Software Alternatives & Reviews

ChimeraOS VS Batocera.linux

Compare ChimeraOS VS Batocera.linux and see what are their differences

ChimeraOS logo ChimeraOS

Steam, Epic, GOG, retro consoles, and more... all from your couch

Batocera.linux logo Batocera.linux

Batocera.linux is an open-source and completely free retro-gaming distribution that can be copied to a USB stick or an SD card with the aim of turning any computer/nano computer into a gaming console during a game or permanently.
  • ChimeraOS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-08
  • Batocera.linux Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-27

ChimeraOS videos

Turn Your PC Into A Gaming Console With ChimeraOS! An Edge Over Steam Deck OS?

More videos:

  • Review - ChimeraOS 33 Future Of Linux Gaming Operating System ???
  • Review - Steam Deck UI in ChimeraOS

Batocera.linux videos

Turn a USB Flash Drive into a Portable Gaming "System"!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ChimeraOS and Batocera.linux)
Gaming
25 25%
75% 75
Linux
100 100%
0% 0
Emulators
0 0%
100% 100
Gaming Tools
16 16%
84% 84

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare ChimeraOS and Batocera.linux

ChimeraOS Reviews

Best Linux Distro for Gaming
ChimeraOS is a gaming distro based on Arch Linux. It boots directly in Steam Big Picture Mode, which makes this a great alternative to SteamOS. It comes with a lot of games pre-installed, as well as options to use other launchers and game stores, like Epic, Flathub, and GOG. The best feature of ChimeraOS is that it has seamless updates – they don’t require any interaction...
Source: linuxstans.com

Batocera.linux Reviews

  1. Very difficult to configure.

    While it has the potential to be amazing, like most linux-based options, it falls apart in the area of user experience, with automatic misconfigurations, failure to recognize supported devices and the requirement to SSH into the host system from yet another system (that you may not even have). in order to enter complicated commands just to turn basic supported features on and off. If you do spend a few days getting it to a basic level of functionality, it may be worthwhile, but the problem is that you shouldn't have to. Extra layers of unnecessary complexity seem to have been added simply to maintain that unapproachable aura that most Linux distros have.

    🏁 Competitors: Lakka
    👍 Pros:    Good UI
    👎 Cons:    Confusing set-up|Complicated configuration|Vague instructions|Automatic mis-configurations|Cannot use standard installation methods|Supported devices require complex configuration

Best Linux Distro for Gaming
Batocera.linux is a lightweight distro that turns your computer into a gaming machine, similar to Lakka. Batocera is arguably better than Lakka considering the number of emulators, and the active community behind Batocera. Although it’s worth trying both distros. It’s still being actively developed, with new emulators and software being added to the distro. Instead of going...
Source: linuxstans.com

Social recommendations and mentions

ChimeraOS might be a bit more popular than Batocera.linux. We know about 57 links to it since March 2021 and only 41 links to Batocera.linux. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

ChimeraOS mentions (57)

  • Bazzite – a Steam0S-like OCI image for desktop, living room, and handheld PCs
    Https://chimeraos.org/ I've been using this one, it updates the system atomically. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Specs, Best Distro?
    I think you want something like https://chimeraos.org/. Source: 5 months ago
  • When will STEAM OS become public distro?
    I’ve read about Chimera OS which seems to have the same goals as Steam OS https://chimeraos.org/. Source: 5 months ago
  • Is it possible for a PC to only run steam and steam games and nothing else?
    Noone said it but the direct answer to your question is chimeraos. It's barebones Steam Big Picture mode with an empty desktop that doesn't have a browser only to do some emergency terminal modifications. It's Linux but it's designed to not involve the Linux part of it. Source: 5 months ago
  • Requesting comprehensive advice for getting off Windows
    So I have a bit of experience with current gaming on Linux - I have a living-room box running ChimeraOS and my wife is currently happily playing Starfield on it - but I am now faced with the prospect of either buying a Windows key to keep my main/gaming rig chugging along on Windows 10, or just finally biting the bullet and moving my rig to Linux. Source: 7 months ago
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Batocera.linux mentions (41)

  • Looking for input setting up emulation machine
    The OS you probably want is Batocera. I have a couple external SSDs that I use to run it on my VCSs, and they're great. It's definitely an easier setup than Windows with Launchbox, and you don't have to deal with licensing, forced updates, and all the other Windows garbage. Source: 10 months ago
  • So I had an Arcade1UP Partycade modded with 12,000 games. I have no clue how to use this. I can only play a few games. I hope someone knows how to use this?!?
    This subreddit is for the completely free and open-source distribution that you would find at https://batocera.org/ which comes with absolutely no copyrighted ROMs(games). You will only get support here for that and that alone. Unfortunately if you bought a preconfigured system ("unofficial image"), your issues are with the people who sold it to you. Nobody here can help you with anything outside the scope of the... Source: 11 months ago
  • MiSTer vs Super Nt for my needs?
    Alternatively, since you just built a nice PC, you can take the free options and just software emulate classic systems and run MAME. If you don't have time to set much up, look into a Batocera boot drive https://batocera.org/. Source: 12 months ago
  • Every fifth Linux gamer plays on Steam Deck!
    I don't think many people have done that, as u/tonymurray was explaining. But to be fair, there are a few other decent gaming-first distros. Someone might want to install ChimeraOS or Batocera, to give a few examples. Others might have bought the Deck to serve as a cheap home computer, and replaced the OS with one that doesn't have a gaming mode (say, Ubuntu, or Manjaro). I think those numbers would be extremely... Source: 12 months ago
  • Does anyone know what emulator he is using in here? I don’t see any download for retrostation deck?
    You can make your own https://batocera.org/. Source: 12 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ChimeraOS and Batocera.linux, you can also consider the following products

Drauger OS - Drauger OS is an Ubuntu-based Linux desktop gaming distribution that ships with many modifications and optimizations over stock Ubuntu that are intended to improve gaming performance and the gaming experience.

RetroArch - RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.

Ubuntu GamePack - UALinux / Technology of the future - already today

LaunchBox - LaunchBox is a portable, box-art-based games database and launcher for DOSBox, emulators, arcade cabinets, and PC Games. Download it free!

Lakka - Lakka is the official Linux distribution of RetroArch and the libretro ecosystem.

Playnite - Source code generated using layoutit.com