my favourite games.
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Valheim
A true “make your own story” game with awesome base building, tough bosses and a fantastic co-op experience.
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Icarus
A very polished sci-fi entry into the genre, Icarus has a truly incredible tech tree to craft your way through.
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Raft
A friend and I had a great experience playing this game, building a stunning raft and ranting about the shark.
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Outward
An expansive open-world RPG full of quests, tough combat and some unique mechanics. We played together and again with friends.
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Ark: Survival Evolved
While I was not at all a fan of this game, it still worked well and it’s very popular, so it might scratch someone’s itch. Just not mine.
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Turn-Based RPGs
Baldur’s Gate 3
Impressive in scope and execution, this is a nearly perfect game for fans of D&D or anyone who just loves conversations and turn-based combat.
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Wasteland 3
This game was my husband’s choice to play together and while the theme was a little grim for me, it was still a really good game with a great story.
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Solasta
Released before Baldur’s Gate 3 and unfortunately overshadowed by that game, it nevertheless is a great execution of D&D as a video game.
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Adventure Games
It Takes Two
One of the best co-op games out there, every ‘level’ is something totally new, the story is great and the gameplay is just so smooth.
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Puzzle, Sim & Logistics
Factorio
If you know, you know. This game makes organization nerds break out into sweat.
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We Were Here Together
A fun, not-too-long co-op escape-room game. My brother was also playing on Ubuntu – he had some CPU load issues but for me it worked fine.
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Action RPGs
Grim Dawn
At the time we played this we were looking for something “like Diablo” and this absolutely didn’t disappoint.
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What do you think? Have you enjoyed any of these games? Do you have any recommendations based on the types of games I’ve been enjoying? Let me know in the comments!