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Over the last couple of years, Linux gamers have gotten quite the flurry of games ported over to Linux, and lately, some games have even been released for Linux at the same time as they're released on other consoles. However, not a single true fighting game had been made available for Linux users until now. Move over Street Fighter and go chill with Mortal Kombat and your other pals, because Skullgirls has arrived! Skullgirls is a 2D fighting game developed by Reverge Labs (later renamed Lab Zero due to some financial and legal issues). It was originally released in 2012 for Xbox360 & Playstation 3, then, in 2013, it was released for Windows PC. Lots of Skullgirls fans, myself included, kept requesting a Linux port, and, in October 2015, it finally arrived on Linux as well as Mac OS X. The game was ported by a few dedicated fans who worked hard at making it available on Linux, but, after playing the game, you could never guess that the game was not originally intended to be played on Linux. The game runs as smoothly as any other Linux native game, which was something of a concern for me when I heard that the original game developers were not involved in the Linux port. It was a small number of volunteers and a yet-to-be-named company who made the Linux port – not only playable and enjoyable but also as perfect as it could get. On behalf of the Ubuntu gaming community, I'd like to thank you.
Anyone who's played titles such as the aforementioned Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, or other fighting titles, will feel right at home playing Skullgirls. The game provides various modes of play depending on your needs. There is a single player campaign story-based mode, an arcade mode, a training room, and a single player versus, as well as a two-player versus mode that can be played online. I have played all of the different modes available, and there are very subtle differences between them. The online versus mode is fun because you get to play against another player, but I would recommend going through some of the tutorial, single player versus (or arcade), or even the story mode first, if you're planning on not getting badly beaten right away. Some of the players you'll encounter online on a good day are quite good; however, other times there may not be as many players available online due to the game having had its initial release so long ago. The tutorial as well as the training room are great at learning and then improving your skills. Also, for some odd reason, if you decide to use a game controller, the button layout is rather unorthodox and it may take some time getting used to it (the same holds true for all other consoles as well as PC/Mac versions). It's almost like some of the control layouts are slightly counter-intuitive, but once you get used to them, they are not that hard to use and understand.
Skullgirls can currently be bought through Steam or through the Skullgirls website for around $9.99 at the time of this writing. There are a total of eight playable characters in the standard edition (yes, all of them girls). If you want to buy the Skullgirls 2nd Encore for $14.99, then you get an additional five characters as well as all sorts of other added goodies. The five added characters can also be bought separately for $1.99 each, which would be an additional $10 for all five characters. By buying the Skullgirls 2nd Edition, you not only end up saving $5.00, but you also get a few added bonuses – so I would recommend paying a bit more for the 2nd Encore to get your money's worth. Some of these added characters are girls, but some (such as Big Band and Beowulf) are not. Like all fighting games, each character has its own way of doing the basic moves (low kick, mid kick, high kick, low block, mid block, high block, etc). But, more importantly, each character has its own set of special moves which you'll have to memorize if you want to be able to perform them at will instead of by chance. It's not terribly hard to perform special moves; it just takes some time to get used to the button combinations for each character.
The story mode (as well as all other modes for that matter) revolve around the Skull Heart and the power it can grant its owner. All eight Skullgirls are trying to get the Skull Heart back from Marie who is the nemesis of the game. I first started with the tutorials, then went on to the arcade, story, and finally versus and versus online modes. The story mode tells you a little bit about each character's past and why she wants to acquire the Skull Heart from Marie. The seemingly hand-drawn characters, as well as the intricate background art, in combination with the fast jazz-meets-punk spy music, have a certain quality to them that adds to its post-prohibition, cyberpunk, feel – which is reminiscent of the James Bond and Operation: Impossible fictitious eras. Surprisingly, I have not come across any deal-breaking glitches yet. I say surprisingly because it's my understanding that the Linux port was initially begun by a small number of Skullgirls fans and finished by a still unknown company. The only negative aspect of the game I would say has already been worked out with the 2nd Encore additions. Many people, myself included, used to complain about a short story-mode, and a lack of playable characters, but for only $5 more, that issue has now been resolved. I still strongly believe that for the low price of $14.99, you get a good quality fighting game with lots of replay value even after completing the story and arcade modes.
This is a game that I most definitely recommend if you're looking for a fighting game, especially since as of now Street Fighter has only been promised but not yet delivered. You will not regret getting this game unless you object to the outfits the girls are wearing in the game. Minimum System Requirements: OS: Ubuntu 15.04 / Fedora 22 / SteamOS Processor: Dual-core CPU Memory: 2 GB RAM Graphics: Intel HD3000* Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 5 GB available space Additional Notes: *MESA drivers 1.6.0 and 1.6.1 are not supported, please update to 1.6.2.