I am not looking to pirate (this time) I just want to install some specific free games in steam but I don’t like steam, they are offline and have no DRM from what I know either but if they did it’s not that hard to get rid of it anyways.
I just wanted to ask here cuz I would think people here would know for well. Obvious reasons. So ye, Is there any safe way to do this that has the games well updated and all that?
A lot of people seem to be misunderstanding OP’s question and just suggesting places that offer free games.
OP is asking if there’s any not shady way to get a game that’s offered for free on Steam without DRM other than using the Steam client.
If the game is only available through Steam then unfortunately the answer is no. Depending on the nature of your objection to the Steam client there are some possible courses of action other than going somewhere sketchy though.
You could install it, download the game, copy it from the Steam install location, then uninstall Steam.
Alternatively keep a sandboxed Steam client installed in a VM to download the game which you extract from the VM.
Another option might be to just ask someone you know that does use Steam to download the game and send it to you.
Gog is the obvious choice but there isn’t really a lot of free games on it
God I wish they had a Linux app
I heard they were working on one I think?
It’s coming but I’ve used Heroic with GOG for years, it works great.
If the game is only on Steam, install Linux on a VM, install Wine in it, run SteamCMD through Wine, download the build you want, and move to your host OS.
SteamCMD is a minimalist/terminal-based version of Steam. The Windows version can be downloaded separately. However, it downloads needed libraries and I’m not sure how good Steam is at escaping Wine’s environment, so a VM adds an extra security layer. Also the command changes depending of whether it’s 32-bit or 64-bit, if it’s for Linux, MacOS or Windows, or even if it’s a previous, still public update, and it’s been some years since I used those and I don’t have the commands noted down, so can’t help with that at least right now.
Also, as others said, @Untamed_Star@lemmy.blahaj.zone, if the game is on a DRM-free-oriented platform, like GOG, Itchio, etc., you could look for those.
Additionally, looking for sources of a given game can help find where it’s less of a hassle to get it, specially through databases or adjacent, like PCGamingWiki, ITAD, NeoDB (fediverse-compatible!), GameFAQS, etc. Also apparently it isn’t uncommon for databases to cross-reference each other, so one can lead to another.
Are you looking for a launcher for these separate games? If so, Playnite might be what you’re looking for. I don’t think it’ll handle updates though. Also, GoG is a great source of DRM-free games, so maybe check that for what you’re after since GoG Galaxy works similarly and has been less shit lately.
So wait, I might not be understanding what you’re asking correctly, but if you want to download free games without DRM, that you don’t intent to pirate…
Are you just looking for itch.io?
Yes the phrasing was bad. I just meant some specific games that were updated on steam that are free and I am pretty sure they have no DRM I don’t know if it is considered pirating maybe it is idk the definition of it I just don’t want to like install steam and that.
Apologies for the bad phrasing lol.
Steam is DRM.
Steam is a platform. It does provide optional DRM that some games use, but there are others that are DRM-free