Software Alternatives & Reviews

ChimeraOS VS RetroArch

Compare ChimeraOS VS RetroArch and see what are their differences

ChimeraOS logo ChimeraOS

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

RetroArch logo RetroArch

RetroArch is a frontend for emulators, game engines and media players.
  • ChimeraOS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-08
  • RetroArch Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-12-22

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

RetroArch videos

RetroArch - Getting Started! Your Ultimate Retro Gaming PC! [Setup and Demonstration]

More videos:

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ChimeraOS and RetroArch)
Gaming
9 9%
91% 91
Linux
100 100%
0% 0
Emulators
0 0%
100% 100
Gaming Tools
6 6%
94% 94

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 RetroArch

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

RetroArch Reviews

Best DS Emulator: Are These Emulators Safe And Legal To Use?
RetroArch also supports a wide range of controller types, making it a great choice for gamers who want to use their favorite controller.
Source: appletoo.us
5 Best Nintendo DS Emulators for PC
It has highlights like RetroArch are shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, run ahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and much more.
Best emulators for Android in 2023
RetroArch is a popular open-source front-end for emulators. If you’re into playing retro games, RetroArch is your one-stop shop for all your emulating needs. It's not an emulator by itself but instead allows you to add "cores" that act as the backend to emulate several legacy consoles. While most of its most popular emulators are already covered here by dedicated apps, it...
5 of the Best GameBoy Advance (GBA) Emulators for Android
RetroArch is a poster child worldwide of emulation, specifically due to the fact that it’s not precisely an emulator. The retroArch is best refer to as a solitary, unified application where you can communicate with other emulators.
4 Free Open Source Game Emulators For Windows PC, Linux, and macOS
In addition to this, you are able to run original game discs (CDs) from RetroArch. RetroArch has advanced features like shaders, netplay, rewinding, next-frame response times, runahead, machine translation, blind accessibility features, and more! What systems does it play?

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ChimeraOS should be more popular than RetroArch. It has been mentiond 57 times since March 2021. 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
View more

RetroArch mentions (20)

  • RetroArch cannot be found on the PlayStore, the first result is a copycat. It is just me?
    No, isn't just you. Every 64-bit phone haves the Play Store Retroarch available, the 32-bits no. But you can still download the 32-bit version on the Retroarch website. Source: 12 months ago
  • Cause of the intrusion has been found and isolated. Sites are operational again.
    It was only the download links on retroarch.com on the Platforms page that got (briefly) redirected for a few hours. That should all be safe now. Source: 12 months ago
  • Malicious download links?
    Yes, only the retroarch.com and libretro.com websites were affected. Source: 12 months ago
  • Recent update from supposed hackers
    I went to retroarch.com and it said "discord.gg/evaderz is big haxors" its unrespectable. Source: 12 months ago
  • Latest RetroArch on Xiaomi Mi box
    I've got installed RetroArch Plus from Google Play on my Xiaomi Mi box 4k and I want to update it to the latest version. I downloaded apk from retroarch.com but when I use apk installer to update it say is not compatible. I removed version from Google Play but fresh install 1.15.0 is not compatible too. I tried 32 and 64 version. What I'm doing wrong? Is any other AndroidTV version? Source: 12 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ChimeraOS and RetroArch, 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.

OpenEmu - Console and Arcade video game emulator for macOS.

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

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

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

BSNES - bsnes is a Super Nintendo (SNES) emulator focused on performance, features, and ease of use.