FTL: Faster Than Light

Starts the game as Engi ship
Fighting bandits and Rebels alike left and right
Getting rich
Goes into a heavy storm with low hull (health)
No power for drones, shield, thruster, and oxygen, gets killed by a very weak bandit with a Galv beam
10/10

One of, if not the best ship to ship combat game ever made and it was made 13 years ago. The way that you can target specific systems of the enemy ship is what makes it for me. It is incredibly complex and intricate with all of the choices that you can make in combat (as well as out of combat), but simple enough that it takes only a short while to learn how to play.

Difficult to master but easy to learn. Some RNG can kick your behind when you are starting to feel invincible.

Great roguelike gameplay with lots of opportunities to make RNG manageable with skill. Lots of people seem to find it unfairly hard, but at least on Normal difficulty that's not the case if you engage with the systems. Some of the unlockable ships can die early due to bad luck though, gotta cope with that. It's a permadeath game after all.

Graphics, music and overall space flavor are excellent.

If you are into this type of game, you will love it.

Rebels will really shoot hull breaching missiles at you med bay then beg for mercy with 10 scrap

the game itself is very fun, but very RNG dependent on difficulties higher than easy mode, especially if you decide to play the advanced edition, which adds a ton of extra content and also makes the game slightly harder. the advanced edition adds new weapons, some of which are good, some of which are bad. it also adds two new crew, the metal eaters (i am calling them that because I can't spell their name) and the crystalmen. new sectors are also added. the new crew is mostly good, the new weapons are ok, but makes the game more RNG dependent. without advanced edition you are almost sure to find a few good weapons in the shops you cross, with advanced edition, you might go a whole run without seeing anything good, leaving you with basically nothing to kill the flagship with. on easy mode, this isn't a big deal since your weapons don't need to be as strong, so you can get away with the crummier weapons the shops might give you. on normal and above though? RNG is a huge factor. on top of that, the game is extremely punishing, even on easy mode. one mistake can kill a run, and you might not even realise you made a run killing mistake until multiple sectors later when your suddenly facing enemies you can't hurt because they have too many shields, or maybe because you weren't prepared for one of them to hack your weapons or shields. overall, fun, but very hard and RNG dependent, and requires very good resource management, even on easy mode where you get more scrap.

Also, mal ehrlich, FTL ist für mich einfach der Hammer. Ich komme immer wieder drauf zurück, weil's jedes Mal aufs Neue spannend ist. Klar, manchmal nervt der Zufall, aber das gehört irgendwie dazu. Und die Möglichkeit, jederzeit Pause zu machen, ist Gold wert. Für mich ist FTL einfach ein zeitloser Klassiker, der immer wieder Laune macht.

i wish i knew abt this game sooner, its a good strategy game and incredibly addicting.

The best game in history, i love this game but still after a 100 hrs in the game i can't beat it unless is on easy mode

Really enjoyed the game!

At first it can seem like a lot to keep track up, but after a while things become second nature. Had a blasting unlocking all the ships, and trying to win on hard mode.

Will definitively be recommending and playing this on and off for the foreseeable future.

Best game ever created. Especially with Multiverse mod.

Peak soundtrack, easy-to-learn layout, and fun lore

great game, even better with mods

This is a Perfect Game, in a specific definition of Perfect. It's the kind of game where if I were stranded off-grid indefinitely, I'd still be having fun with it as it is.

It all makes sense and your handily winning, and then suddenly its all gone to shit and you've died. 10/10

FTL: Faster Than Light is a real-time strategy roguelike that puts players in control of a spaceship on a perilous journey through space. Developed by Subset Games, it’s a highly engaging, challenging game where every decision matters. The galaxy is procedurally generated, offering a new experience with each playthrough, whether you're battling hostile ships or exploring unknown sectors.

The real-time combat is intense, requiring you to manage your ship’s systems, weapons, and crew during battle. The roguelike elements ensure that no two runs are the same, but this also means you'll face tough losses. However, every failure teaches you something new, making victory all the more rewarding. The game’s minimalist pixel art style and atmospheric soundtrack enhance the immersive experience.

While the difficulty can be brutal, especially with the random encounters, FTL offers a satisfying challenge for those who love strategic decision-making and quick thinking. With high replayability and different ships to unlock, there’s always something new to try.

In summary, FTL is a must-play for strategy lovers who enjoy intense, fast-paced gameplay with plenty of depth. It’s an indie classic that delivers a memorable space adventure every time.

I may have had some help :)

terrible balancing. there's a difference between fun challenging and just being given scraps against ships that drop salvos faster than your weapons charge and you end up with a disabled ship unable to fight just watching your guys slowly die.

I remembered I have this game. I like this game! It's been a while since I played. I reinstalled with the Multiverse mod, not bad! Fresh races, new weapons, big ships - It's awesome!

Then a two hour run goes up in smoke due to ambient ABS as my ship fails to putter up it's FTL drive fast enough.

FTL is a fantastic game for short bursts - But like most permadeath games - You're gonna be moving on to something else rather quickly if it isn't something you're specifically aching for.

There is a lot of RNG to this game, but that doesn't mean that your skill and game knowledge are worthless. It's a rogue-like after all. Addicting classic.

Probably the best roguelike space game ever made. It only gets 100x better with the FTL Multiverse mod. Near infinite replayability

I have played this game on and off for years. And i always come back whether it be for the stellar soundtrack, or just because the game-play loop is fun and addicting. Great game that I would recommend to anyone

Decent roguelike with a pretty high skill ceiling. Doesn't really hold up to more modern roguelike games, but was some of the best when it came out.

Loads of fun. I like the game concept and I love collecting the unlockables.

Can't say it is hard so much as it feels too random to be fun, at least for me. I'll get in and get killed off the moment I take my first step or get killed off right when the game is about to get good. Something as simple as intruders really ruin the game and are a death sentence depending where you are in it. Wanted to really like it and it does have an addictive quality to it but by the end of the day, I start hating the game more than I enjoy it.

There's stuff I want to try but simply can't because I don't get far enough to invest in my ship or you might just reach that goal only for a group of intruders to randomly appear and wipe you out, which is where most of the frustration comes from, the game ruining the fun you're on the verge of having.

Very re-playable. Quite difficult. No one situation is the same.

The game itself is already a highly enjoyable rogue-lite experience with the potential for hundreds of hours of gameplay and still finding new things. Then you start messing around with mods and you find FTL: Multiverse, which is pretty much just a sequel in mod form, and then you can suddenly put in another thousand hours and STILL not 100% the game.

And yet the entire thing is less than a gigabyte.

A classic strategy game that can run RTS or paused for more of a turn based style. Its simplistic style masks a depth to dealing with novel situations. If you can get past the graphics, I think you'll have a good time at least with a few ships that match your playing style

This game is special in that it is timeless. It's been fun since it came out and 10 years later it's still equally as fun. It's challenging, beautiful and exciting. I go through phases of liking other games, getting bored of this one, but I always return and love this game.

Great game, addicting and challenging but very doable on easy. :)

Tons of replayability. Challenging game. I love the concept!

This is like smoking. I keep doing it even though i know its bad for me.
Hate the random factor, but i keep playing.
Kids!! Dont do it

default game is a masterpeice of a roguelite. difficulty is very very high which may or may not be a put off for some people. olny major issue the game has is 90 percent of ship unlocks (the olny kind of between run progression) are based on RNG,for example to get a very special cruiser you need to get a ton of events to happen in a specific order,entirely RNG based,i personally recomend editing your save file to unlock it after you have unlocked everything else. modding community is amazing,the mod "multiverse" adds over 200 more ships and a ton of story,due to the fact the game is not being updated for the most part mods are extremely stable if the mod creators put in effort.

There's something about spaceships, man. They are such a cool game mechanic. There are both semi-boring but necessary systems as well as various things to make the ship combat ready or otherwise specialized.

FTL does an excellent job providing you a platform to manage your spaceship, all while exploring various nodes in a sector to eventually reach the jump gate to advance to the next sector. It's one of the best roguelike applications which pairs both turn-based elements (allowing pausing often) with real-time actions. The upgrading is fun and the replayability is excellent where achievements during runs allow for new ships to be unlocked for the next run.

Very fun stuff. Combat is engaging, exploration is interesting, music and visuals are nice. But I have a few issues.
AI is not very smart. It feels like they attack randomly instead of deliberately destroying your systems. I understand why this, probably, was made like this – otherwise it just would be a game of "who shoot the shield first", but as the result the only way enemies can destroy you is by having a better ship.
One specific enemy the final boss simply breaks the rules. In the tutorial you are told that you need engines and a pilot to make an FTL jump. It works like this for you, it works like this for all enemies except this one. The engine is broken, the cockpit is on fire, doesn't matter, the ship just FTL jumps in the last moment. Why? Very frustrating.
Also, it sometimes feels very random. Sure, you can survive in a desperate situation by using some strategy or you can screw up while having advantage by doing something stupid, but sometimes you get "rolls" that bad that you can just reset the run. For example, getting just one battle in the whole sector, despite exploring as much of it as you can and wasting all the fuel (no battles means no leveling up which means you'll have to go to the next sector severely under-leveled), or getting a bunch of equipment stores at the begging when you don't have any money, but getting no stores later when you can actually use them. But hey, maybe it's how it's supposed to be, and I'm just being salty about that final boss.

I was late to the FTL party and grabbed it on a steam sale. Honestly it’s worth it at full price. Infinite replay-ability is always a win, but really what I love about this game is how quick and easy it is to jump in and complete a run. Pair that with the Steam Deck and you’ve got the perfect time killer anywhere anytime.

Slightly fast paced but overall a great strategic game. Some people will not enjoy the need to pause in order to manage battles. Think Star Trek more than Star Wars, very much about managing a small ship and crew.

Amazing game. Tons of replayability. Great to unwind with, especially if you are going to do something else at the same time, like listening to a sermon.

Best Pausable Game! fun management of ship & troops. great space battle rougelike

FTL combines real time strategy with rouge like action, choosing a Ship is the only between run upgrade and really adds to the vibe.

This game is incredible. Still playing it all these years later.

If you haven't bought this yet and you like space BUY IT!

personally i'm a huge fan of spending an hour or two crafting the perfect ship, hiring the perfect crew, and having the perfect adventure - right up into getting absolutely demolished by the Rebels

Flawless, engaging, fun. Every time I return to this game it is enjoyable and sucks me in. The music is A+ as well.

Played this game for hundreds of hours at launch mostly in offline mode hence the lower playtime. Ive gotten back into it now as a nd screen or Alt - Tab video game at work, Its great

very fun and entertaining to play. I get lost playing for hours at a time while on my day off.

good game laser go pew. try it and if you like it try out the Multiverse mod and some of its add-ons once you got a handle for how things work.

There is an undeniable pull to FTL. As one of the oldest and most famous popular roguelikes, it kind of has the benefit of being made by a team and in an era with absolutely no expectations or trend-chasing, and it leads to really genius and simplistic combat design that has stood the test of time and is by far the most captivating part of this game. Decisions matter, situations get insanely chaotic, and there are plenty of micro-optimizations related to power distribution, target selection, or boarding defence that mean there's plenty to learn and improve on the longer you play this game.

So, does this make FTL a good game? No, not really. I hate a lot about this game. The events are wack and insanely prevalent, and a frustratingly prehistoric version of the inbetween-gameplay roguelike decisions like Slay the Spire's question spaces, except while those offer all the information and let you make interesting, informed decisions, FTL's often have a right choice that you basically need to play with a guide handy to fully understand, no right choice except ignoring them, or the obligatory Blue Option you can't really play around other than broad strokes like moving towards certain sectors. In-combat micro optimizations plus run length means that really solid play is frustratingly long, which combined with the game's deliberately intended 10% of winnable runs for players until you get extremely experienced and an unlock system that's legitimately abominable and reliant on either RNG or the vast experience winning demands, and you get a game that is comically archaic and makes me feel like I'm smashing my skull into a brick wall harder than almost any other game I've played. This is obviously an intended feeling, but it fails the other mantra of games like this: I don't think Losing Is Fun this time.

So why is it still so interesting? The obvious counterpoint to everything that I've said is there are recorded 100-run win sprees on hard. A game this old and beloved has had every last nook and cranny scanned over and several users legitimately are trying to perfect it, and it's not unreasonable to assume a 99% winrate is possible for these people eventually. It is very much a game where your increasingly improved response to decision making and better understanding of the mechanics will allow you to prevail more and more the longer you play, and while this is true of many Roguelikes, many of them I feel are legitimately... easy in comparison to this. FTL is exhausting to play well because outside of easy pretty much every run is a death march you're not intended to beat, and it's legitimately more impressive to have a positive winrate in this game than to Eclipse 9 every character in Risk of Rain 2.

It's a game that kind of sucks, but is so graceful in all of it's failings and the endlessly dynamic, rewarding to master combat that it wraps around to being timeless.

This game can be challenging at times, but according to one of the devs victory should only occur about 10% of the time. Easy is still pretty hard. That being said, it is a very fun time sink as long as you don't let the losses and failures get to you, and you will start to learn when to let go of a playthrough and what to avoid because your mission can turn sour very quick. If you get very attached to your game playthroughs on roguelikes and hate losing, this game is not for you. If you're able to struggle and stay determined, you will likely find this game very rewarding.

Top-notch design in this game. Very fun, very replayable, excellent mechanics, and awesome soundtrack. Get this game.

The best brain stress-test simulator you've ever asked for when the game hits you with 10 weapon power enemies

One of the original indie rougelike classics. Infinitely replayable and I would love to see more content or a sequel, but I know the creators are working on other cool projects.