WaouBen
Published
Without tweaks, the game would launch with glitched text but playable. Using wine d3d11 fixed the issue. Played through a boss and a run and gun level flawlessly after that, even on modest hardware. Used a DS4 controller.
I finally managed to launch the game
I followed this guide to make a 32 bit preset and install dotnet35 with winetricks. https://www.reddit.com/r/linux_gaming/comments/99e0kc/steam_playguide_create_custom_32bit_prefix_to/
I didn't have to follow the last part, the game worked with the 32 bits preset.
The whole thing is probably not worth it though.
Unplayable with Intel HD4000 GPUs because of graphical glitches. Probably works with something newer.
Proton-5.9-GE-3-ST GloriousEggroll
I tried using the GloriousEggroll proton fork as others suggested, which fixed the black screen at startup
There's a loud buzz in the intro
Many elements flicker, including images, which is game breaking for a documentary
Using Proton 5.0-9 gets you a black screen. Using Proton-5.9-GE-3-ST fixes the problem however in my case I now get an error message. This is probably due to incomplete Vulkan support on Intel HD4000 and newer architectures will probably work fine. This is unfortunate because this game works fine with older, less powerful computers on windows. Using WineD3D allows me to launch the game but the main menu is black with only play and exit displayed, and in-game, many elements flicker, including images, which is a dealbreaker.
Valve's CEG DRM is what is preventing the game to work. It works if you "remove" it.
Install winetricks and run : env WINEPREFIX="~/.steam/steam/steamapps/compatdata/264200/pfx" winetricks dotnet40
I had to run the command twice before it worked (I selected repair install on the second run). After thet it worked seemingly flawlessly.
Works basically perfectly
It actually works better than windows on my laptop because I used to experience increased input lag in fullscreen.
Works perfectly with proton 5.0
Flickering when not in fullscreen
Flickering in windowed mode
Crashes when loading with proton 5.13
It works out of the box with proton 5.0, but the game crashes when loading the savefile with proton 5.13. I don't know if it's on my end but something has changed since it still works for me with proton 5.0.
When using PROTON_USE_WINED3D, the game worked flawlessly. I didn't encounter any problem with a dualshock 4 controller.
The launcher freezes without PROTON_USE_WINED3D
Beta version
Portal storm effect bugged
You need to use a beta version that fixes the linux version. Go in the properties of the game in steam, beta tab, and choose either "development" or "development_portaltest". If you want to use proton instead of a native version, you can also choose "steamplayprotontest". Proton didn't work with the non-beta version.
Beta version (steamplayprotontest)
When you die, some particles can become invisible, like steam or water effects in ep2_outland_11a. I'm not sure but I don't think this is a problem on windows.
At some point, the game becomes very choppy and laggy, just like if the game was displaying the server side of the picture. Restarting the game fixes it.
Honestly the windows version is very unstable too. This might not be related to proton
Scrap my last review, I tried using the native version on a development version to play episode 2, and while it worked in solo, it would crash when Alyx appears at the beginning of the game in multiplayer. I used the steamplayprotontest beta instead and it works pretty well, although the game crashed a few times (my teammate on windows also did). I also had a few problem where I would be flying when I reconnected in some levels, which could be fixed by getting in a car (this doesn't look like proton related). Also at some point the game would become very choppy and laggy as if my position and the direction of my view was determined server side. Restarting the game fixed it. Overall you can play it on linux and it works well when it works.
