Hi everyone, I just finished writing a guide on everything you need to know in order to game on Linux. It covers Proton (Steam play), using Heroic Launcher (with Wine-GE), and all sorts of tidbits and tips I wish people had told me earlier. I hope this can be useful to someone out there!
Archive link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230816141640/https://popcar.bearblog.dev/everything-linux-gaming/
I’m sure there will be a lot of people where it works just fine but I’ve seen really common complaints regarding it. Issues like steam input not working, confusion over file system permissions, the flatpak version using its own drivers which may be outdated, etc… It can be a hassle, and there’s no real benefit to it compared to just using your package manager.
Input not working comes from people not installing the steam-devices package, it doesn’t matter if you are using the Flatpak or the repo version (for example the magnificent ublue distro comes with that rules added by default). For using steam you don’t need to change any permissions on the Flatpak. And about the drivers, you can use the Mesa beta channel Flatpak if you want to have the latest.
Also, the Flatpak works perfectly with mangohud, vkbasalt, gamescope plus everything is containerised and doesn’t litter your home folder.
Immutable distros are the future now, and practically excluding them from your guide doesn’t makes sense to me.
Then write your own guide, show them wrong?