FTL: Faster Than Light

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 1531 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,248 out of 1531
  2. Mixed: 185 out of 1531
  3. Negative: 98 out of 1531

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  1. Andrew_Paterson
    Dec 9, 2012
    4
    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    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
  2. HerrJoebob
    Sep 16, 2012
    4
    This is a great roguelike, but not a fun game by any stretch. You win or lose by the flip of a coin you have no control over - you might run into a (literally) unbeatable enemy, you may or may not find the upgrades you need, etc. It is incredibly unfair and this is exactly what they were trying for - it's a great gambling sim and addictive as heck because of that. The music's nice and theThis is a great roguelike, but not a fun game by any stretch. You win or lose by the flip of a coin you have no control over - you might run into a (literally) unbeatable enemy, you may or may not find the upgrades you need, etc. It is incredibly unfair and this is exactly what they were trying for - it's a great gambling sim and addictive as heck because of that. The music's nice and the graphics are decent. Once you get past the (again, intentional) unfairness, the biggest problem is that almost all combat is a tedious "click same keys over and over" thing. However, if you get boarded - and you will, a LOT if the coin flips go against you - it turns into intensive micromanagement with a UI that is not very responsive - not fun.… Expand
  3. Puzzola
    Jan 8, 2013
    4
    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
  4. Dravius
    Sep 20, 2012
    4
    The single biggest factor in this game is luck. As every encounter is completely random it removes any real sort of skill or challenge from the game, or a sense of achievement to more accurate. When you do 'finish' it you realise it wasn't because you did anything in particular, but because you happened upon the right encounters. The gameplay is fun, but the sheer amount of luck in theThe single biggest factor in this game is luck. As every encounter is completely random it removes any real sort of skill or challenge from the game, or a sense of achievement to more accurate. When you do 'finish' it you realise it wasn't because you did anything in particular, but because you happened upon the right encounters. The gameplay is fun, but the sheer amount of luck in the game completely detracts from it… Expand
  5. Kobold
    Dec 31, 2012
    4
    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    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
  6. CoSm1c_gAm3r
    Apr 6, 2015
    4
    At first try that game was annoying to me because player spend hour or more and then he is killed and every progress is lost. This is high score based game and not discovery/explore and for me that is very bad thing to make for game that may take long time to play. High score based games in majority are very short games so when high score system is put into game that can take more than 2At first try that game was annoying to me because player spend hour or more and then he is killed and every progress is lost. This is high score based game and not discovery/explore and for me that is very bad thing to make for game that may take long time to play. High score based games in majority are very short games so when high score system is put into game that can take more than 2 hours of gameplay then it is very frustrating and I personally hate this solution in this game that could be fun game if punishment would not be perma death. Yes I cheated and I copied save file to make myself safe :) Otherwise I would get mad and throw my computer out of my window :D That way at least I could hold my temper at bay :]

    So that degraded score the most. Rest is fun to play piece of game

    If someone is annoyed by this here is tip. After quiting game go into profile folder in my documents and my games. Find "continue" file and copy it somewhere. Like into created folder. Then if you want to save just quit+save. Go into that folder, copy "continue" somewhere so if you die go to that folder and copy it to original place. Repeat that every time you want to save. That way it can be less annoying for you if you cannot stand IRON MODE in games. I mean I personally very much like idea of iron man but here it is forced on every player! Because main point of this game is only to get better high score every time and nothing more. My first score was 0 for this game because it made me mad but after some time with it it can be fun for some time and it can be time killer if you have some time to kill and want to do it with fun :)    … Expand
  7. Iconiu
    Feb 4, 2013
    4
    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 negativeIt 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
  8. asfhgwt
    Feb 13, 2013
    4
    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 (whichFTL 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
  9. FurthestFlung
    Apr 7, 2013
    4
    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: OnceTo 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
  10. BSim500
    Dec 12, 2013
    4
    Very mixed feelings about this game. On the one hand it's a great example of what indie games can achieve with just 2 developers. The general idea is good. GFX are "old school", but that's certainly not a problem in itself (I like retro gaming in general) and has zero bearing on my score.

    On the other, as others have said, the mechanics are more about luck or "dice throwing" than skill    Very mixed feelings about this game. On the one hand it's a great example of what indie games can achieve with just 2 developers. The general idea is good. GFX are "old school", but that's certainly not a problem in itself (I like retro gaming in general) and has zero bearing on my score.

    On the other, as others have said, the mechanics are more about luck or "dice throwing" than skill or strategy. It's not "hard" in the positive sense of "if you make a mistake you can learn from it and improve", it's hard in the tedious sense of "what a random number generator decides no matter how well you play". When you get "dealt a bad hand" something like 14 times in a row (happened to me) right from the start and there's no manual save, the game gets very tedious very quickly. And playing games should be about enjoying them, not killing off all enthusiasm during the first couple of hours.

    The game also crashed twice, which further underlies the need for a manual save/load, as after the second crash, I just couldn't be bothered to replay it all after losing all progress through no fault of my own. If the game had a better balance between skill & luck (say 75% skill, 25% luck) it would be really good, but right now it's almost 10% skill, 90% luck, which greatly detracts from the gameplay.    … Expand
  11. Planex
    Aug 7, 2013
    4
    Frustrating. People are quick to point out that the game is this or that. It's a "roguelike." It's brutal. It's unforgiving of mistakes. All these are true, but what does that add up to? Pure frustration. Yes, the game is fun for a few hours, but once you realize that you can do everything right and still lose the game due to random chance, then all the novelty is gone. No matter how hardFrustrating. People are quick to point out that the game is this or that. It's a "roguelike." It's brutal. It's unforgiving of mistakes. All these are true, but what does that add up to? Pure frustration. Yes, the game is fun for a few hours, but once you realize that you can do everything right and still lose the game due to random chance, then all the novelty is gone. No matter how hard you try, the game will always decide your fate for you and without a real sense of fair play there's no point in playing the game at all.… Expand
  12. Nhin
    Jul 19, 2013
    4
    Overall, FTL is worth the money. Until 22nd of July it's 5 bucks on steam, and I would suggest you try it out if you haven't. But I will say, i'm glad I did not pay more for it. FTL is simply to random and way too frustrating for the average player. And that's a shame, because the game has the potential to be very entertaining and enjoyable. But it seems the game designers, out of someOverall, FTL is worth the money. Until 22nd of July it's 5 bucks on steam, and I would suggest you try it out if you haven't. But I will say, i'm glad I did not pay more for it. FTL is simply to random and way too frustrating for the average player. And that's a shame, because the game has the potential to be very entertaining and enjoyable. But it seems the game designers, out of some misfit idea of game design or general stubborness, on purpose have made it so. A shame because most books on game design written by the professionals, will tell you to avoid exactly these frustration points, if you don't want to trow away customers. That's why I can only give it a 4.

    FTL forces you to abandon all progress you have made in a game, if you die. Be that by mistake on your own or random chance. And the game is way to random. Here's an example: On one try I entered a fight in the 2nd sector in my basic Engi ship. Then 3 rockmen beams on board, while a solar flare is erupting in the background. I have only 1 human and 2 engi (all worse than rockmen) to fight, so they loose almost by default, and in the meantime the solar flares are setting most of my ship on fire that the rockmen isn't destroying. Not really much of a chance. 10-15 min of gameplay... complete waste due to random chance. And this happens ALOT in FTL.

    The bad things about this game could have been fixed in a rather simple way. Introduce saving when out of combat for example, maybe just on easy mode but not on normal (or make a hard without it). But taking away the choice completely is not clever. Reduce/remove certain ship/encounter combinations on easy mode, corresponding to your chosen ship layout (I.e. the above example would be OK in the mantis ship, but not on a Engi ship). Oh, and introduce higher resolutions, this isn't 1990 anymore.

    It's too bad, cause as it is, FTL only makes me annoyed when playing. Succeeding 1 times out of 5 mostly because of bad luck is not good game design.    … Expand
  13. reinaldons
    Jul 21, 2013
    4
    Frustration. If you wanna a game to get your space full loaded and shine, forget, this game is a simple one chance strategy game for you train your detachment by your items and game progress. You will die easy by chose the wrong sequence of upgrades and get a stronger enemy without any advice. You have no options for randomness enemies encounters.
  14. urbanrot
    Aug 7, 2013
    4
    The game has merits but it needs to be noted that this game is intended for people that have a great deal of time to sacrifice as you could easily become attached to a ship & crew you’ve built up, only to have it completely annihilated during a random stacked encounter. This can literally fill you with anger and frustration, something adults prefer to avoid when playing games.

    It’s    The game has merits but it needs to be noted that this game is intended for people that have a great deal of time to sacrifice as you could easily become attached to a ship & crew you’ve built up, only to have it completely annihilated during a random stacked encounter. This can literally fill you with anger and frustration, something adults prefer to avoid when playing games.

    It’s important to understand that "spaceship simulation roguelike-like" means there's no saves or checkpoints, whatever time you invest can be easily wiped and you need to start from scratch simply because of bad luck.

    Pros include an enjoyable ambient sound track, an intuitive interface, a varied experience due to the random nature of the game and plenty of unlockables with achievements.

    Cons include a poor method of enhancing longevity by introducing an artificial roadblock in terms of checkpoints which really aren’t necessary what with all the unlockables and achievements the game provides.

    I’d probably rate this game considerably but the minority of diehard fans that troll anyone who innocently asks on forums how to save has soured my experience of the game and thus I’ve advised my friends to avoid it.    … Expand
  15. sealedinterface
    Sep 11, 2015
    4
    I don't have a lot of experience with difficult games, since I'm mostly a casual gamer. I was looking forward to the "space simulator" part of this game; managing a spaceship seemed quite appealing. Instead, the game puts far more emphasis on the "roguelike" part of this game. In order to do well in this game, you have to know exactly what to do in every situation, have the skill to do so,I don't have a lot of experience with difficult games, since I'm mostly a casual gamer. I was looking forward to the "space simulator" part of this game; managing a spaceship seemed quite appealing. Instead, the game puts far more emphasis on the "roguelike" part of this game. In order to do well in this game, you have to know exactly what to do in every situation, have the skill to do so, and of course befriend the forever hostile RNG. If anything goes wrong, you're doomed to die, and you lose all the progress in your entire game.

    The tutorial gave a basic tour of the interface and showed me how combat works, and left me confident enough to start an "easy" game. Little did I know that "easy", "normal", and "hard" translated to "hard", "harder", and "hardest". Just a couple of jumps in, the rebel fleet has already taken control of the start location, my pilot gets trampled to death by tiny blue horses, and I get blown up by the first enemy I run into because I can't penetrate its shields.

    I'm very much regretting buying this game, and I would recommend NOT to get it unless you're prepared for an extremely difficult and frustrating game.    … Expand
  16. Tabbou
    Jun 1, 2022
    4
    I don't understand all the 9 and 10/10, just looks like others rogue-lite and strategy games, disapointed
  17. Coeco
    Feb 22, 2013
    3
    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 ifAfter 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
  18. Crimson
    May 12, 2013
    3
    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 zeroThe 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
  19. ExpFist
    Oct 27, 2012
    3
    Game is really fun when it works, but random crashes to desktop destroy this game as it is now. There is no ability to save, so when you crash to the desktop (random), then you've lost your game and need to restart. This has happened to me now two games in a row and I'm giving up. The ability to save games, or at least auto-save after every jump so you can resume after a crash would atGame is really fun when it works, but random crashes to desktop destroy this game as it is now. There is no ability to save, so when you crash to the desktop (random), then you've lost your game and need to restart. This has happened to me now two games in a row and I'm giving up. The ability to save games, or at least auto-save after every jump so you can resume after a crash would at least make this game playable while they work out the bugs.… Expand
  20. Vistance
    Sep 22, 2012
    3
    The people writing the high reviews have played the game for maximum of 2-3 hours. FTL seems fun when you first start out, but as you repeat the game over and over and over and over and over and over again you realize the entire game is rubbish because your chances of winning a particular run are controlled very minimally by you. All you do is steer the ship and click on parts of enemyThe people writing the high reviews have played the game for maximum of 2-3 hours. FTL seems fun when you first start out, but as you repeat the game over and over and over and over and over and over again you realize the entire game is rubbish because your chances of winning a particular run are controlled very minimally by you. All you do is steer the ship and click on parts of enemy ships. I had a run where I had nothing but the starter guns all the way up to the 7th sector, I explored many beacons and found nothing. The game is rogue like but fails to provide even a reasonably fair amount of random chance. Other times the game will reward you with something amazing that you can't use at the most inopportune time - one run I was given what was claimed by the game to be an amazing laser - but I had no means at all to operate this gun on my ship as I found it in the 1st sector. On another run I did great, but could not find a weapon like that laser to save my life - and was shafted by random chance. This SOUNDS like it could be fun sometimes, but after you play the game over and over you get real sick of "oh look, no weapons, oh look no new crew members" and you end up eventually running out of fuel and scrap and dying helplessly or you somehow get far then are ill-equipped for the higher powered enemy ships and die extremely quickly. The game has terrible pacing and while the mechanics operate fine, some things like the AI leave a LOT to be desired. I don't know why people feel like they must love indie games no matter how good or bad they are - if you give them false praise you're only hurting them. The game could be improved with patching, but somehow I sincerely doubt the odds the game will ever see an update - the developers got our money and have so far shown no real interest in doing much else with the game based on statements they've publicly made. For a half-working title like this I would not pay the price it's going for, $10 is too steep for a broken indie game and as gamers we should demand better quality from indie studios if we ever want them to replace corporate studios that just create more franchise games.… Expand
  21. kuehnau
    Jul 13, 2013
    3
    Take a bit of roguelike, mix in some sci-fi and a dash of completely unfair game mechanics and you have Faster then Light.

    The game's set up is completely randomized, so much so to the point that it's completely unfair. It's quite possible to start a brand new game and die in a matter of moves, not because you are being stupid, not because you are a bad gamer, but simply because that's    Take a bit of roguelike, mix in some sci-fi and a dash of completely unfair game mechanics and you have Faster then Light.

    The game's set up is completely randomized, so much so to the point that it's completely unfair. It's quite possible to start a brand new game and die in a matter of moves, not because you are being stupid, not because you are a bad gamer, but simply because that's how the game generated.

    I have already encountered completely decked out prison ships or bounty hunters and all over manner of enemies that I would never have a chance against.

    The game uses the term "roguelike" as an excuse for it's excessive amount of difficulty, but the reality is most roguelike games, allow you to build up in order to face new challenges. You won't encounter a God on the first floor, you won't encounter a level 20 Beholder on the first floor, because most roguelikes understand that you need to be given a little bit of time to breath and grow, unlike Faster then Light..

    If you want a completely unfair, unbalanced game, because the developers didn't have enough foresight to actually have some sort of checks and balances in place, then be my guest, for the rest of us, avoid at all costs.    … Expand
  22. upi
    Sep 25, 2013
    3
    It is my fault, really, for picking up this game. I guess the "running the spaceship" and "saving the galaxy" part got me confused. Or perhaps the "strategy" and "simulation" categories made me think that the actual gameplay would involve either of these. I must admit, that I missed the "rogue-like" part mentioned in passing on the steam store page. (BTW "saving the galaxy" part is theIt is my fault, really, for picking up this game. I guess the "running the spaceship" and "saving the galaxy" part got me confused. Or perhaps the "strategy" and "simulation" categories made me think that the actual gameplay would involve either of these. I must admit, that I missed the "rogue-like" part mentioned in passing on the steam store page. (BTW "saving the galaxy" part is the galaxy is never in peril throughout the game. It's there in all its randomness, and it's feeling just fine.)

    So please, if you do not have a deep love for the rogue-like genre, do NOT pick up this game. Being at the mercy of the random-number god for scraps (literally) will not be fun for you as it was not fun for me. The game goes out of its way to make running your starship feel static and lifeless. The scenery never changes: there's your ship on the left, there's a smaller enemy ship on the right. You wait for some bars to fill, and occasionally pause to ponder where to shoot next. The interface follows the "hover over icon if you want to understand this" principle. (Except when it doesn't, in case you want to know the systems or weapons of an enemy ship, you have to look for a similar icon on *your* ship. In case of weapons, just forget it.)

    The soundtrack starts feeling repetitive about 10 minutes in and is basically the same two tunes over and over. Ugh.

    Gameplay 2/10 (ymmv, more if you enjoy a Random Events Plot)
    Sound: 5/10 (decent quality, but very repetitive and gets boring quickly)
    Design: 3/10 (see above)
    Visuals: 3/20 (very 90's)    … Expand
  23. Slackerboy
    Oct 22, 2012
    3
    This game has so much potential it could be a ton of fun, but most games are ruined by simple bad luck. In order to win you MUST get the right weapon upgrades or you are doomed, but getting them is a matter of pure luck.

    This could be resolved by re-balancing the sectors and allowing people to explore more, or making weapon drops more common. Until this is fixed I would avoid the game    This game has so much potential it could be a ton of fun, but most games are ruined by simple bad luck. In order to win you MUST get the right weapon upgrades or you are doomed, but getting them is a matter of pure luck.

    This could be resolved by re-balancing the sectors and allowing people to explore more, or making weapon drops more common. Until this is fixed I would avoid the game unless you want to lose or win based on pure luck.    … Expand
  24. Jintoss
    Oct 10, 2012
    3
    A glorified waste of time which punishes any poor sap the longer he sticks around. Poorly designed, with all the addictiveness of a flash game. Steer well clear, you'll be glad you did.
  25. Lacuentadejoako
    Dec 24, 2012
    3
    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 andThere 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
  26. happy-argentine
    Nov 10, 2013
    3
    It's been said by the top reviews: game starts out a lot of fun, you feel that if you'd just got that shield upgrade in time you'd take on the entire galaxy, so you try again, and again, and again..

    Then it hits you: winning has very little to do with you and more to do with a RNG decreeing whether or not you get that upgrade, or the store sells the weapons you want need. Battles    It's been said by the top reviews: game starts out a lot of fun, you feel that if you'd just got that shield upgrade in time you'd take on the entire galaxy, so you try again, and again, and again..

    Then it hits you: winning has very little to do with you and more to do with a RNG decreeing whether or not you get that upgrade, or the store sells the weapons you want need.

    Battles are always the same: target weapons, disable them. Then shields. Accept surrender, proceed.

    The difficulty curve is non existent: it's not a curve, it's a series of grades you are forced to climb.
    First level, ok getting the gist of this.
    Second level: well this is getting heavy.
    Third level: "holy where did THAT come from?".
    Fourth level: "oh COME ON, how am i even supposed to fight that? Time to run away"
    AND I'm not mentioning the completely cheap three stage final boss (well, I kind of am, aren't I?)

    I ended up feeling cheated.    … Expand
  27. Vonnd
    Jul 20, 2013
    3
    My friend liked this game and I decided to check it out. It reminded me a lot of those java games where you have to fill an order in a cafe or a burger place. In fact I've played better java games with similar settings. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. This game has no depth. On the other hand if you want a really simple game with absolutely nothing more to offer to you than what you'reMy friend liked this game and I decided to check it out. It reminded me a lot of those java games where you have to fill an order in a cafe or a burger place. In fact I've played better java games with similar settings. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. This game has no depth. On the other hand if you want a really simple game with absolutely nothing more to offer to you than what you're given at minute 1, then be my guest.… Expand
  28. speedycerv
    Jul 21, 2013
    3
    This game is good for about 4 hours of entertainment and that is about it. The game is fun until you realize how random it is and how a stroke of fate can make your playthrough impossible and you have to start over. The worst is randomly you'll move to a new location and there will be a star close by starting fires all over and at the same time a ship is attacking you along withThis game is good for about 4 hours of entertainment and that is about it. The game is fun until you realize how random it is and how a stroke of fate can make your playthrough impossible and you have to start over. The worst is randomly you'll move to a new location and there will be a star close by starting fires all over and at the same time a ship is attacking you along with teleporting crew onto your ship to kill you. In this situation it's basically a coinflip if you die or not, and if you do survive most of your crew will be dead and make future encounters hard to catch up. One playthrough can take about 2 hours and if you get to the final boss, even on easy, there is no doubt you will lose and have to start over.

    Though no doubt as you play more you learn to curb the randomness to a degree as the same situations come up every playthrough as there isn't that many of them. After about 2 hours you will find yourself not even reading the dialog as it's just meaningless and timewasting to read since no matter what you do, more times than not you will find yourself near a star while another ship teleports everyone over and kills your crew so it burns to a crisp.

    If you do end up liking the game, first piece of advice is get blast doors so enemy crew has to break down doors and fires can't spread as easily. 2nd, get as much crew as possible since they will mostly be dying due to random encounter choices or having 5 seconds worth of life bars. 3rd, get lucky enough to find a weapon that shoots 3 or 4 shots consecutively, otherwise you will never be able to kill the ships that have 3 or 4 shields.

    All in all, it's good until your get bogged down with the random constant deaths and realize that if you decide to exit the game without saving, you will start from the beginning again..    … Expand
  29. Lamring
    Apr 11, 2014
    3
    First I want to begin by saying that I really wanted to love this game, however after playing though for many many hours I can say with confidence that this game is completely luck based. If you wanted a space exploration game based on skill and cunning look elsewhere. I was able to beat the game on one of my first five playthroughs, ever since then I have not been able to beat the gameFirst I want to begin by saying that I really wanted to love this game, however after playing though for many many hours I can say with confidence that this game is completely luck based. If you wanted a space exploration game based on skill and cunning look elsewhere. I was able to beat the game on one of my first five playthroughs, ever since then I have not been able to beat the game once! I have been playing the game for months now and I just give up. I hope they patch the game to make it more fair soon, because I like the mechanics of the game and would love to play a fair version of it.… Expand
  30. deweee
    Jan 1, 2015
    3
    Are you ready for a "literally" unbeatable enemy which spawns randomly in your journey when you think you are going really well which destroys you in 3 seconds even though you are with full crew? No, you aren't.

    This games presentation, playability is so good but I have to give it a low score because of its retarded difficulty system. If you are a lifeless moron who can take the    Are you ready for a "literally" unbeatable enemy which spawns randomly in your journey when you think you are going really well which destroys you in 3 seconds even though you are with full crew? No, you aren't.

    This games presentation, playability is so good but I have to give it a low score because of its retarded difficulty system. If you are a lifeless moron who can take the developers mocking which drives you to restart over and over again for no reason, go play it in endless cycles to finish the game. If you want to see your investments in game turn out to a good game play, don't play this game. The difficulty system is really retarded. Whenever when you are beaten (10-15 mins in easy mode, tops) your game will be RESTARTED! I mean, restarted. All the progress of yours are gone, probably multiple times in your gameplay.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

28
#28 Best PC Game of 2012
21
#21 Most Discussed PC Game of 2012
13
#13 Most Shared PC Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. Gamers' Temple
    May 27, 2013
    87
    Fulfill a sci-fi fantasy by becoming the Captain of your own starship! Don't expect great graphics, but do except to lose many hours to FTL and expect to lose your ship ... a lot.
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  2. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 6, 2013
    85
    Kickstarter has accomplished its mission in this one, giving the opportunity to an original, non-mainstream title to go public and meet its well-deserved success. Especially for sci-fi fans, it’s a no-brainer; buy this game at once and live the life of a courageous pilot that only has one mission: survival. [November 2012]
  3. GameStar
    Nov 24, 2012
    77
    Quotation forthcoming.
    Read full review
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