Hi all,

Recommend me a game! I’m looking for something casual (to play for 20-30 minutes from time to time), challenging (like in difficult to master), not super complicated (I don’t want to spend hours learning all the rules), but not super simple (when it’s too repetitive the patters get ingrained in my brain. anyone else has this?), cheap (don’t want to spend $30 on a game I will play from time to time). Must work on Linux and on an integrated GPU. Games I enjoyed previously:

What I did a lot years ago was to play single levels of games over and over until I totally crashed it even if I wasn’t that interested in the entire game. I guess what I like most is figuring out the smallest details of a game, not getting into long campaigns.

So, what can I play?

Edit: Thanks for all recommendations so far but I see I need to add one more requirement: no levels. I’m looking for something quick, in and out, skirmish, death match, melee type of game. Not something where you build a character, solve puzzles and so on.

  • DeathByDenim@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    1 year ago

    I can definitely recommend FTL: Faster Than Light. I still play it after many years in the exact same way you describe, that is short sessions. t’s all based on battles that last minutes at most while part of an overall campaign. You can quit anytime, even during battle, and it will just saw the state. You can pause during battle to think as well.

    it also has simple rules but with a lot of depth. You upgrade your ship from time to time and also get new weapons or defences. It actually sounds like a perfect fit for what you want. It’s cheap too.

  • throwawayish@lemmy.mlEnglish
    7·
    1 year ago

    Hollow Knight is a masterpiece worth recommending. Furthermore, it satisfies most of your criteria. But you might need one of the better integrated GPUs to run it smoothly on your system.

    Hades is another masterpiece worth recommending and perhaps satisfies even more of your criteria. Though, once again, it requires you to have one of the better integrated GPUs.

    • SaveComengs@lemmy.federa.netEnglish
      3·
      1 year ago

      I don’t think hk is that demanding tbh.

      If you are going to play it then you need to complete the 2D indie game trifecta with Celeste and Rain World though

  • UltraBlack@lemmy.worldEnglish
    7·
    1 year ago

    Vampire Survivors (and just get the DLCs as well, it’s cheap)

    You’ll never get more bang for your buck on steam. 60 hours and counting, even with only one DLC. I just keep unlocking amazing new stuff

  • 50MYT@aussie.zoneEnglish
    7·
    1 year ago

    Factorio.

    There is a free demo, start there. Most people can get a good 20 hours out of that if they enjoy it.

    It can get somewhat complex if you go with mods etc. But you will get 100 hours out of it before you go down that path

    The full game is worth every cent (5500 hours later…)

    • ExLisper@linux.communityOPEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      Tried it. Great game but as with lots of games of this type after some time it gets repetitive. I usually stop enjoying them after couple or hours.

  • Kidplayer_666@lemm.eeEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    Any of the Portal Series. You can slowly progress through the game (first one ain’t long at all) and it has a great story.

  • rgalex@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    Dead Cells is a game I always have installed just to pick it up in bursts of 30 minutes or an hour.

    It’s a roguelike, it’s challenging and it’s easy to pick up any time.

    Even though it has levels, the intended way to play it is in runs. You start the game, start a new run, and try to go as far as you can, you die and repeat.

    Multiple paths to choose, so it never becomes boring, and the levels are generated, so you can’t memorize everything.

  • rayon@lemm.eeEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    Sounds like you’d enjoy Nuclear Throne or Enter the Gungeon. Both are very similar, they are roguelike in 2D top-down view with enemies that shoot a lot of projectiles and gameplay is about using dodge rolls and taking cover

  • Floey@lemm.eeEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    Have you tried Double Action Boogaloo? It is probably right up your alley if you like Fistful of Frags.

    You might enjoy Quake or other arena shooters like Warsow or Ratz Instagib.

    If you want to try something new that still fits the bill I’d go with Enter the Gungeon or Dead Cells. Both are easy to pick up but incredibly challenging to master. Both are roguelikes with a short time per run, so the game already does the job of breaking itself into short play periods. And both are action heavy.

  • WFH@lemm.eeEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    From the top of my head, all these work perfectly on my 5yo Intel laptop and are often found on sale or in bundles.

    Baba is You: you know that in every game, there are a fixed set of rules (“physics”), and you must use them efficiently in order to win? In this game, you must change the rules to solve puzzles. Super simple gameplay, tricky to master, really fucks your brain as you need to think outside the box.

    Hotline Miami (1 and 2): top-down shooter with impeccable gameplay, level design and soundtrack. Super fast paced, die-retry-die-retry game loop, and great story too. Every level is challenging in its own way which makes it not so repetitive.

    Nuclear Throne or Enter the Gungeon: procedurally generated top-down shooters, very similar to each other. Fun pixel-art, never replay the same levels although I guess it could be repetitive after a while.