FTL: Faster than Light

 iOS
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
Buy Now
Stream On
  1. MacLife
    Apr 9, 2014
    100
    FTL's seat-of-your-pants strategizing hits the sweet spot between careful planning and unpredictable action. This survival sim can be a heartbreaker at times, but it's one of the most thrilling downloads you'll find on iPad.
  2. Digital Spy
    Apr 8, 2014
    100
    It's not uncommon for players on PC to pour hundreds of hours into FTL, and with the move to the iPad with intuitive touch controls the addiction is now portable and stronger than ever.
  3. TouchArcade
    Apr 3, 2014
    100
    If you've got an iPad and have found yourself even remotely interested in games like Out There or Star Command, you need FTL. Additionally, if you've played the PC version it's still beyond worth picking up the iPad version as it has translated to the touchscreen even better than my most optimistic expectations.
  5. Vandal
    Apr 21, 2014
    98
    Everyone who enjoys sci-fi games should take this one into consideration, as long as they're aware that this is indeed a very deep and complex experience, but also outstanding and rewarding.
  6. Game Revolution
    Apr 16, 2014
    90
    But let's not finish on a bad note, because for $10, you owe it to yourself to try Faster Than Light: Advanced Edition.
  7. Gameblog.fr
    Apr 15, 2014
    90
    This iPad adaptation is quite good, except during stressful moments where you have to quickly deal with the condensed interface, but that's still a real pleasure to take your FTL away with you where you want.
  8. Eurogamer Germany
    Apr 10, 2014
    90
    It simply is the most trek-like game on the most trek-like device. This extraordinary gauntlet feels right at home on the iPad.
  9. Arcade Sushi
    Apr 7, 2014
    90
    FTL: Faster Than Light proved to be a hit on the PC, with its massive replayability, intelligently-designed gameplay and minimalist interface, and those same qualities are what make it a success on iOS as well.
  10. 148Apps
    Apr 4, 2014
    90
    Brutal. Uncompromising. Utterly addictive. FTL finally warps to iPad and it's even better than we'd hoped.
  11. Pocket Gamer UK
    Apr 4, 2014
    90
    An incredibly rich, challenging and varied sci-fi experience that seamlessly and creatively blends genres into a brilliant whole.
  12. Gamer.nl
    Apr 14, 2014
    85
    FTL: Faster Than Light for iPad is optimized for touch screens and plays like a dream. The Advanced Edition is a good addition and this, more expansive version of the game even plays better than its PC, Mac and Linux counterparts.
  13. Game Informer
    Apr 17, 2014
    83
    Even so, FTL is richly imagined and hard to put down, and an impressively deep and complex game for the iOS platform.
  14. Multiplayer.it
    Apr 22, 2014
    80
    FTL on iPad is the same great experience, with an excellent interface and all the content of the PC version.
  15. Apple'N'Apps
    Apr 10, 2014
    80
    FTL: Faster Than Light is a valuable addition to the iPad that offers a deluxe strategy experience that is a should buy for a lot of potential to discover.
    All this publication's reviews
  16. Metro GameCentral
    Apr 6, 2014
    80
    Minimalist gaming at its finest, with graphics and presentation out of the Stone Age but evocative sci-fi action that’s tense, tactical and instantly addictive.
  17. Digitally Downloaded
    Apr 2, 2014
    80
    What FTL boils down to is a brutally difficult and very rewarding roguelike and it is one of the finest examples of the genre.
  18. IGN Italia
    May 5, 2014
    78
    This is probably the best version of the game: touch controls are intuitive and precise, and Advanced Edition's content offers a hundreds of hours of challenging but rewarding gameplay.

Awards & Rankings

18
#18 Best iOS Game of 2014
22
#22 Most Discussed iOS Game of 2014
4
#4 Most Shared iOS Game of 2014

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 78 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 78
  3. Negative: 9 out of 78
  1. saadrehman
    Apr 5, 2014
    10
    Amazing, Brutal, and most importantly, Fun, its is just like it PC counter-part but with a better and easier to use interface. Recommended toAmazing, Brutal, and most importantly, Fun, its is just like it PC counter-part but with a better and easier to use interface. Recommended to anyone how has a interest in Sci-fi or space or anything like that.… Full Review »
  2. DemonSoul
    Apr 20, 2014
    10
    Really good game. Feels like Star Trek with the various races, crew members, different systems that we've all heard on the show (shields,Really good game. Feels like Star Trek with the various races, crew members, different systems that we've all heard on the show (shields, transport, etc...) Combat and the ship are appropriately complex and very fun. Great difficulty and tension. The depth of the game is quite amazing. Each of the characters on the ships can level up in their correlating skills according to the amount of time they spend in that area, kind of like dungeon siege. There are many strategies to upgrading your ship to survive. Having recently played another similar space game called “Out There” I would have to say the writing is pretty bad and relatively limited and quickly becomes repetitive after a few play throughs, whereas in Out There, there are far more unique scripts. The music by some dude named Ben Prunty is bit too disco and kind of disrupts the atmosphere. The guy is pretty lucky to have been a part of this project. However the amount of thought that went into the combat is clear and appreciated. If Out There’s writer and FTL’s creator got together a perfect gaming experience could be created on the level of the Grand Theft Auto series. While there is much room for improvement, in that respect, I give it a 10 because the excitement and tension of game through the combat and strategy of building your ship are unparalleled and I have not experienced something similar in another game. Very original and most successful Star Trek emulator in my opinion. Update: I played this non-stop for days and finally beat it on normal mode. Epic final battle, Felt very relieved and awesome to beat it, the most exciting space combat EVER, but for such a great battle there was not much of an ending, but that's almost a similar to complaint as above to say that the writing is very poor, and the narrative poorly told. In seeing the credits, I noticed the jobs were divided and the combat design by Justin Ma and Matthew Davis , are impeccably balanced and overwhelming fun, but the script writer, Tom Jubert needs to get help from the writer of Out There or be fired and hire that guy, b/c sometimes reading the events is nauseatingly repetitive and not very creative. The three endings I competed in Out There were phenomenally well told narrative-wise, and very satisfying to complete in comparison and even more difficult to achieve. However there is a lot of replayability since they have an easy and hard mode too, plus the iPad has these an option to enable advanced edition content, but not recommended until the game is beat once. I did not like the "achievements" they had. Having achievements that are nearly impossible to achieve is a very cheap way of trying to increase replayability b/c its a waste of anyone's time and that the developers think so lowly of their players to put such time wasting, brainless tasks is kind of sad, when they could have just improved their game by writing a better ending. But there are always players who try to get 100% completion in games like GTA. After beating the game once I did not have that strong of an urge to replay it with the different ships or even the "advance content" or "hard difficulty." Conversely, in "Out There" despite beating the game once I was immensely driven to ultimately beat all three endings to discover the narrative behind those endings.… Full Review »
  3. eldaras
    Apr 10, 2014
    10
    Subset games did an amazing work at porting this game to iPad. The touch screen controls were carefully selected to make this game fun toSubset games did an amazing work at porting this game to iPad. The touch screen controls were carefully selected to make this game fun to play. Now I can get my FTL fix while commuting :).… Full Review »
See all user reviews »