Games: Baldur's Gate 3, ZEPHON, Snake, and More

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Aug 04, 2023

• Baldur's Gate 3 out now and works on Steam Deck and desktop Linux

  For those interested in the latest big RPG from Larian Studios, here's my quick initial report on Baldur's Gate 3 running on Steam Deck and desktop Linux. Keep in mind this is just some initial testing thoughts - it's a very big game.

• Force Feedback Steering Wheel Made From Power Drill

  When it comes to controllers for racing games, there is perhaps no better option than a force feedback steering wheel. With a built-in motor to push against the wheel at exactly the right times, they can realistically mimic the behavior of a steering wheel from a real car. The only major downside is cost, with controllers often reaching many hundreds of dollars. [Jason] thought it shouldn’t be that hard to build one from a few spare parts though and went about building this prototype force feedback steering wheel for himself.

• Warhammer 40,000: Gladius devs new game ZEPHON has a demo up

  ZEPHON is the upcoming strategy game from Proxy Studios who created Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War and Pandora: First Contact. For a limited time you can check out the first demo for ZEPHON. It has full Native Linux support just like their previous games too!

• It’s Snake, In A QR Code, But Smaller

  We’re not sure that many of you have recognised the need in your life for an x86 machine code program encoded into a QR code, but following on from someone else work [donno2048] has created a super-tiny Snake clone in assembly which comes in at only 85 bytes long. It fits far better in a QR code than the previous effort, but perhaps more useful is a web page demo which runs an in-browser DOS compatibility library. We followed the compilation instructions and got it running on our Manjaro installation, with the result of a somewhat unplayable but recognisable Snake, we’re guessing because it was written for a slower platform. The web version is more usable, and allows us to investigate its operation more thoroughly.

• Kingdom Come, The Ascent, Oblivion, Rain World + more in Fanatical's Platinum Collection

  Oh now this looks like it has some good picks for you. Fanatical have launched their latest build it yourself Platinum Collection bundle full of games. You can pick between 3 games for £9.99, 5 for $14.99 and 7 for £19.99.

• Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition gets a free starter edition

  Oh how I do love a good RTS. Age of Empires III: Definitive Edition now has a special free starter edition available on Steam. From my own testing, it works great on desktop Linux with Proton too.

• More retro goodies coming in the Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol.2

  Ready for another blast from the past? After the success of the first set, Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol.2 has been announced from Bitwave Games and Toaplan.

• First-person co-op dungeon crawler 'Barony' has major upgrade and Steam Deck Verified

  Barony from developer Turning Wheel LLC recently had quite a lovely big upgrade, and thanks to that it's also now Steam Deck Verified with the Native Linux version available.

• Challenging survival city-builder Landnama is out now

  Landnama from developer Sonderland scratches a very weird itch as it mixes exploration, survival and city-building into one and it's quite a challenge too. Note: the developer sent me a key.

• Voxel Doom II is out now for GZDoom

  Spice up your next play-through of Doom II with the new Voxel Doom II mod now available, bringing with it fancy new monster models. Voxel Doom II is the follow up to 2022's award-winning Voxel Doom. This is a new graphics mod that replaces all monsters, weapons, props and items with fully 3d voxel models. It replaces all monsters from both Doom and Doom II.