The game starts off as fun, but once you peer past the curtain you quickly become annoyed/frustrated. Once you realize that every single action in the game is random, it quickly dawns on you that there's little point to playing the game. Its like solitaire, everything is pre-determined, you simply go through the actions and pray the RNG comes out in your favor. There's absolutely zero strategy involved, each turn you 'pull the level' and hope the slot machine rolls in your favor. Quite disappointing.… Expand

two words. BULL Ive tried to play this game. I really have. It just is not fun in the least for me. I guess I'm missing something because everyone seems to love it but I, for the life of me can not play it. First time i played it i had my oxygen supplie taken out and a boarding party come on my ship. my entire crew was killed either by the boarding party or the lack of oxygen. second time my oxygen was taken out again and it couldnt be fixed because everyone who tried to suffocated. thrid time everyone was killed again by a boarding party. I have tried probably 30 times to squeeze any incling of enjoyment out of this game but I simply cannot do it. 0/10… Expand

If you've watched space operas (i.e. Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, etc.) and wanted to try your hand as captain of a vessel, this game has something to offer you.

If you like to have some difficulty in your game, and the uncertainty which causes one to think carefully about taking a calculated risk, this game has something to offer you.

If you like to play through a game again to try out different styles of play, this game has something to offer you. You can unlock a multitude of ships to use through later playthroughs, and each one lends itself to a different style of play. This element has got me coming back for a number of playthroughs months after I would have stopped even thinking about other games.

There's depth to this game, a well-done sci-fi setting, a clean, neat UI, unique, interesting, and strategic gameplay... the music is awesome... it has a LOT going for it. Check it out.… Expand

Don't let the simplistic retro visual style fool you: this is a hardcore space simulation game. It has a great pace, the sense of urgency as the player races from the rebel fleet onslaught and tries to scrape resources at the same time is well-balanced, even if it is tuned to hard.

Even if a single playthrough is not overly long can take between 1 to 4 hours it has plenty of replay value, as new ships with unique features are unlocked and there are several random events which may pop up or not to the player, as well as achievements to be completed.

An indie gem for the hardcore strategist, and for those who are starved for Star Trek styled tactical space combat, where ships fa off each other like large, slumbering behemoths facing each other and the tactical decisions have much more weight on the battle outcome than strikecraft dogfighting (which is nonexistent).… Expand

This game is terrific. It's even more terrific if you really enjoy being angry, frantic and demoralized while gaming. Generally when a game is an exercise in frustration, that is a bad thing. But somehow, FTL makes it enjoyable. There are no retries or do-overs with this thing. If your ship blows up or loses all its crew, that's it you're done. Start over and better luck next time. Hell even Super Mario Brothers gives you more than one chance at a level. This one's just a little more hardcore.

The randomly generated encounters gives the game a good bit of replayability, and the side-quests and achievements that allow you to unlock different ships or layouts adds an OCD component to the game for completionists to keep going even after they've successfully beaten it (which is quite a feat in its own right).

I do feel that the idea of the game being a "different experience each time you play" was somewhat exaggerated (hence the less-than-perfect score). At its heart, he mission being run is the same with each play and there is a finite list of encounters that you will experience in when jumping into a system. There are only so many times that you can land on a planet with semi-sentient horses before you realize that it's probably scripted on some level.… Expand

A very solid concept executed very poorly. FTL takes random number generation to a whole new level, oftentimes deciding the fate of an entire playthrough based on some luck of the draw. More than a little unfair, this game is downright infuriating. There's no way around it. But despite this, FTL is not actually "difficult". In fact, it's very straightforward and simple to play, but there is such a disconnect between player action and successful execution of those actions that more often than not you'll feel like you're doing nothing at all.

A prime example of this is weapon hit registration. On more than one occasion I have simply stared at FTL while my crew and ship tried valiantly to hit their opponent, sometimes elongating battles that should have taken a less than a minute into three or four minutes of doing nothing while all of my lasers and missiles flash a cheerful "miss" over and over. And over. And over.

And over again.

This terrible "enemy favored" randomness plagues literally every aspect of this game.

Aside from this basic fundamental flaw, the game is lacking in almost every other area as well. There is a generic, half hearted "goal" that actually takes more out of the game than it puts into it. The ships, races, and weapons are all bland copy/paste sci fi with no real aesthetic customization options. I managed to beat it once and it was a wholly unsatisfying experience, both because of the general lack of story and the fact that you're rushed from system to system because of an entirely unneeded "you're being chased constantly" mechanic. You're forced through the game at a pace that doesn't allow you to explore even half of what is available to explore, oftentimes being pushed out of a system entirely unprepared and low on supplies.

I could ramble on and on about FTL, but here's the bottom line:

The designers here just didn't know how to make a good game. I think the few things done well in FTL are really just a blind squirrel's nut.… Expand

People say "Rougelike", but really FTL is in a category of its own. Inventive and simple, but with great replayability. Does not suffer from the "feature creep" that many similar games fall in to.

Very fun game. Check it out if you like a challenge. This game is really hard but I think that is half the fun. You always strive for better results than the last time. It's really cool when you get new ships, and it makes me want to see how I fare with those. I have played about 15 time, and I've only beat it three times on easy. On normal I haven't even made it to the final boss.

FTL defied my expectations in a huge way. If you've ever wanted to feel like you were piloting Serenity, from Firefly, with a crew in an unforgiving and hostile environment, this is it.

The soundtrack is great. Combat is interesting. There isn't a plot, really, but the narrative that you can create for yourself is incredibly. You'll grow attached to your characters... and get sad when they die of Oxygen asphyxiation. The ship customization, and details, give this game a huge amount of replay value. Any sci fi fan should try their hand at this game it's awesome.

The only downside to speak of is the tediousness of unlocking certain ships. You have to be extremely lucky to get certain ships, no two ways about it.… Expand

FTL is just one of those Unique games that you can't say anything bad about. It is so simple but allows the player to get engrossed and continue on their mission. Faster than light is a game you can go to any time and have a great time, never seeing the same ting twice is a bonus which is rare within games these days.

I'll be honest I first downloaded this game illegally but after I played my first game I enjoyed it that much I went back and bought the game to support the developers in their great work. I have never played a game like this and you will never have the same play though of the game twice. I can't wait until more content comes out for this game. I would highly recommend this game.… Expand

Well, the battles are frequent and often difficult, and thus other tasks are not as demanding of you (for game balance, I guess), and you should try to avoid the asteroid fields if your ship is failing. But I do like the role play elements of FTL, and the traveling you do through space is great fun. Not the greatest, but worth a try.

Also, the soundtrack is pretty awesome, I might add.

This game is completely unfair & makes me want to throw my keyboard across the room.

This is precisely why I love it! It captures what I love about science fiction & puts you in an unforgiving environment and forces you to show what you're made of!

It has strategy & rpg elements which I love and is never the same game twice. I do tire of it after several marathon sessions, but I always come back for more beatings.

Thank you, sir! May I have another?… Expand

Well, this game has obviously got mixed feelings about it, and well the game is wonderful at first +1, but unlike the haters that think that the game loses its greatness after 24 hours it is still a nice (other things are better) game. But there is a point where the fun ends, and that is when you have beat the game with every ship (guides help, but you shouldn't need to have a guide, -1 point) -1 point. The achievements are fun to get +1, it could use some steam badges -1, but its still fun to play. And at a decent price, well... whether you buy it is dependent on whether you like the games randomness which isn't THAT bad but bugs some people… Expand

This game is amazing, a very real credit to what indie developers can come up with. I'd been curious about it for a while, and a friend told me it was his vote for Game of the Year. That surprised me, so I gave it a try and now I can't stop playing it.

It is a very difficult game, and since there is a large randomization factor with, well, every system and every encounter, it can feel at times that winning or losing (mostly losing) can be a matter of luck, but so much strategy goes into building your ship and dealing with combat that you wind up feeling like every choice you make must be a contemplated one.

This is a wonderful creation. Go give them your money.… Expand

To give a short description, this game feels like Candyland IN SPAAAACE! Fundamentally, this game feels like it was only half-built, and all the parts that should have been actual gameplay that made the game fun were replaced with completely arbitrary dice rolls. Games are short to the point of feeling abrupt and unfulfilling when you complete them, but the reason why is obvious: Once you have any halfway-decent equipment, all challenge to the game is over. Basically, the game is won or lost in the first sector, and you'll be restarting the game 10 times for every 1 time you get past the second sector. It's a game you don't so much play as have happen to you. You can screw up the game, definitely, but you can't win it through any of your own power you just have to keep restarting until the game lets you get lucky and suddenly be handed powerful weapons that let you beat the game easily, and from then on, it's just a matter of not screwing up what you have. I just wish there were more actual GAME in this game to play.… Expand

Amazing, me and my cousin played it for hours non stop. Whether you play it with a friend or by yourself you'll not regret your purchase. The only downside is that it is incredibly difficult, but this only makes your accomplishment larger once you have completed the game.

Incredible gameplay! FTL is an easy to learn and incredibly difficult to master game. It has a mix of arcade and strategy elements that I have never seen before. Building your spaceship as you go gives a sense of vested value that matches any RPG. To top it off, the soundtrack is excellent, and the interface is so good it makes you wonder how the AAA titles fail to get it right.

I have not played an indie game that comes near as close to FTL.… Expand

It's a nice game with a beautiful soundtrack, that just happens to be surprisingly addictive. It's a difficult game, very difficult in fact I haven't been able to beat it on easy ONCE. I'm just not that persistent, and you can't save in the middle of your journey. It's pretty hardcore for a game that seems like such a peaceful quaint little game until you experience your first jump next to an active sun, or get boarded by a bunch of aliens that disable your oxygen and overpower any crewmembers you try to send in to fix it. It takes a few tries to get the hang of it, and even then you'll have a hard time just safely reaching the final sector.

If you want an addictive and fun challenge, buy this.… Expand

There plenty of reasons to complain about FTL. Luckily for this little game? None of those reasons are that it isn't fun. It is a one of a kind game there really is nothing like it out there. Let's call it an epic space flight sim? If you're after graphics this is not the game for you. Yet I consistently find my room mates and friends watching me play this game. It has real decisions, 'real' stakes and 'real' consequences. Huge replay-ability and a truly fresh feel. Definitely pick this one up.… Expand

The randomness factor can prove frustrating, but it also adds to the re-playability Completion in the hardest difficulty is very satisfying. A simplel, solid game with very nice effects, sound design, and a cool soundtrack.

I truly love this game. Lot's of replayabiliy but I would have appreciated if there was a bit more randomness to the boss... but the overall experience starting and going to the boss area is really fun. I love the selection of weaponry, the number of passengers, the shields and the how you have to strategically utilize all of this using careful management of energy.

FTL is a real time strategy game in which you port form sector to sector fleeing from the rebel troop to warn the federation of their coming. Its strategic game play always keeps you thinking and Its randomly generated events make the game really fun to go through multiple times. The game has a incredible variety of guns, ships, mods, drones, and crew mates that make every play-through different from the last. Its a fantastic game for its price, but its a little bit of a niche title. If your not into real time strategy, you might not get much enjoyment from this game. Its randomness can also lead you to a very quick demise that will leave feeling cheated when you have to start over. It has an annoyingly hard boss that has killed me more times than I can count. However with the variety of ships and guns to choose, and the fact that the game isn't very long, Im almost never sad that I died because I can have a hole new adventure again. Like the game said; "dying is half the fun! no, we're serious."… Expand

The game is quite good, inventive, and has a nice feel to it. I like the replayability and the extent to which your choice matters. On the other hand, some gameplay does get a bit repetitive, and sometimes I have died to the hand of an enemy way more advanced then I. Generally though, good game, worth the $10 if your into strategy based simulation.

At long last, a game that doesnt underestimate people. In a time when pretty much every single game takes you by the hand until its very end, its refreshing to play something like this. Yes, you die a lot, and yes, sometimes it does get frustrating, but thats it. The gameplay seems simple yet its fun and addictive, loved the music and really liked the customization of your ship.

Fantastic for the first couple hours. Once you play through it once, pretty repetitive and incredibly luck based. One unlucky encounter early in the game and you've just wasted a bunch of time. Cool Concept, minimal content and difficulty design.

The most painful aspect of this game is that there is evidence of a game hidden deep inside FTL that I really want to play. The dominant part of the gaming mechanic interferes with my ability to play the game I want to play. There are numerous random elements which have overwhelmingly powerful consequences. This is not a game you can complete with sheer determination. It seems that the developer mourns the absence of games that make us lose more frequently. Desperately wanting to play the game which I saw with my mind's eye, I applied cheats and save game editors. No matter what I tried, I was not able to find a way to have fun playing this game, hence my score. Still, if you can get a free demo, I would encourage you to try it. Evidence suggests some people enjoy this kind of gameplay.… Expand

One of the best games I have ever played. Simple yet engaging and addictive. This is a game that I feel is truly worth getting. The price was good for the re-playability I got out of it so let's support these guys so that we can get more awesome games like this!

This game had me completely hooked, a perfect combination of simplicity, depth and luck. It has the feel of a fast paced board game. The music is also incredibly atmospheric and very enjoyable. Highly recommend for RTS and space sim games.

Disappointed that I can not give it a 10, as it lacks such an obvious feature as an open-world sandbox game mode. It could have benefited so much in terms of enjoyment and replay ability through having one.

It does have a tendency towards blind luck reminiscent of text-adventures, but this only adds to the charm.

Delightful soundtrack, indulgent retro art stile, solid UI and fun gameplay mechanics make it one of the most enjoyable gaming experiences out there for the price.… Expand

This is easily the worst game I've played in recent memory. Imagine fetch missions, a la WoW, set in the Space Quest universe, and lacking the tongue-in-cheek humor of that universe. This game tries to appeal to our nostalgia, but it fails on a visceral and basic level. Should you choose to waste your money, take this very basic primer on "advanced" tactics: buy a second tier weapon ASAP, target weapons first, then shields--often this is enough. In case of boarders, move your little 8 pixel crew around into a secure room, pretend that one of the pixels is Mal, and vent your 2D Firefly class ship into space.

See? I summarized a "tactically challenging" and "textually deep" game in about 100 words, and saved you $10 to find that out. There is no challenge and no replay value. There are better games on Facebook, and you don't have to pay for them. Save your money.… Expand

A decent game ruined by the unfairness of the gambling based game play which more than often rolls the dice against you. After playing this game for about 30 hours just to beat it once on normal difficulty i have given up because, honestly, its almost impossible to beat the last boss on normal unless you are one lucky sun of a B, and receive every upgrade along the way without losing one crew member and everything always goes perfect for you. For 5 10 dollars its a fun time killer (don't spend more money), but no where near an epic game.… Expand

FTL: Faster Than Light was something I really didn't expect. It gave you your ship, your crew, and an objective to reach. Little did I know that the road to the objective was filled with sacrifice, close calls, and tough decisions.

This might sound surprising, as this is a rogue-like game after all, but it encourages you to roleplay and to play the game multiple times, as you will die a lot. And when you die, your ship doesn't respawn, you, and your crew, are dead.

So to survive all this, you need to explore, gather scrap to upgrade your ship, hire new crew, each race having it's own advantages and weaknesses. If there is one major complaint to note, is that is relies a bit too much on luck. You might find yourself fighting a hard enemy while being hit by solar flares, making your ship go down really easily. However, it doesn't stop it from being a great game, and one you cannot pass.… Expand

Well I easily sunk in over 30 hours so far, for a simple premise its so addictive. Whats more is its proof that game don't have to have major budgets and high end graphics to be compelling, intuitive and enjoyable. The price is more then reasonable for this throw-back to the 90s in terms of game play and style.

Very simple, yet original and addictive game. If you played games in early 90's, this one will remind you a lot of these times. Earlier, people did not necessarily have to spend tons of money to write a good game, so there was more room for experiment. This game is in that spirit. And still, it doesn't feel outdated, and it's not casual-browser-game simple. It actually has a lot of variety to offer. You basically just shoot ships, but you can do it in many ways. Not just with lasers and missiles, you can board and attack the crew, set them on fire, use attack drones, etc. Fair warning: there's no save/load, and you will die a lot. It's OK. This game is like Tetris: it's intended to be played for the process, not for the end result.… Expand

Simply love this game. It's pretty hard (atleast, I tend to think so), but so much fun. You mange your crew, weapons, upgrades, and can put out fires in example by opening your doors, which is pretty brilliant.

Great game. Hard, unforgiving, maybe too dependent on luck, but extremely addictive and fun. Yes, it could be deeper, less repetitive but it is still a small unexpected masterpiece. P.S. Don't try Normal difficulty until you complete it on easy. On Normal some random encounters will kill you rather frequently unless you you have a lot of experience and skill already. On Easy you can usually survive most situations even if unprepared.… Expand

Amazing is all I can say about this game. The difficulty is hard to get around, but by doing the right things at the right time, and learning to make smart decisions and risky decisions when needed is essential. After many, many attempts, I finally beat the final boss, and boy was it satisfying. If you just want a casual experience, then do not buy this game. If you are the type of person that wants a challenge, then you need to buy this game. Especially fun to play with friends, even though it is a single player game. In conclusion, there is nothing much bad with this game. The only problem I have with it is the learning and difficulty curve, but you get the hang of it very quickly.… Expand

I played about 40 hours of it the first week i got it. It's a very elegantly designed game, and massively addictive. Setting is a combo of star trek/battlestar galatica/firefly. You play the 2min tutorial and can pretty much understand all the basics.
The game has a high difficulty, but that’s part of the fun. So many ways to defeat enemy ships. You can fire bomb the hell out of the intererior, send a boarding party, fire missiles (they go through shields), fire lasers, fire beams (they do damage to multiple rooms, but damage is reduced when they have to go through shields), send robot drones to board or shoot the ship, etc.
It puts you in a command position, so you micromanage a crew of 1-7 peeps, prioritize power distribution. Very cool.
You'll get your money's worth. Guaranteed. Also cool that it was made by only 2 guys.… Expand

the opinions of people who gave this game a 2,1,3 etc.... should not get in the way of u playing this....
simply put...this game has a permadeath mechanism put in place....that means once u lose ur ship, u permanently lose the game and u gotta start again (for those who dont know english)..
now, as a rogulike fan, i dont mind the static-y type of gameplay....but i kind of expected a little more....movement...
the enemies appear like they do in a pokemon game..so&so appeared to do so&so as u travel from a to b

what i would like to see in subsequent updates is the ability to atleast move ur ship around a little...
should make for interesting battles
a larger universe with a little more diversity and a larger range of ships, weapons, and encounters...

a conquer-the-universe mode!!!

some might feel its a little bland but scores like 1,2,3 are HIGHLY UNCALLED for. believe me

gameplay is pretty simple, though a bit fast paced...just a bit.... wont say anything more...just play it...
its nice to see ur crew moving around the ship.... good game overall… Expand

After getting swarmed by all the hype of this game and playing it for myself, I can only call this title a mediocre experience and that's saying a lot considering how much I usually like these kind of games but at the end of the day, it had the same disappointing qualities as the latest XCOM minus the save-abuse which is replaced by mandatory "hardcore" mode frustrations instead where if you die, you die permanently and same goes if any of your crew also die. You begin by being thrown into a stringed-together series of space locations consisting of small "dots" as "locations" where random sh!t will happen, be it getting raped by some random enemy ship or just driving into some scrap (currency). And that's it. This is all that the game expands upon. A randomized stringed-together pile of event that gradually just gets harder and harder until you fail while having you abide by a timer (Invading rebel fleet "chasing" you). Looking at it now in retrospect, I guess a more fitting description for this game would be Tetris. But in space. So is it a good game? It's mediocre. Why? Because it's good enough to kill time, even if the fashion of killing this time is not very desirable which strives quite a stretch from what a GAME is supposed to be. FUN.… Expand

im new to Meta and this is my 2nd review.
FTL is a great game in so many ways! low price tag and endless replays win! overall the game is simple, but well crafted...its what it needs, and nothing else!
over 20 hours played and I still have a drive to play it again.
for an indie game its one of the best ive played

For those among us who enjoy pain and suffering, sci fi themed tactical games with a bit of RP elements thrown in, FTL is an ideal game. A constant barrage of bad luck and impossible situations means you`re likely to spend a lot of time restarting the game, cursing loudly to the annoyance of family members or even crying.
This skillfully constructed tool for selling more nerve medication will include things like hitting your weapons 1 second after you enter stealth mode to reload your weapon in safety, forcing you to spend stealth putting out fires instead of reloading, which means you`ll be reloading later when the enemy is firing on you. Or killing off your crew with random events and not generating any way to shanghai more crew, leading to death by abandoned ship. Or it may refuse to provide you with a suitable weapon upgrade for level after level, until you can`t break the shields of any enemy and die. Once in a while it will even make dead ends for you, forcing you right back into the pursuing fleet which is what provides the time pressure in the game, preventing free exploration.
And I could list about 20 similar conspiracies hatched by the makers of FTL without effort; all with the express purpose of driving me insane. Having said this you might think the game is no fun. But it is! Unlocking ships, finding rare events and quests and the interminable difficulty of getting your ship to the last zone in an appropriate condition to fight the last battle is irresistible to all virtual flagellants and should not be missed.
Obviously the easily frustrated should perhaps look elsewhere. For the rest of us we can only hope that a sequel will appear at some point in the future. Until then, FTL will have to do:)… Expand

What a great little game. FTL takes you back to the 32 bit days when skill, luck and some persistence engrosses you into a well built adventure. FTL has been my guilty pleasure over the past couple months and i couldn't be happier with it. Anytime an indy game comes along to counter the "unfinished masterpieces", (Warz and Aliens:Colonial Marines) I am a happy camper.

I never imagined this game would give me this much fun. Really. The graphics will not impress you.
But they get the job done. Soundtrack is amazing. Creates a nice atmosphere. The gameplay is really great. I love it. And yeah, this game is not easy You will probably die a lot. But that is part of this game.
But the controls and everything are really easy to pick up and play.

FTL is addictive alright, but for me that lasted about 10 hours. Even on "easy" mode, the game becomes exasperating quickly. With a little help from various tips on the web, I can get through five sectors before getting summarily clobbered by an enemy ship. Once I space-jumped into two consecutive suns (which shut down some systems and start fires) and got destroyed by the enemy (which seemed less affected). One time my oxygen room got hit by enemy fire and I couldn't repair it for some unknown reason, so all my crew died and the game ended. Every time I'm doing just fine, rolling along, then a ship more powerful than mine in some way shows up and crushes me. Easy mode should be easier than this; I should at least be able to get to the final (8th) sector before I get wasted. Also, the game offers no help or tips and you can't save it as you go. That's right, when your ship dies you have to start all over again. I, for one, have had enough.… Expand

I've read some reviews warning you about this game to be "random", "unfair" and "stupid" (to name a few). Yes this game is random: Each situation is not from a fixed story line, making you powergame after two playthroughs. Sometimes a situation may be unfair, i.e. you run into an enemy with the perfect counter setup for you ship, ripping you literally apart IF you try to win by any means necessary. And for the meaning of a game it serves no purpose....but to entertain and challenge you from time to time. It is like playing a card game, sometimes with a bad hand but encouraging you to try hard enough to win anyway. There is no Golden Path to the Holy Grail I beat the game in three totally different ways so far and each of them was fun. If you need to save and instantly load the game after getting hit even once (like in some round based shooter), this game is not for you! BUT: Each Sector you reach should be a checkpoint to retry from there.
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This game does not teach you how to beat it!? Learn vital upgrades, learn your weapons, learn how to use what you have!
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This game has no high replayability!?
Does a "Call of Duty" with no choice at all have that!?
Different Ships in this game offer you different play styles from the start you may try. A playthrough is about half to one hour, so ideal to get your mid of something.
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Is the game worth its money? If you see it for 2,49$/€, GET IT!… Expand

A game with a simple premise: survive long enough so you can get your little spaceship from one side of the galaxy to the other. Overcoming the many obstacles along the way is difficult and may be ultimately too frustrating for some gamers but if you acknowledge the fact you're meant to lose, it's easy to get yourself immersed in this retro-styled starship management game. To sweeten the pot, each time you play the map it's procedurally generated and the game is also super cheap.… Expand

It is fun to explore in this space adventure, but your success is mostly random. Unlocking new ships is mostly an exercise of hoping for 3 random events to happen in succession or you finally get that one good run where your ship stays more advanced than your enemies. Then, when you beat the boss and get an advanced ship that is 10% better, then enemies get 25% harder making a negative progression. At first, the main game is hard to the point of frustration, but not too hard to discourage you. Spending a half hour running around in space only to have some elite ship come out of nowhere and kill you in 3 volleys of shots is infuriating. It wouldn’t be so bad if you could spend your “score” on permanent upgrades or be able to customize your ships with the load out you want. Score is meaningful in a skill based game but has no place here other than a consolation price when the difficulty doubles for a particular battle. If you are like me, you’ll stick with it to beat the boss by which time you’ll have seen 90% of all mission content. I thought that I’d finally have a 4/10 chance at having a good run rather than a 2/10 chance after unlocking the ship you get for killing the boss. But now, the chances seem to go down to 1/10. And then, you’d just be killing the boss again unless you are lucky enough to unlock some other ship. I suppose that’s why they made it harder (lack of a second quest). My time is valuable and I expect at least something to improve if I pour my time into it. You’ll learn what missions have a higher success rate and can make better decisions, but mostly failed missions gain you nothing. Overall you’ll feel mostly frustrated, a little helpless, and then have a few moments of triumph.… Expand

The thing about randomness in core gameplay mechanics is that you are essentially gambling, while there is always a luck factor in other games, here its everything. The events that you run into are random at each planet, the problem is so is the result. Theres no thinking things through because theres no way to predict what will happen. You can have the finest tactical mind on Earth who knows to fire a beam weapon across six different rooms in the split second after the last shield goes down, but lady luck provides the opportunity to get a beam, then you're stuck flicking ion pulses at 4-shielded ships. I've always had a problem with any game mechanic the player is powerless to influence. So you can't pretend to play as Captain Pickard who has to find ways to get around situations by diplomacy or other smart alternative ways.
Even just the addition of a "luck" stat that can be influenced with upgrades or pickups would at least give a slight edge on which an informed decision can be made. So would hints as to what someone is planning when you speak to them. The addition of more diplomacy options or even a graphic representation of the person your talking to would do wonders for the "thinkers" out there.

I had a similar problem with XCOM along these lines, but in that case I was being asked to make a much bigger investment. Playing through the campaign and gradually building up your capability is a far longer operation and while randomly UFOs appearing or not appearing does dictate what you do, but not your progress! You are always building, upgrading or researching new equipment... while a game of FTL might last about an hour due to a lack of depth, balance issues and progress thats way to fast or way to slow. Randomness I can tolerate better in the shorter Roguelike style of game, but in longer games it can't be the 100% determining factor.… Expand

This is not a game. This is a challenge. I've spent two weeks playing it in easy mode and still find myself overrun by the bad guys. Can't just give it a 10/10 because it's crazy hard difficulty, what, at times, might be frustrating. The combat system is very addictive and the ability to pause it at any time to evaluate the situation results in a very interesting real time - turn based strategy mix.
Apart from combat, quests help a lot in making you feel like a member of the crew.… Expand

Well worth the cost! Those Sci Fi "emergency backup systems" start to make sense playing this Spaceship simulator. It is at first exciting and engaging. Then it can drag as difficult, random, and redundant . But if you find yourself bogged down, I encourage you to look online. There are abundant user forums, video guides, and mods (Star Wars, Star Trek, Firefly). Post a comment that there is only one way to win, 15 players lobby how their unique victory strategy is easiest. Post a comment wishing for more variety, 10 players post how their unlocked ship or race is coolest. It is a rogue game. Expect to use the space bar to pause often. Expect to restart until you get the hang of what works. But you should be able to consistently play through to the last sector once you have learned how to protect your ship from hull damage, optimize your offense, and maximize your crew. In short: a pleasant little game that challenges you to lead your ship and crew through adversity - if you are up to it.… Expand

I played rogue as a kid, and I really enjoy crawling my way through random dungeon after random dungeon, with no two playthroughs being quite the same. FTL brings back that same feeling, only in outer space, in really cool space ships. The game mechanics are top notch, with lots of depth, but also a fun and intuitive general approach. As a final point, I'll mention that the difficulty level found here is very high, which is a bit refreshing in today's gaming market, but unfortunately, a lot of the difficulty factor is simply luck based. I guess that's a bit unavoidable with randomized maps / encounters, but it does make the game a bit annoying at times.… Expand

This is a truly excellent game with lovely artwork and an easy pick up & play style. However, it is EXTREMELY difficult. I've been playing it non-stop for weeks since I bought and still haven't beaten it on easy. The randomisation of loot/encounters is done very well so the game never feels unfair but it's still bloody difficult.

I downloaded this because it was on sale and I was curious... even though the images looked kinda cheesy.
That was about 10pm. The next thing I knew the sun was shining through my window and I looked at the clock and went "OH S#&T! I HAVE TO BE AT WORK IN A FEW HOURS!" I do NOT do that. I found myself sitting on my couch with my girlfriend..... thinking about different strategies I'd use in this game after I took her home.

I expect it'll soon start to get less interesting, but the random even factors always keep you on your toes and you never know from the beginning which direction the game is going to go in. It's impressively hard, and I would imagine some people would be really frustrated by this, but in my opinion this makes a good game, because you can make it far into the game, start to lose, and see where one mistake or piece of equipment you foolishly passed up an hour before is the only reason you are dying.

The game is incredibly simple to learn and play, yet the more I play it the more I'm seeing its complexities. According to Steam I've played 10 hours in the past three days.... So either I'll get tired of it, or uninstall it so I don't completely ruing my body with lack of sleep.… Expand

If you don't cheat by save-scumming, this game is brutal.
And I mean brutal.
Make a jump into an ambush at a low level? Prepare to restart.
But stick together and get your ship up to par? That's the true goal, and the game rewards you for it with new ships, layouts and other cool rewards everytime you make it through the game. High replayability and an original idea make FTL one of my favorite games this year. The only real downside in my opinion is that ship combat can be a bit unbalanced, and that you can't manually upgrade crewmembers.… Expand

At second glance, this game is fun if you do not attach yourself to your achievements in individual games and instead look at this as a unique repeatable puzzle largely dependent upon chance.

In this game, you click rooms on your ship, watch timers move, and do little else. There are some reading sections, but as far as gameplay, it's a bland, uninventive game. It is extremely over-rated.

Man is this game fun! I got it for $4.99 during this week's (Week of 1/6/13) Steam Sale, but its usual price is $9.99. After playing it for a couple hours, I would gladly pay up to $20 for it. For a lightweight game, there is a lot to it and plenty of customization. The only thing so far that I dislike is the whole randomness (Luck) to the game. If you don't find cheap weapons or weapons from battles, you'll end up losing entirely. However, sometimes you can have it so easy and barely try! (At least until the last sector because, well, it's pretty hard). Without giving away too much, you pilot a ship, upgrade it, repair it, blow up other ships, save people (or not if you don't care), get a bigger crew, and unlock more ships on your travels. LOADS of customization with every playthrough, and every single choice you make will affect you later (such as buying X or using Y or saving Z). A last point I want to say is that running out of fuel, while bad, isn't a "game over" like most other games would be. You can send out a distress beacon in hopes of some nice passerbys will give/sell you fuel, or it may just be evil people instead coming to kill you (and killing/letting them go may give you fuel!). Really great game for the price, especially during this week's sale. The only reason I didn't give it a 10 is because of the absolute RNG. It's a little TOO brutal, but hey, that just means more game time overall til I beat it completely.… Expand

Its a 'good' game, I dont like the fact that you get completely wasted in so many unlucky moments, this game pretty much is based on luck, not on your strategy, its like those 'chose your own story' books, you dont know what will happen, and if its bad. But I payed 5 euro's and for that price its fine.

It seems people do not remember the old rogue like games of the past and are pretty quick to bomb this game because they got angry at their bad luck.... It is a shame really, because you can't win, with people complaining about games not being hard anymore and when one comes out, they can't handle it. Regardless, FTL is an awesome polished game with an amazing soundtrack, plenty of content and proves to be a fun, addicting and difficult video game for people who can handle it. Game mechanics are stressful, but well implemented and generally enjoyable. Ship unlocks provide a long-term and difficult challenge for people who are interested in unlockables and full completion. Like any rogue-like, it is difficult, unfair in some places and heavily dependent on luck once you learn how to play. But that's a good thing, it keeps the game varied and interesting. Getting lucky is not the whole story, success will come from making the right decisions with what your luck gives you.… Expand

This is a very unique game. I haven't played many of this genre, so I don't know what games it is similar to, but it is quite a way to kill time. Very fun, an interesting game in that you control the actions of the ship and the actions of the crew. The unique races are nice, it'd be nicer if they were easier to meet, but no real complaints there. My main issue is the fact that most events in the game are based on chance; I swear you'll rely on the RNG more than your strategy. If you're checking these because you're considering buying the game, all I have to say is sit down, get ready, wear your rabbit's foot, and try your hand at FTL… Expand

FTL is an extraordinary little game. Though one sometimes struggles with a certain unfairness due to the randomly generated galaxies, it doesn't lack of motivational parts. Both micro- and macromanagement will be rewarded appropriately and the broad range of weapons and ships offers multiple ways of fighting your way through the universe.
Playing it now for more than 10 hours, I've only seen the boss once but I am always willing to give it another shot.… Expand

FTL, a wonderful swirl of choice, strategy, luck, surprises, failure and delight. It puts you in the captain's chair just so you can get blown out of it. You'll fail objectives and die frequently, but the game is intended to be started over and over again to experience the vast, incalculable quantity of paths the game lays out in pure randomization.

The inner Star Trek Captain in me wishes it had more in the way of non-combat activities in space, but that's not the point of this game, so I can't dock it points for that. It instead focuses on pummeling you with Yes or No decisions with gleeful amounts of outcomes and happily offers you a large number of ships with extremely varied strengths and weaknesses to force yet again a fresh gameplay experience. Weapons, crew members, systems, subsystems, ship augmentations, drones, fight-or-flight, all with plenty of flexibility offered to always try something new, and to boot, never pressures you with time or urgency. You can always pause, and with all the game-pausing dialogue boxes flying around, you can play at any pace that pleases you without detracting from the experience, regardless of whatever else is going on around you.

FTL's strength isn't its consistency, it's how you don't feel that bummed out when you die, because you know next time something totally brand new - not the exact same encounter - is awaiting you. With fresh and surprisingly heavy challenges and achievements encouraging you to reach out for more, it's a welcome cup of hot chocolate made with the express purpose of getting you to branch out and leave your comfort zone - and the only reward is fun.… Expand

I don't play FTL for the epic spaceship battles. I play FTL for those quiet moments AFTER battle: drifting alone through space, bracing myself for the next jump as I limp toward the nearest space station, her hull barely intact, my ship silent save the sound of technicians mending laser holes in the oxygen generator and the soft hum of the Medbay repairing my injured shipmates. And the music.

Game is a real fail. Developer asked 10 000$, he got GOD DAMN 200 000$, and the game which he released doesn't cost even 500$. First of all it is just old alpha version for backers with a new name, developer stopped working long ago. It has a great lack of content and events, even some flash games are more diverse.

There isn't really anything bad I can say about this, really. The difficulty is insane, and there isn't much of a story there, but everything else in FTL is just so damn good that you don't really care. Also, the soundtrack is freakin' awesome. Seriously, get this game.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Well, at first I was lured into this game and I enjoyed it. But after 3 weeks of games I found that it's a game based mostly on LUCK, not on skill. I made it to the last boss 9 times. All lost because I didn't have enough firepower, enough shields or enemy shots hit me all in the right rooms while mine missed 3-4 times in a row. Well, I suggest you of restarting game each time you reach 4-5 zone and you don't have the right equipment. Another font of disappointment is the random encounters. Some are matched to your strenght. Others are IMPOSSIBLE to kill. At least 4 times in a row I found 3 enemy ships with 4 (FOUR) shields. After third my missiles were gone, so the fourth killed me without any hope. Well, It's a nice game, but sometimes it seem only a loss of time.… Expand

I'm going to copy-paste my Super Meat Boy review here, enjoy.

hipster trash you guys are just encouraging these crap games to being developed, these devs are rolling in money laughing at you because of how rich you made them - off a fukin 2d simple game. get real hipsters, you have no taste, and should stick to your "retro" systems

I have looked at the screenshots on Steam and I have to say the game looks absolutely TERRIBLE!!! Your basically just watching over a spaceship and controlling what people do! The graphics look horrific as well, it's just a **** 2d model of a spaceship!! What the developers of this game didn't realize is that people like to BE INSIDE of the spaceship and DO MISSIONS like in mass effect 2!

Although I haven't played this **** game, it would be safe to say even for me that this is one of the worst games ever.… Expand

Some people consider the luck-element in this game to be bad, but personally i believe it's great, without it a great deal of the re playability wouldn't exist. and of course this game gets boring after a while, but honestly, after you've spent so much hours into it it doesn't matter.

FUN GAME RUINED BY RANDOMNESS


Okay if you like games of skill and being able to not die to sheer randomness then avoid this game. It starts off fun enough, the graphics are functional enough and easy to see what is going on, the sound is decent enough too. A brief summary of the game's plot is you're a ship from the Federation outrunning the evil Rebels and you must reach a set stage and confront and kill the Rebel's flagship. It has a nice sci-fi space opera feel to it but where it goes wrong, very wrong is that more or less your chance of success or failure is based on pure luck and even then when you get the Rebel's ship on it's last legs it's clear the programmers are messing with you as it suddenly fires off a load of lasers. The only way to win is pretty much get a right combination of weapons and ship upgrades that are very much luck dependent, not on your skill as a player. This sours the overall experience and yes so what if they claim it to be rogue like but really if all you want to do is die to the end boss again and again and the other stages seems pretty much repetitive after a while. At first I thought the game was fun but it became very clear it's just designed to kill you off and then becomes just repetitive. Nice ideas, sloppy end game, once beaten no real inclination to go back and play it again. Some hope for the games redemption is with mods but as the games stands on it's own merits, it is far too random to be fun.… Expand

A simple and entertaining game. I real delight for the price. A game doesn't have to be excessively deep or complicated to be entertaining. I really enjoyed the simplicity and mechanics of the game. The graphics aren't all that, but it's not designed to have them. I refuse to rate a game on graphics and this one didn't disappoint.

Amazing game. For just ten bucks (or less if it's on sale on Steam) you should definitely give it a chance. Trust me, if the concept appeals to you at all you will find yourself sinking hours into this simple, brilliant, delightful game.

Let me tell you before I write this review, that I've never liked strategy games a lot. And the sole reason for that is, I've never really played a good strategy game. So when I caught this tiny, kickstarted indie game on sale on steam, I decided that the remaining 5 dollars I had for my account would be used to jump in on this supposed indie gem. And I was COMPLETELY blown away. As you've heard, this is a part roguelike, part strategy, part ship command game. You choose a ship when you begin, name your crewmembers, then are thrown into the first sector of the game. I'll explain the gameplay as quickly as possible- you have to divert power from your main generator (excuse me if its called something different) to different parts of the ship, ie. weapons, shields, oxygen (if you run out of this, crew members will slowly suffocate), engines, etc. You travel from area to area in a starfox like map, and each area has a randomly generatored text box which will supply a small situation that usually requires quick thinking. And most of the time, these result in combat. Combat is mostly controlled by diverting power to different weapons for different situations. Missiles for a high shielded ship, lasers for a lightly shielded, etc. Occasionally the other ship will damage components, and you'll have to send crew members to fix the room so you can get it working again. Overall, this game achieves what it tries to achieve with flying colors. If anything in this long review intrigued you, I highly suggest you purchase this game.… Expand

A great little game for it's price. Fun, challenging, and original. Luck plays too much of a role, and there's no real save system. Value wise, it's outstanding though.

Simple at first with but with depth. Challenging combat - a rarity in today's games. Works under Linux! Sometimes frustrating but overall worth every penny.

There is a big difference between hard and unfair, this game is unfair and not hard because the outcome of the decisions you take ,your rewards and enemies are random. It doesnt take any skill to beat the game is just having a lot of luck, every time you die because of bad luck you will have to start all over again so the game becomes boring very fast. Pirate the game,play it on normal and if you like it buy it, that way you will understand what all the negative ratings mean when they say this game purely about luck.… Expand

FTL is one of the most challenging and satisfying games I've had the pleasure of playing. In the game you are given a choice of starting ship (only one to start, and more unlockable). You command this ship and the crew within on a mission to the Federation's home base to deliver a message of the impending Rebel assault. Along the way you encounter enemy ships and distressed colonies alike having to choose how to resolve each conflict. You are given one life, when you die it's game over. But the game is all the better for it.

There is no doubt a percentage of luck in the game that determines the random encounters and their rewards. These will decide what weapons you are able to acquire after battles and from shops along the way. However, it is not solely dependent on luck as others may lead you to believe. There are certain weapon configurations that will make the game easier and more difficult alike, but beyond that the game simply has a large learning curve that many will not master quickly. There is a tactical solution to just about every possible situation, and though luck does prove a factor it is not the sole reason why you would be defeated. Beyond simply weapons and items to buy, you are given full control over the power and upgrade configuration of your shields, weapon system, drone system, engines, O2, Med Bay, Doors (more important than you think), sensors, etc. These play a huge part in whether you will survive or not with your current loadout. FTL isn't merely a dice roll, the game is simply unforgiving. Making a wrong choice early on about what to buy or choosing to finish a fight rather than run will impact the late game. Matching your upgrades to your weapons will determine whether you survive or perish.

The game is not perfect, and could stand to have a few more encounters however each time you die it's a learning experience about what you may have done wrong. Each new game is a different experience, and in the 25 hours played I have never had two journeys end the same way. Nor have I ever died for a reason that was not my fault.

Currently this game is the closest you will come to piloting your own starship through the galaxy on a mission to save the Federation from destruction. It is a brilliant game, challenging game, and one that will affect your gaming life forever.… Expand

A very simple game with very simple graphics, yet very addictive! The strategy is extremely well balanced and the progress in succeeding in the game is constant. So, the pleasure is always renewed, the replay value is big and the potentials are vast. This is a magic game that is at the opposite of any gaming hypes but is tremendously well done. Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! One of the best games I've ever played in my 30 year gaming experience.… Expand

In a year full of original, old-school games, this is the most original, old-school game I

Another indie title well worth your money if you want to burn some time and have nothing else to do. Challenging at times, and an all-around enjoyable game.

One of my favorite indies so far. This game is such a blast and was well programmed and thought out. No bugs, a fluid experience and a fun challenge every time. You either love or hate rogue likes so know that before purchasing. Only way to improve would be to add more content but for the sale price on steam it is an incredible value. Ive put in 38 hours so far and still have yet to fully beat the game on normal. Trying to collect all the cruisers is a blast as well. Well done.… Expand

When I heard that the Kickstarter for this game had finished and that I had to wait 5 months for it to be on Steam, I was annoyed to say the least. But when it hit Steam, it was well worth the wait. FTL is a great addition to the strategy category as a whole as it's fast game play, fights and trading allow for full games to be played within an hour (it being a rouge-like). After the first play through, it may feel slightly boring the next time round. But pushing through and trying different weapons, ships etc, makes the game fun and good to play for brief periods of time. This game is not for long strategic play (although I would advise pausing a lot) but for quick tactical decisions. It is also very easy for anyone to pick up. While it is very combat heavy, it handles other non-combat options such as trading very well. The excellent soundtrack also adds depth and excitement tho the overall experience.

For its £6.99 price tag on Steam it is well worth your money for the general combat, soundtrack and variation. Although the game is very random, the amount of player control allows for an exciting and addictive experience.… Expand

FTL is a very strategic spaceship simulator, where you must survive a harrowing trek across the galaxy with an army chasing you down. You have to decide how to configure your ship with what's available, and make tough mid-battle decisions that could mean life or death. And in this game, death is permanent.

This is one of those indie games that gets everything right. The gameplay is lots of fun. It's not hard to learn the basics, but winning is incredibly hard, even on Easy. Luck plays a big part, but skill can offset bad luck. There are lots of ship configurations, and with each, a new way to play. The music is very good, and fitting. The pixel art is beautiful. Controls are fairly easy to use.

I found myself playing this game over and over until finally getting my first win on easy on the 20th try. This game is definitely worth getting, and for strategy fans, it's a must-buy. The soundtrack is also worth the money.… Expand

I usually need to have beautiful graphics to have an interest in a game. I passed by FTL many times as I heard about it. After hearing Giantbomb's podcast and them saying that without a doubt, FTL would be in their top 5 for game of the year, I decided to give it 15 minutes of my time. 5 hours later I am loving this game. This is one of those games that I do not understand why they don't have a demo. Making that leap of faith to spend money surely has kept more than a few sales from happening. I highly recommend trying this one out.… Expand

Oregon Trail in space. Movement takes place over a turn based star system map while combat is real-time with cooldowns for weapons and power management to juggle. My biggest complaint is how ridiculously hard "Normal" difficulty is. Many times you will be doing better than expected and then one errant missile knocks out a key system and your ship loses half health (or worse) in one battle. Navigation is also frustrating with the rebel fleet pursuing you, narrowing down your exploring to a zig-zag through each sector. If you manage to the last boss you should be able to beat it no problem. Overall this is a good-looking space sim with solid tactical gameplay and if you can overlook the random luck-based difficulty then it's worth picking up.… Expand

This is a difficult game. When I started, it took me five tries to get to the end on easy. Two hundred hours later, on normal I can finish nearly every time. The fighting looks simple, but if you stick with it you'll find amazing tactical depth.

This game is so rouge like, I can't get enough of it. I would love to see a sequel. To address the critics, whom are mainly users and not professional reviewers, if you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen.

I know it is a roguelike, but even on those terms it is completely and impossibly stupid. This is not Dark Souls or Ninja Gaiden, where the difficulty comes from the intense challenge to learn how to play the game right. Here the difficulty comes from the programmers laughing at you while they slap unfair situations in your face. Almost every situation is decided by pure luck, especially when you have learned to multi-task. Avoid this game at all costs, it is frustrating and pointless since the good premise and slick production conceals a game that is not fun, entertaining, rewarding or actually challenging (having good luck is not a challenge) in any way.… Expand

I can't believe I'm giving this game a 9/10, but is way more fun and addictive than it has any right to be.

Occasionally I browse the indie games on Steam, and this one was on sale so I took a glance. Metacritic score of 84 (at the time I purchased)? Really?? I found that intriguing. I would have never purchased this game just from looking at the screenshots. It looked like a point-and-click-as-fast-as-you-can RTS. This is only half-true.

First of all, let me say I don't know if this game is brilliant or just sadistic. Maybe both. It dangles just enough of a carrot every time you play that you think "If I just woulda..." Just woulda found some fuel in time. Just woulda escaped from that last battle with a couple crew. Just woulda decided to repair my hull instead of buying that drone. Etc.

Reviewers keep calling this game "Roguelike", but I think that is pretty incorrect. It is Roguelike in the sense that it is randomly-generated so every game is different and has a lot of replayability, and you can't save your progress. It's a short-but-brutal all-or-nothing journey.

But the look, feel, theme, and more all remind me of one of the first addictive computer games I ever owned: Starflight 2 - Trade Routes of the Cloud Nebula. These guys were inspired by the Starflight series, for sure. So maybe the nostalgia is making me happy, too, but this game is good in its own right. Some people have complained it is merely a statgrinder, and while yes, this is technically true, you could say that about all sorts of games (anything with points or scores or money or upgrades, really. So, by that measure, most FPS, RPGs, and even friggin Mario Brothers would count as a "statgrinder")

What it is, really, is an exercise in damage-control. It's all about emergency preparedness and weighing calculated risks for rewards, and deciding how to best invest those rewards because -- just like in real life -- there are never enough resources at your disposal. So you have to pick and choose carefully, and if you choose a one-sided approach (heavy firepower, or defense, or only one type of weapon, or skimping on fuel or ammo to buy those things), you WILL get blindsided. The game demands you consider possible emergencies and how you are going to deal with them -- the space combat part is an obvious one, but what if the enemy boards your ship? What if your wonderful weapons get damaged? What if a fire breaks out? Will you have a backup plan, or will you be doomed?

Often, you are doomed. Some people complain about that. It's true that you can be wonderfully rewarded or brutally punished based on the whim of chaos. But then again, that's just like real life. The question i not "Will I face some impossibly-destructive scenario?" -- because, oh yes, you will. It's not a matter of if, but when (it's rarely in the first sector, but they start showing up by Sector 3. In the 24 hours I've been playing the game, I've only made it to Sector 5, a little more than halfway through)

The genius lies in the fact that, even though these punishing scenarios exist, none of them really feel IMPOSSIBLE. The game dangles enough of a carrot every time that you are motivated to jump back in and try again. It is ridiculous effective at making you want to play again. It's like Pringles -- you can't just take one bite.

Sure, sometimes you simply can't breach an enemy's defenses. Or they may have a brutal weaponry. But the beauty is you can prepare for that by: (a) bolstering your defense; (b) getting stronger weapons; (c) having a plan for how to hunker down, take some damage, and fire up the engines to escape quickly. The game keeps it interesting by also unlocking other ships you can use, each with very different strategies involved to use their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. I love it.

More than one way for success, and WAY more than one way to fail. In fact, I think this game is a great training in real-life decision making, where disaster can strike at any moment, there's never enough resources, and you have to figure out how to make it work anyway.… Expand

I want to like this game, I really, really do. But it's so frustrating that I'm not willing to take any more time to play it.

Yes, it's a rogue like- and yes, rogue likes- are heavily dependent on randomness but FTL takes it to the extreme. I lost and lost and lost (and losing sees a restart from scratch - only the hardcore need apply); it's not even that there isn't a component of skill. One does need to be skilled: managing your crew, sub-systems and power takes a lot of effort whilst also pinpointing attacks on the enemy.

But chance and the increasing difficulty curve as you venture further across the universe outweigh the skill component solidly.

Rather save money, get a dice, roll it till a six; then declare yourself a winner. It'll be far less aggravating all 'round.… Expand

People have far too romantic a view of games depending on the source, or having been an early supporter of the game pre-release are unwilling to look at it with a truly critical eye. As a marketing exercise it's been fantastically successful, but as a game it fails miserably. It is no better than a slot machine. Yes, there is some strategy and tactics involved that improve your odds, but they're so outweighed by random circumstance as to be virtually pointless, it's like buying two lottery tickets instead of one. It needs to be fixed and that won't happen as long as people are willing to put a smiley face on any old rubbish.… Expand

An impressive Indie game which is very surprising: With random sectors generated with each playing, combined with an array of weapons, equipment, encounters and crew which leads along a short storyline which can be completed in several different ways; this truly is a game travelling at Faster Than Light.

I hopped on to disagree with the reviews who say this game takes a lot of luck to win. You can almost certainly win most (85+% of the time I'd say) as long as you play smart: specifically (1) you need to play to your ship's strengths (2) timing and the order of your actions is ** everything **. If you set your weapons on auto all the time, you're going to have a bad time. Simple toy example: your enemy ship has two shields, you have a single laser burst that takes 10 seconds to charge, and dual burst that takes 17 seconds. Rather than just letting both immediately discharge, you need to wait for both to be charged and discharge both weapons at the same time - so you can exploit the small amount of time both shields might be down (but not nec. destroyed). There's actually a lot of nuance to playing well, and the whole system is actually very well balanced.

I would argue that getting the right drops is more of bonus, rather than a necessity. You should be able to maneuver most of the ships at least past sector 3 without a single upgrade. On that note, you should be collecting as much scrap as you can in these earlier levels.

That's not to say this game doesn't involve any luck at all. Every now and then, a mildly risky maneuver can totally be the end of you and your crew.

I give the game a 9 for its well-balanced play and many nuances. I'd give it a 10, but the game gets pretty repetitive after a while.… Expand

FTL is a great, original roguelike. Addictive gameplay, great design, and all around top notch experience. At a $10 price tag this game is a FANTASTIC value. The replayability is immense and according to Steam I've put 38 hours into this game in just two weeks (I believe it). This game rocks. The combat is fun and surprising deep. This is actually the first roguelike game I've played and it's introduced the genre to me in the best way possible. If you like space ships, challenging gameplay, and hardcore but fun gameplay experience this is game you owe it to yourself to play.… Expand

I read a lot of after-action story so I pre-ordered it. If you are a roguelike fan, this is the 10 out of 10 game for you. For others, you will find this game is about randomness and luck, yet shallow and repetitiveness. This is my first roguelike game and this game helped me firmly believe roguelike is not my cup of tea. If you are deciding whether you will enjoy roguelike, give this a try; it is cheaply price anyway. I gave it 10 out of 10 because this is a good experience that I will avoid roguelike games from now on.… Expand

Lots of fun, and very original. A game I've always wanted without knowing it. Hopefully other's will be inspired by this creation. The game is very basic and has a lack of depth, but for a two man project, exceptional. Love the style.

FTL is a great space rougelike timesink.
Amazing soundtrack, and nifty 2d grafics.
Being a rougelike game, whit alot of random elements, it is a bit short. And after several playtroughs, i wish they would have added, a few more ships, weapons, augmentations, shiplayouts and equipment.
A infinate gamemode would allso bring some longevity to the title.
But all on all, this is a great casual game and is well worth the money.… Expand