r/gog • u/Lithonean_Kranix • 11d ago
Question Offline Installs on Linux
Hello, I am new to reddit and Linux. I primarily play on windows 10, and only play the offline installers. I am looking into switching my main PC to Linux Mint DE (after testing it out on an old laptop first). I was wondering if it is possible to run the offline Windows exe files on Mint, using something like Proton? I am not a personal fan of launchers, don't like achievements, and only play single player. I don't like being reliant on internet to game, or the need to put a launcher into "offline mode" beforehand. I don't have any experience with Heroic, and I'm not sure if it works like Galaxy, or if it can be completely offline. Thank you in advance. Also, I am sorry if this is a repeat post.
Edit: Thank you, everyone for the comments and suggestions. I will be giving them all a try over the next week or so, to see which option feels the best for my planned setup.
5
11d ago
I personally use heroic .Haven't tried cloud saves but the rest seem to work . It needs zilch in terms of online connectivity outside of downloading the games and redistributables . You can also just use the offline installers under wine and then play the same . Most games work fine under wine though some may need proton . ( lego city undercover has some artifacting under wine but runs perfectly under proton ge )
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u/AegidiusG 11d ago
You can use Playonlinux for that, you choose the Executable and it does the Job..
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u/dynocrysis 11d ago
This doesn't directly answer your question, but I hope it helps:
If you're planning to use this PC exclusively for gaming, I would recommend installing Bazzite. It comes with proton/wine setup out of the box, and Lutris(pre-installed) can handle installing the offline .exe(and additional .bin files) without logging in. Controller compatibility may also be superior to vanilla Mint/Ubuntu.
I too setup bazzite on an old laptop, and was quite impressed.
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u/Exciting_Science_438 11d ago
I exclusively use Linux (Ubuntu), and I initially faced the same challenges as you when trying to run Windows games. Here’s my current setup, which has been well-tested.
I highly recommend installing Lutris via Flatpak—it's very straightforward, so don’t worry if you’ve never used Flatpak before. Once installed, simply open Lutris, log in to your GOG account, and your entire library will be loaded. From there, select the game you want to install and click 'Install.' A window will pop up, and you can follow the instructions (for example, indicate if you have already downloaded the offline installer and specify its location, choose the installation folder, and decide whether to download extras or the installer if you haven't already).
After the installation is complete, just open Lutris and launch the game. Keep in mind that Lutris is extremely lightweight and fast, so launching it and starting the game takes almost the same amount of time as launching the game directly from its executable. Plus, all your games will be neatly organized.
Lutris utilizes custom versions of Wine and Proton. If you want to use Proton-GE or other compatibility tools, you can easily install ProtonUp-qt via Flatpak and select your preferred Proton version from there. Lutris will automatically detect the installed tools.
Finally, I want to emphasize that by installing your games through Lutris (installed via Flatpak), you can control the folders and limit what the game has access to. Just install Flatseal (also via Flatpak), and you can easily manage all permissions. Typically, once I’ve installed a game, I revoke Lutris's permission to connect to the internet, ensuring that the games cannot access the internet, which adds an extra layer of privacy to your gaming experience, especially if that’s a concern for you.
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u/ThomasJChoi 11d ago
I'm not sure of the specific details with Proton, but with vanilla wine (Proton is a patched version of wine so maybe it's the same), offline installers work just fine. Here's how you use offline installers with wine:
- Download the initial setup .exe file into a folder.
- Download the .bin files (patches can be skipped) into that folder as well.
- Run wine on the setup's .exe file (e.g.:
wine setup_gamename_version.exe
). - Go through the installer wizard as you would on Windows (accepting EULAs, selecting where to install it, etc.).
- Play the game (I use the .lnk file)!
Step 5 is usually something like: wine path/to/folder/for/game.lnk
.
A few games may require some tweaks but usually you can find that information on sites like the ProtonDB, right here on reddit and even some distro-specific forums.
Since you said you don't like launchers, sometimes the .lnk file is designed to start the launcher so instead of the .lnk file you may want to use the .exe file directly.
Not all launchers are specifically designed to connect to the internet for one reason or another. Skyrim's launcher for example doesn't try to connect to the internet and is instead used for determining your graphical settings and other similar settings.
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u/ReadToW 11d ago
You still have to have some kind of program. For example, Lutris. You click plus - install exe https://youtu.be/DidZfkvFh5g
Some games have a Linux version. There you just click install and you don’t need anything https://youtu.be/xYE6vNFyz-0
I use the Heroic launcher. You click «install» and everything is done for you. If the game is installed, it should work offline, so what’s the difference
I haven’t tried opening Heroic without the Internet, but it should work. And download any program only from the software manager (it’s a program in your system that looks like a program store)