The summer holiday season starts. Time to hit the beach, mountains, or the couch 😄
My teammate Sourav is an avid gamer, and he is working on several game suggestion articles. If you play computer games, you'll find some good suggestions to enjoy your summer holidays.
And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!
SPONSORED
PikaPods allows you to quickly deploy your favorite open source software. All future updates are handled automatically by PikaPods while you enjoy using the software.PikaPods also share revenue with the original developers of the software.
Games are one way to spend the holidays, improving your Linux skills could be another. There is an ongoing course bundle sale on Humble Bundle that might be worth checking out. Part of your course bundle purchase is donated to Alzheimer's Research UK.
Desktop Linux is mostly neglected by the industry but loved by the community. For the past 13 years, It's FOSS has been helping people use Linux on their personal computers. And we are now facing the existential threat from AI models stealing our content.
If you like what we do and would love to support our work, please become It's FOSS Plus member. It costs $24 a year (less than the cost of a burger meal each month) and you get an ad-free reading experience with the satisfaction of helping the desktop Linux community.
In KDE Plasma's Klipper clipboard manager, you can quickly generate a QR code. With this, if you have a link in your clipboard, you can scan the generated QR code with your phone and open it.
To create a new QR code, head into the Clipboard and click on the "Show QR code" button. This will give you a QR code to scan; most text entries can be shared this way for quick transfers to your phone.
🤣 Meme of the Week
Big Tech is greedy. 😒
🗓️ Tech Trivia
On August 1, 1967, the U.S. Navy recalled Grace Hopper to help standardize COBOL, a revolutionary programming language. Hopper, a computing pioneer, also developed one of the first compilers and helped popularize the term "computer bug."
Diablo is an iconic action RPG franchise built around fast-paced isometric combat, deep character customization, and the relentless pursuit of loot. Set in a dark fantasy world plagued by demonic forces, the series challenges players to battle through hordes of monsters, uncover powerful gear, and dive deep into dungeons.
Over the years, new installments of Diablo have refined and expanded on the core formula, adding skill trees, seasonal content, online co-op, and endgame systems that keep players coming back.
The list below highlights some of the most notable and promising Diablo-like titles available on Linux if you're looking for something different, whether that's a fresh approach, unique mechanics, or just a new world to explore and conquer.
📋
The games featured here are a mix of native Linux titles and those that run well via Proton.
1. Grim Dawn
Steam Deck status: Playable 🟡
Grim Dawn drops you into a dark, war-torn world where humanity struggles to survive against supernatural forces. The game offers excellent character customization, a rich loot system, and a sprawling isometric world filled with dangerous enemies and challenging quests.
Combat is fast-paced and strategic, with a strong emphasis on building your character’s unique skill set through dual-classing and crafting.
📋
Why this game? It nails the core Diablo elements: loot-driven progression, complex character builds, and an immersive dark fantasy setting that keeps players hooked.
Last Epoch takes you across time itself in a dark fantasy world on the brink of ruin. You travel between eras to uncover ancient threats, mastering a comprehensive class system packed with unique mastery trees and hundreds of skills to experiment with.
Combat is fast and responsive, supporting a wide range of builds and playstyles, from minion-focused necromancers to melee berserkers.
A major update, Season 3 "Beneath Ancient Skies," is scheduled for August 21, 2025, promising fresh content, reworks, and seasonal progression to keep long-term players engaged.
📋
Why this game? It’s one of the most modern, polished Diablo-style ARPGs out there with great character customization, excellent combat, and a strong future roadmap.
In Halls of Torment, you navigate haunting dungeons filled with deadly traps and monsters. The game focuses on dark, atmospheric environments and intense, tactical combat.
Players collect weapons, armor, and artifacts to power up and survive increasingly difficult challenges, with the game centered around survival through increasingly difficult stages.
📋
Why this game? It blends Diablo-style enemy hordes, loot mechanics, and build variety with modern auto-attack mechanics, offering an absorbing experience.
Soulstone Survivors combines fast-paced action with rogue-lite elements, putting you in dungeons filled with enemies and secrets. It features various characters, each with distinct playstyles, and a loot system that rewards exploration and experimentation.
The game’s combat is fluid and keeps players constantly engaged, with quick reflexes and smart positioning making all the difference in surviving tougher waves of enemies and bosses.
📋
Why this game? Its blend of roguelike unpredictability and isometric ARPG combat creates a compelling Diablo-inspired experience.
Dive into a dark and vibrant world filled with relentless monsters and challenging bosses. The Slormancer combines fluid, fast-paced combat with a diverse and flexible skill system, letting you experiment with countless builds.
The pixel art visuals bring a unique charm to the grim atmosphere, while hundreds of weapons and items provide endless ways to customize your character. Each dungeon run tests your strategy as you hunt for powerful gear and unlock new abilities.
📋
Why this game? It offers the core Diablo experience of loot hunting and character growth but spices things up with dynamic combat and a distinctive pixel art style.
Katana Dragon is a voxel-style ninja action RPG where you control twin ninjas, Shin and Nobi, who are on a quest to lift a curse threatening the land of Sogen. The game features hand-designed environments, including ancient temples, hidden dungeons, and vibrant forests.
Players can learn new ninja skills, upgrade Dragon Gems, and equip Cursed Seals to enhance abilities. Combat involves using a katana and various other abilities to defeat enemies, and the game includes puzzles and traps within dungeons.
📋
Why this game? It blends Diablo’s core loot and build systems with a fresh ninja theme and great Linux support, standing out among indie ARPGs.
Book of Demons is a hack-and-slash action RPG with a unique "paper cut-out" art style and a simplified inventory system. Players explore dungeons filled with monsters and traps, using cards to customize skills and spells.
The game features multiple character classes and a distinctive blend of traditional ARPG mechanics with innovative deck-building elements.
📋
Why this game? It combines classic Diablo-like dungeon crawling and loot with a fresh, easy-to-pick-up gameplay loop.
Luminaria: Dark Echoes invites you into a shadowy steampunk world where each playable character offers a distinct approach to combat. The game’s dungeons and loot system keep things fresh, demanding skill and adaptability. Expect tactical battles and challenging boss encounters amid atmospheric settings.
Plus, the emphasis on timing and strategy encourages players to experiment with each character’s unique skills and weapons.
📋
Why this game? Its focus on character variety and loot-driven progression aligns well with Diablo-style gameplay.
Mine & Slash is a roguelite 3D dungeon crawler where you explore deep, magical dungeons, mining gold and gathering valuable resources. The deeper you go, the tougher the enemies become.
Customize your hero by upgrading your loot and equipment, unlocking powerful skills to enhance your combat abilities. Engage in mini-quests and face off against various challenging foes.
📋
Why this game? It offers a fresh mix of mining and dungeon crawling with RPG progression and skill unlocks, adding a unique twist to the Diablo-like genre.
In a world crushed by undead armies and ancient horrors, you get to choose from one of three classes to fight the darkness. Each class has unique powers to master. Conquest Dark focuses on quick action and short "Ritual" runs where you build your character with powerful weapons and skills.
Along the way, you explore dangerous places full of monsters and mini-bosses, find better gear, unlock new abilities to grow stronger, and survive the dark forces threatening the world.
📋
Why this game? Its class variety, crafting, and combat style align well with Diablo’s gameplay style.
Netherworld Covenant is a dark fantasy isometric action roguelike with hardcore, soulslike combat. You play as a lone survivor wielding the Nether Lantern, a cursed artifact that binds you to fallen souls.
Combat is built around deliberate timing and tactical decisions. Parry, dodge, and counter with help from spectral allies like the Swordsman, Rogue, Ranger, or Guardian, each offering unique battlefield advantages and movement abilities.
Venture through procedurally generated dungeons, fight corrupt legends, and uncover a world shaped by loss, ambition, and the remnants of broken pacts.
📋
Why this game? It mixes precise combat, dark lore, and strategy in a way that will feel familiar to Diablo fans.
Into the Restless Ruins is a roguelike deckbuilder where each card you play constructs the dungeon itself. Rooms, corridors, and special tiles expand the ruins, affecting how you battle and harvest resources.
Combat plays out in auto-battle style as you explore the dungeon you’ve created, seeking Glimour and progressing toward the final encounter with The Warden. Characters from Scottish folklore offer upgrades and relics that shape your strategy, with additional lore and gameplay depth revealed across multiple runs.
📋
Why this game? It creatively merges deckbuilding and dungeon crawling in an isometric roguelike, echoing Diablo’s core ideas of build variety, loot, and replayability.
Originally released in 1999 and updated over the years, Kid Mystic is a colorful action RPG filled with spells, quirky humor, and dungeon crawling. The Enchanted Edition revamps the original with modern features like skill trees, new levels, and upgraded mechanics.
Players cast spells, solve puzzles, and fight bosses across multiple gameplay modes. These include the original 1999 version, the expanded 2004 edition, and the new Modern Mode with updated mechanics and challenge options like Brutal Mode.
📋
Why this game? It mixes nostalgic action RPG combat with layered progression systems and dungeon crawling.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is a standalone roguelike dungeon crawler set in the gothic fantasy world of Random. Players take on the role of Queen Aleksandra, fighting for vengeance and redemption using fast-paced combat combined with strategic dice mechanics.
Each run offers different weapon and relic combinations, with over 100 relics and 15 card-based powers to customize builds. Players use their sentient die-companion, Fortune, in real-time tactical battles that unfold across four dynamically generated biomes.
📋
Why this game? It mixes dark fantasy, dice-driven chaos, and real-time isometric action, offering a creative spin on Diablo-style roguelikes.
Wireless file transfers are incredibly convenient, especially between Linux and Android devices. No cables, no manual configuration needed. Just quick transfers from one device to another using your local network.
I know that it is faster to transfer files, specially huge ones, via cable. But if your library has thousands of photos and videos, it takes several minutes to load them.
When you want to share just a few selected photos, it is easier to select on your phone and share them.
Now, instead of uploading the selected files to cloud servers or sending them via WhatsApp, open source alternatives offer a more direct and private approach to file transfers with no third party involved.
These tools are not only safer and faster but often more reliable than the aforementioned options.
Let me share a few such tools you can use for transferring files between Linux and your Android smartphones.
1. Packet: No non-sense, simple transfer
I begin this list with Packet, an app that makes transferring files effortless with its user interface and partial Quick Share implementation. With this, Android devices can easily connect to your Linux device over a wireless network.
It is designed with GNOME users in mind, offering a clean GTK interface and optional Nautilus integration. Once set up, your Linux machine should automatically appear in the device list when sharing files from Android and vice versa.
When I tested it, never did it fail a transfer, and each session completed quickly without the need for any manual IP configuration or pairing.
⭐ Key Features
Can be integrated with Nautilus
Works with Android Quick Share
Local network transfers with no internet dependency
KDE Connect is a great fit for Linux distros that come with KDE Plasma, but it’s also usable on others. What’s cool is that it comes packed with features like file transfer, battery info, clipboard sharing, and more. You can turn each feature on or off so you’re not stuck with stuff you don’t need.
I have found that file transfers are pretty solid most of the time. Plus, it’s more than just for sending files. I can control music on my phone from my computer, get phone notifications right on my desktop, and even use my phone as a remote mouse or keyboard.
⭐ Key Features
Phone battery level display on desktop
Supports SMS messaging from desktop
Ability to run commands remotely on your Linux computer
Syncthing is a powerful open source tool for syncing files across devices over your local network or the internet. It has a web-based interface that lets you manage your sync folders and devices from any browser.
Though, it is better suited for users who know their way around their Linux computer.
To sync files with Android, you will need a third-party app like Syncthing-Fork. Since Syncthing syncs entire folders rather than single files, I suggest creating a dedicated folder that stays empty until you drop files for transfer into it.
When configured correctly, transfers are fast and reliable, and the detailed sync status and logs help you keep track of what’s happening during syncing.
LocalSend is an open source app built for seamless, encrypted file sharing across devices over the same local network. It supports Linux, Android, Windows, macOS, and iOS, making it one of the most versatile cross-platform tools in this list.
You get a clean and user-friendly interface here, where devices are assigned randomized names to make them easy to identify before sending files.
I use LocalSend in my workflow to quickly transfer documents and images from my phone to my computer. The only minor inconvenience is that I need to disable the VPN on both devices for them to detect each other in the app.
5. Warpinator: File sharing tool from Linux Mint team
Developed by the Linux Mint team, Warpinator is an open source tool for easy file transfers over local networks. It’s simple to use but has some quirks. For example, to unlock all features, you need to enable Secure Mode. Without this, the app automatically exits after 60 minutes.
On Android, I had to rely on a third-party Warpinator client since there isn’t an official app yet. Connecting new devices can sometimes be a bit finnicky, requiring some troubleshooting before everything works smoothly, so keep that in mind.
⭐ Key Features
Automatic device discovery over local network
Simultaneous transfers with optional data compression
Manual connections for restricted network environments
GSConnect is a shell extension based on KDE Connect that is built specifically for GNOME desktops. It works well with the KDE Connect Android app, providing most of the same features without needing to switch desktop environments.
I really like the multimedia controls because I can control any music or video playing on my Linux setup right from my phone. File transfers usually go smoothly, but occasionally when I send multiple files from Linux to Android, only one file is received and the rest vanish.
Other than this issue, GSConnect handles notifications, clipboard sharing, and more without problems.
As you can see here, Packet and LocalSend are straight forward tools designed to primarily share files between your phone and Linux desktop. Warpinator can be used for sharing files between different desktop computers and operating systems, too.
KDEConnect and GSConnect are more feature rich as they integrate some of your smartphone features with your desktop.
Syncthing is a versatile, P2P file synchronization tool.
Now, that I have presented these options, it is up to you to explore and decide the tool you would like to use for sharing files from your phone to your Linux system.
And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!
SPONSORED
PikaPods allows you to quickly deploy your favorite open source software. All future updates are handled automatically by PikaPods while you enjoy using the software.PikaPods also share revenue with the original developers of the software.
A malicious actor managed to slip in some malware into the AUR. It was quickly discovered and disabled. One more reason to stick with the official repositories of your distribution.
Don't know if you already use it, but creating templates in LibreOffice saves time in creating new document on a repetition. From invoices to letters, make good use of the template feature.
I understand that in the age of Snaps and Flatpaks, PPAs don't have the same charm as they used to have before the 2020s. Still, blindly adding PPAs creates havoc for new Ubuntu/Mint users.
And that's why I recommend reading this PPA guide I wrote a few years ago. Once you understand how it works, you won't have the repository related error with the updates.
Desktop Linux is mostly neglected by the industry but loved by the community. For the past 13 years, It's FOSS has been helping people use Linux on their personal computers. And we are now facing the existential threat from AI models stealing our content.
If you like what we do and would love to support our work, please become It's FOSS Plus member. It costs $24 a year (less than the cost of a burger meal each month) and you get an ad-free reading experience with the satisfaction of helping the desktop Linux community.
I came across this cool NAS plus local AI device for homelab starters on Kickstarter. Out of my budget but hey, we can window shop once in a while, right?
For GNOME apps like Nautilus file manager, Software, and several others, you can use the shortcut CTRL+? (which is CTRL+SHIFT+/) on your keyboard to get a list of available keyboard shortcuts for that app.
If the app in focus has some keyboard shortcuts available, it will be opened in a new app window.
🤣 Meme of the Week
That's how it feels on some Linux subreddits and forums. Thankfully, It's FOSS Community forum is much more welcoming.
🗓️ Tech Trivia
When Apple released Mac OS 8 on July 26, 1997, it was a huge hit, selling over 1.2 million copies in two weeks. This success significantly boosted the company during a tough time, as it faced financial struggles and strong competition from Microsoft.
Sourav Rudra
Sourav Rudra
Sourav Rudra
Sourav Rudra
Sourav Rudra
Sourav Rudra
Abhishek Prakash
Doron_Beit-Halahmi
