Space Station 14
Version: Pre-alpha Web: https://spacestation14.io
First up, don’t let the game’s pre-alpha status scare you away. Space Station 14 (SS14) is the continuation of the classic Space Station 13, which came out in 2003. Like the original, SS14 is a top-down, role-playing, multiplayer game set aboard a malfunctioning space station.
Linux users need to download and extract the game’s launcher from its website. The 64-bit-only SS14 has fairly moderate requirements and happily works on machines with 4GB of RAM.
Before you can play, you have to register an account, after which you can connect to an instance on one of the dozens of servers. Once connected, the server downloads all the assets being used in that instance. The first step inside the game is to select a character. There are several roles to choose from including captain, botanist, chef, head of personnel, lawyer and more. Each role comes with its own set of tools and has a specific set of tasks to perform, which define their level of difficulty. The game’s documentation suggests first-time users begin as a passenger, botanist or janitor.
To give the game a little excitement, some players are selected to work against the crew by acting as antagonists, like traitors, and pirates. Antagonists are selected randomly at the start of a round, and you can volunteer to be one. Just like the other roles, antagonists also have a list of objectives.
Inside the game, use the mouse to point and click to move between areas and interact with other players through the in-game chat box to collaborate and keep the station from falling apart – or make sure it does, if that’s your role.