Thinky Games

The best adventure games for Linux

Adventure games are a genre of video games that take place from the perspective of a character and feature narrative elements prominently. Under the control of the player, a main character explores a cohesive world and interacts with various non-player characters. Advancing the plot requires solving puzzles which are often seamlessly integrated into the game’s environments.

Since this narrative framing establishes no particular constraint on the nature of the puzzles being solved, adventure games may often be described in relation to additional video game genres. While the adventure genre has been associated historically with point-and-click games and “puzzle-adventure” games, adventure elements have also been included in detective games (e.g. Tangle Tower, Duck Detective), platformer games (Portal 2, Fez), and even sokoban games (Isles of Sea and Sky, Void Stranger).

Incidentally, first-person non-systemic puzzle games like Myst have become known as “puzzle-adventure” games. It should be noted, as evidenced by the games previously mentioned, that video games may feature both puzzle and adventure elements yet still be very different from so-called “puzzle-adventure” games.

The games listed below are the most favorited adventure games for Linux in the Thinky Games database.

  • Portal 2
    Windows
    Linux
    Nintendo Switch
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Portal returns with an expansive story, new mechanics, and a co-op mode.
  • Fez
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    Explore the third dimension in this retro-style 2D puzzle platformer.
  • Superliminal
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    A first-person puzzler where size is just a matter of perspective.
  • Toki Tori 2
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    With only the ability to tweet and stomp, discover a metroidbrainia world and its surprising inhabitants.
  • The Swapper
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    PlayStation 4
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Clone yourself and transfer consciousness in this sci-fi narrative puzzler.
  • Quern - Undying Thoughts
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Uncover the secrets of Quern, solving contraption puzzles in this first-person puzzle adventure.
  • Duck Detective: The Secret Salami
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Help the Duck Detective solve the mystery of a sinister sausage-based conspiracy.
  • The Pedestrian
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    PlayStation 4
    PlayStation 5
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    A puzzle-platformer set within a world of interconnected street signs.
  • Filament
    Windows
    Linux
    Nintendo Switch
    Unravel cables around pillars to repower the Alabaster spaceship.
  • Carto
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    Xbox Series X|S
    Xbox One
    Rearrange the pieces of the world and connect with cheerful characters.
  • Slider
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    The entire world is a sliding tile puzzle in this playful adventure puzzler.
  • Linelight
    Windows
    Linux
    MacOS
    Nintendo Switch
    PlayStation 4
    iPad
    Android
    A minimalist adventure that takes place entirely on a line.
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