I’ve been getting really into Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines and Redemption, old school Runescape, Ragnarok Online, Arcanum, Diablo II, and other old classics lately, and I’m looking for more 90s/early 00s PC games that will run on my new Thinkpad E15 G4 running Arch Linux.
Have you played the old LucasArts SCUMM adventure games? Full Throttle, Monkey Island, The Dig, and Grim Fandango are masterpieces.
Dungeon Siege (2002) is a nice RPG; 3D, isometric-style default camera, slightly tactical order-based movement/attack, and a fully streamed world - so no loading screens during gameplay.
It certainly has its fair share of jank as well, but it does well otherwise.
If you haven’t played them the original Fallout 1 and 2 (the Fallout 2 Restoration Project is a big recommend) and Arcanum are classics as well.
I wholeheartedly second Fallout 1 & 2. Arcanum somehow avoided my notice back in the day, but I’m planning on playing it soon.
Arcanum’s always been one of my favorites! It’s just so stylish! And I love the voice acting so much.
I highly recommend looking into Spiderweb Software games. They’ve been pumping out top down turn based tactics rpgs for years now. I am not sure of the viability on Linux, but I’m sure there is a workaround if anything.
The Avernum series in particular is great if you’re into detailed character building, exploring, and high difficulty optional quests/bosses!
Caesar 3 is a fantastic city builder that will run on just about anything. https://store.steampowered.com/app/517790/Caesar_3/
Augustus is a great remake of the game engine to add some quality of life things to the game and make it run easier on more modern systems
