Just say no to SaaS, or Software as a Service, a cloud-based delivery model where users access software applications through the internet, typically on a subscription basis. You think it couldn't happen to you until one day through no fault of your own your cut off as these innocent Russians (please note the distinction, Russians, ordinary people, are NOT the government, of which the later is evil everywhere, be it the Russian government or some other government like that of the United States, or your local state or city government) found out the hard way:
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2025/05/19/7512924/
Maybe try Super Tux (the best game EVER!) instead:
Or Super Tux Cart instead:
https://supertuxkart.net/
@mr_penguin SuperTux is NOT the best game ever. It's a generic Mario clone.
You don't need to go full freetard to have an enjoyable gaming experience without the SaaS dystopia getting in your way. Just play older games (either through original hardware of emulators), mods/hacks of existing games, or DRM-free games on sites like GOG or itch.io.
@xianc78
Well, it is a scroller game for sure, but those are a dime a dozen and not exclusive to Mario or Nintendo, but that said not sure it constitutes a clone. Still love the game independent of what anyone else thinks.
@mr_penguin Most other platforming games at something to the table or do something different. Sonic has you run into enemies. Kirby has you swallow them and copy their abilities.
SuperTux IS a clone. Even the enemies in the game function the same as the ones from Mario, just with different appearances. It's not a bad game per se. I played it before and enjoyed it. But it feels like most of these libre games don't bring anything new to the table and there is no reason to play them unless you are committed to only using 100% free/libre software.
My main point was to bring up that you don't need to only play FOSS games to avoid the bad business practices of the modern AAA industry.
@xianc78
Hmm, true, you could just not play games too. Playing proprietary (I don't mean assets, just code) games is just wrong. So many better things you could be doing with your time. I'm far from anal when it comes software freedom, but I also don't make excuses for gaming companies. I was mostly OK with what ID did back in the day for example with many games like doom with the release of source code, but licensed the art assets. If you wanted the full game you paid for a copy. The software though you could install for free and the source for that matter.