telemachuszero

Shadow of War from ages ago with now-removed singleplayer loot boxes.

Ha, I forgot about that one! Same as will likely happen with this game, I ended up skipping Shadow of War until it released on GOG with rubbish + Denuvo removed.

I love the Arkham series, but there is so much else to play it’s not hard to wait 3-5 years after for it to be released on GOG with all the unnecessary live service features removed.

Wish they’d do more GOG keys.

Hard to pick but early to mid 90s era Maxis, Bullfrog, Bungie (Pathways/Marathon/Myth era), Blizzard, and SEGA all come to mind. All either gone or changed.

You might have just had bad timing - the release notes for Proton 8.0-4 mention

Fixed EA Desktop having a blank log-in window after its recent update.

It’s currently a test release so should be out shortly, but if you want to use it immediately there’s some info on enabling it early at https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2023/09/proton-80-4-is-now-in-testing-with-a-release-candidate/

I don’t find the Steam Deck unwieldy. It is big, but the design and weight distribution makes it comfortable to hold - I don’t even think about it when I get into a game on it. For comparison, I find the Switch Pro controllers very slightly smaller than I would prefer, but comfortable too, and the DualSense to be about right.

Steam Deck doesn’t currently support being the streaming host (at least, SteamOS currently doesn’t - but I wouldn’t recommend wiping that as it’s one of the best parts of the deck).

GOG’s Linux support doesn’t extend much beyond providing you with the binaries that the developers supplied. You’re left to figure out running the games yourself and hoping the developer didn’t make too many assumptions about system libraries.

Valve provides Linux runtime environments for native Linux games to target and run in, plus tools for developers to use to build for that environment. It’s not perfect but you’ll generally have a much easier time with Linux native games from Steam.

I’m sympathetic to GOG’s goals, but generally stick with Steam because of Valve’s level of support and commitment.

If you want to keep using the GOG version, you could try running the Windows build in Heroic Games Launcher + Wine-GE or Proton-GE (they’re available as runners within Heroic, it works pretty seamlessly). You’ll also get Cloud Saves which GOG doesn’t support for native Linux builds.

The native Linux version of Baldur’s Gate II Enhanced is running fine for me from Steam (on Fedora 38 Silverblue + Steam installed as a Flatpak). It also features cloud saves (and achievements if you care about those), if you’re set on playing the native build and willing to switch to Steam.

it doesn’t support any anticheat for any major games

That’s pretty strongly worded - I know Bungie and Epic (Fortnite only) have both refused, but I consider quite a few of the many games that do support anti-cheat on Proton to be major https://areweanticheatyet.com/table/1/?search=&sortOrder=&sortBy=status

I picked up the Yakuza Collection. I played 0 on PS4 and loved it, but never got around to the others. It’s one of the few games where I spent the time to complete side quests and mini games and actually enjoyed doing it.

Also got The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky - I’ve heard good things about the Legend of Heroes series, and want to start at the beginning.

I’ve been very tempted to try Steins;Gate and Stray, but I’m not likely to get around to them until the next sale so will probably just leave them until then.

I tend to stick to games with interesting stories, with occasional exceptions if the gameplay is good enough.

Top pick from me before anything else would be The Last of Us Part 1 & 2.

Other than that, some I’ve enjoyed the most that come to mind are

• Bioshock. I haven’t played the remaster yet, just the original. Bioshock Infinite was also heaps of fun. I haven’t played 2 yet, it’s on my backlog - I’ve read it was made by a different team.
• Alien Isolation.
• Resident Evil 4.
• The Turing Test.
• X-Com Enemy Unknown.
• What Remains of Edith Finch.
• Horizon: Zero Dawn.
• Batman: Arkham Asylum + City + Origins + Knight.
• The Talos Principle.

The Uncharted series is also great, but only 4 and The Lost Legacy are on PC. I’m not sure I’d recommend playing it without having played at least 2 and 3, which are only on PlayStation currently. 1 is fun but dated and the story is not as strong as the later games (but I’d still recommend it if you get the chance to play 1-3).