Streets of Rogue, one of my absolute favourite indie games has a new update out as work continues to find and fix every possible bug, plus a few new bits were added.

Before getting into the juice of the update though, with the developer previously confirming a sequel is in the works (that should also come to Linux) they've briefly mentioned it again now. In the update notes , they mentioned how they're building up the tech needed for the sequel and that it's going "really smoothly.". This work will allow for a much bigger and more open world, which sounds pretty exciting!

Mechanically, Streets of Rogue is fantastic especially with all the crazy interactions you can have to the point that It was one of my top games from 2019 . A thoroughly awesome mixture of random generation, action and stealth with an AI that constantly surprises you. With a sequel though, bigger would definitely be better here and I can't wait!

As for the current game, apart from a ton of bug fixes here's some highlights from Version 90:

• Demolitionist now has Tech Expert trait
• Accessories and facial hair cannot be placed on certain head types during character creation
• Added setting on Graphics menu to use software cursor
• Dead Musician has higher interaction priority vs. objects around him when Bouncer goes to revive him
• Freeze Ray can now be used to put out fires
• Mind Controlled NPCs are not affected by Memory Mutilator
• Body Swapper is affected by Intrusion Artist
• Player cannot use Sticky Glove through closed, unbroken windows
• Slum Dwellers who are spawned for the Goon's big quest will not be Loyal due to Friend of the Common Folk
• Penetrating Bullets are stopped by indestructible-ish objects like Steel Doors and Safes
• If player dies while possessing someone or while having Resurrect, and they gain a level while on the ground, they will gain health from the level-up when they resurrect
• When adding traits, Toss cancels Near-Harmless, and vice versa

If you want to try Streets of Rogue you can buy it on Humble Store , GOG and Steam . Absolutely recommended.

As a reminder of how absolutely hilarious it can be, here's a quick cut from an older livestream we did:

Free to play and now much bigger, Albion Online has a brand new expansion out with Rise of Avalon and there's lots of new goodies to play through.

One of the biggest additions to Albion Online since it began, this brings the Roads of Avalon, a big network of magical pathways that bring new ways to travel, transport and engage in combat allowing you to explore the Wilderness of Avalon. Another huge addition are Corrupted Dungeons, giving Solo players something fun that mixes PvE and PvP invasions together in randomized dungeons. There's also fifteen powerful new Avalonian weapons to find. Check out the fresh update trailer:

Watch video on YouTube.com

Some other highlights include:

• Reworked Destiny Board PvE progression
• New estimated Silver value display
• Optional numeric spell countdowns
• Improved crafting and cooking
• Numerous Combat Balancing changes
• Premiere Rogue Adventurer costume set
• Randomized Dungeon entrance appearance and despawn behavior standardized across dungeon and zone types
• Toggle spell behavior improved during fast-paced combat
• And loads more

If you're after an MMO to chill with friends on Linux, it's a good choice. While it's heavily PvP orientated, over time they have (like with this update) added more PvE to it.

You can play free from the official site or Steam .

Merging together a solid Ubuntu 20.04 LTS foundation and the latest KDE Plasma packages, KDE neon has a fresh rebase out for you to try out.

So what exactly is it? Is it another Linux distribution? Well, sort of. Not quite. It's just the long-term supported versions of Ubuntu with the freshest releases of the KDE Plasma desktop environment (plus Qt and other KDE software) stuck on top of it. They said it's for people who want "the latest and greatest from the KDE community but the safety and stability of a Long Term Support release". So unlike Kubuntu, the official Ubuntu KDE distribution variant, you're not stuck to the main version of Plasma it launches with.

They announced recently that a fresh upgrade is available for existing users, plus a new ISO spin is up with KDE neon now being based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. It should look and feel the same but have much newer internals like the Kernel, Mesa drivers and much more.

If I wasn't so rooted in Manjaro KDE, I think KDE neon would be what I would go for if I needed to do a fresh install. The customization possible with KDE is just wonderful, as is the fresh and modern presentation it offers.

See more and download on the KDE neon website .

Valve continue to tweak their classic free to play shooter Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The latest update improves various parts of the game and there's some fancy new weapon skins.

Trusted Mode, the newer feature that's just one small part of their fight against cheating now has the "-untrusted" launch argument removed. Trusted Mode on Linux also now appears to be on by default, so you no longer need the quick fix we wrote about recently , so if you missed that you should find your CS:GO games on Linux to be a lot nicer. Valve also fixed several exploits related to VPK tampering.

For collectors, a new Fracture Collection weapons case went up so you can gamble away some of your monies on their loot box system. This new case features designs from over 17 different community artists and there's even Shattered Web Knives as rare special items. Looking over the Steam Market, there's already tons on there from it so if you're after something really specific you might just be able to grab it right away there.

Also made it into this release are improvements to the 'SDR networking protocol', the Valve-run networking system that handles authentication, encryption, routing and so on. They've improved the routing selection logic, fixed SDR networking sessions to not be reused after expiration and improved stability. What does that mean for players? Matchmaking should work better overall.

The Anubis, Swamp and Mutiny maps all had a fine-tooth comb go over them, to fix up lots of little issues and do some optimizations to improve FPS.

Play CS:GO free on Steam .

GDevelop is a wonderful free and open source game engine, one that's cross-platform and it continues to get more powerful. It also has theme support with a new dark theme landing that looks great.

The new dark theme "Nord" is based on the the palette from nordtheme.com, and it fits in very nicely with the GDevelop editor UI. In fact, it actually looks a little like the Godot Engine theme. Dark themes can at times be a little too dark, light themes blinding and this new Nord theme seems to have a nice contrast to it, makes tinkering with it feel better along with the recent UI adjustments the GDevelop team did to reduce useless padding everywhere.

Along with the new theme there's a few new extras included in GDevelop 5.0.0-beta95 including:

• Add a condition to check if the game is running as a preview
• Add menu to open recent projects
• Add an action to clear the state of the Dialogue Tree
  • This is useful when launching a new game or restarting it.
• Improve autocompletions for JavaScript code events and for the game engine
• Improve preview buttons
  • Now shown on the left of the toolbar, always visible.
  • Allow to override the default scene with an external layout.
• Add missing numpad keys to the list of keyboard keys

Want to try it out? You can find it here or on GitHub . They have a handy AppImage for Linux, making it easy to get running across different distributions.

Volcanoids is pure joy if you love steampunk and great big machines, as it combines the two together and now it has online co-op. Probably one of the most unique survival base-building experiences, especially with your base being something that goes with you on your adventures.

Released yesterday was online co-op support, along with a brand new trailer to show it off, and I will admit my own hype for it has increasingly somewhat dramatically after watching it. This was the most requested featured for Volcanoids and it's an obvious fit for such a base-builder. Currently it only supports a max of 4 people. Check out the trailer:

Watch video on YouTube.com

Since this is the first version of it, there's a few limitations in place. Only one drillship can be owned right now but they said that will be changing in future updates, and only the captain can save/load. When a new player joins they will spawn directly into either the drillship or the submarine if the crew doesn't have their own drillship yet.

Plenty of improvements were also added, like death no longer being such a major issue as you will respawn but you will drop your backpack that will need to be recovered. There's now a panel they call The Boiler, which gives you a readout of some essential info and access to some important controls too. Most importantly though, you shouldn't be overloaded with info now with a more gradual research and unlock system.

The developer appears to be working hard on getting the Linux version in a good state too. With this latest update some OpenGL detection and text rendering issues should be fixed. The team is also working with Unity to get Vulkan support into a good state, as they said Unity + Vulkan "is less than optimal" right now.

You can get Volcanoids on Steam where it's 25% off until May 27.

Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition, a nice blending of squad management and turn-based battles with a real gritty atmosphere and some stylish graphics is out now.

"Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition features an original board game-like turn-based combat system with a unique card mechanic that makes every battle encounter feel tactically diverse. The core RPG exploration gameplay is further enriched with rogue-like elements, while the distinctive hand-drawn inky art style, heavily inspired by retro-futuristic sci-fi comic books, creates a compelling gritty world of the dark dystopian future."

This is a bundle that brings the main game and two DLC together as a whole, which replaces another bundle that only had a single DLC. However, it's much more than that (see below) but first check out the shiny new trailer available:

Watch video on YouTube.com

For everyone, it includes quite a big update to the main game even if you don't buy the bundle or any DLC. This fresh update includes gamepad support, more customization items, improved combat feedback, a reworked and polished UI, expanded tutorial tips, balance overhaul, AI updates, bug fixes, performance improvements and more. Overall, a nice bump for a game that's been out since 2018.

Feature Highlight:

• Fresh take on turn-based combat with cards
• Refined sci-fi comic book look & feel
• Endless customization options for characters and scavenging teams
• High replay value thanks to procedural generation of content
• Story of the human society divided within a dystopian universe
• Two game modes: story and arena

You can buy the x on GOG and Steam . Also on Humble Store but they currently only have the base edition and then individual DLC, they may see the Definitive Edition bundle later.

Oxygen Not Included continues getting bigger, with the free Banhi's Automation Innovation Pack update out now. As the name of the pack suggests, it's focused on automation.

This new free pack includes new automation sensors: Counter Sensor, Timer Sensor, Wattage Sensor and Conveyor Rail Sensors. Also included is an Automation Ribbon, letting you sending up to 4 signals along a single tile. There's also new automation output buildings, updated artwork, a Solid Filter building for Conveyor Rails and more. Two really useful little robots got added in too with the Sweepy Bot and Sweepy Dock, they're not particularly smart but they can help with some of the more mundane tasks for your colonists.

Klei also produced another of their fantastic animated shorts, check it below:

Watch video on YouTube.com

I adore Klei's artwork and these animations are fantastic, I really wish they did more and longer versions of them as I could happily watch a little series of it!

This free feature update is part of Klei Entertainment's new roadmap to extend ONI, that we posted about previously as "ONI is still fully in development". Like a lot of games, when they release they're not quite done and it will be fun to see where the first full expansion to ONI will go in terms of features.

You can find Oxygen Not Included on Steam .

Dandara was quite a surprise, a metroidvania platformer with a gravity-defying movement mechanic that entirely changed you how play and it just got a big update with the Trials of Fear Edition.

"The world of Salt hangs on the brink of collapse. The citizens, once free spirits, now stand oppressed and isolated. But not all is lost, for out this aether of fear arises a heroine, a ray of hope. Her name is Dandara."

This entirely free content update from Long Hat House and Raw Fury doesn't skimp on the details. There's an entirely new area to explore, a new boss to face off against, new powers and game mechanics, a whole new secret ending, 16 new music tracks and the story has even been extending with more lore.

Watch video on YouTube.com

On Steam, from over 200 user reviews it's managed to get a "Very Positive" rating so it's clear that people have enjoyed the game. I definitely did appreciate it attempting to do something different with the mix of metroidvania exploration and platforming, being able to leap around the screen quickly was seriously fun and it makes the combat feel thoroughly different too.

Dandara felt fresh and inviting and I think it's worth taking another look if you haven't finished it. If you've never tried it, I honestly think it's a must-play.

Pick up a copy of Dandara from Humble Store and Steam .