FTL: Faster Than Light

FTL: Faster Than Light is a roguelike indie game. It's all about strategy, resource management, and more than just a small amount of luck. Plus, it's fun and has great music, so there's that.

When you start out a new game, since you only get one shot per play through, you'll select from a variety of ships, though you'll have to unlock those by doing something special. Different ships have different configurations or special abilities that may you favor more or less than others, as well as start with different species in their crew or different weapons, so that ultimately it becomes a matter of preference for what you pick. No matter what, once you get going the game becomes about survival, as you have to survive 7 different star systems, and then ultimately the boss battle in the 8th, if you want to prove victorious in this game.

You must keep moving, because that red wave is considered bad.

Each star system consists of a variety of jump points, with no two playthroughs being the same. As you hop from point to point, any one of a number of things could happen. You could suddenly find your ship boarded by hostiles, you could be faced with a decision to try and rescue a space station from giant space spiders, you could find yourself facing a group of space pirates that will pay you off if you leave them alone, or you might just get in a nice space battle with one of the hyper-aggressive alien species. That is only a small taste of the things that can happen, and just because you, say, decide to help save those people from the giant space spiders multiple times doesn't mean you'll always end up with the same result. Maybe you save them and they offer a reward. Or maybe you lose a crew member. It's that kind of randomness that makes the game so enjoyable, and so frustrating.

So, a couple of example scenarios, because I can't really think of another way to cover this game. First, non-combat decisions. When you drop out of FTL at a new jump point, one thing that can happen is you are faced with some kind of decision. This would be the space spiders example. Your choices are usually clear - help, or not. Sometimes, if you have the right weapons, equipment, or crewmembers, a special blue text option will show up, which provides an entirely different, and usually better, route. These are simple and don't require much action, but seem to come with the greatest risks, and perhaps the greatest rewards.

Sometimes the blue text is just the best of several bad decisions. Thankfully, that's not the case here.

Maybe you drop out of space and you find yourself faced with an enemy ship. This happens a lot. Then it becomes time to slug it out, and there are a variety of ways you can achieve victory. There are laser weapons, missiles and bombs that require special ammunition but bypass shields, the ability to teleport crew over to the other ship and reek havoc by either killing the crew or destroying important systems like weapons or shields, drones that you can dispatch at the cost of a consumable to attack, or board, or defend your own ship. There are beam weapons that slice through a ships hull, or projectiles that are specialized and can cause a breach or a fire. Basically, there are many different way's for combat to play out, which is part of what makes the game so interesting.

On top of that, everything that you can do to your enemy, they can do back to you. They might have fire bombed your O2 systems, and suddenly you find your crew is suffocating. Though, if you were quick, you could have vented the doors to space and put the fire out that way, then sealed everything back up and run in there. Maybe they beamed aboard and killed a few crew members (venting to space can help here too). Or they just have powerful weapons that ripped through your shield and made short work of your hull. To be fair, you don't actually have to win every fight, and you can flee, so long as your FTL has finished charging. So if you suddenly find yourself facing an enemy with level 3 shields, ones you have no weapon to pierce, just hold on until you can jump again. No matter what, this game will keep you on your toes.

Boarded by four enemies. So I vented the oxygen, because that's how I like to do things.

While those are the two extremes of what can happen at a jump point, either combat or choice, there are plenty of others as well. One is that you come across a store. Stores will sell you anything from fuel, to crewmates, to weapons, to new systems for your ship. No two stores are alike, and they generally only have two categories of items, so it could be a while before you find that specific augmentation you're looking for. Again, this helps keep each game fresh.

Scrap is this game's currency, and it can be acquired from lucky decisions or defeating enemies. You use it at stores to buy what you want, but you'll also use it to upgrade your ship. This gets into a more complicated portion of the game. There are a variety of systems on your ship, such as shields, weapons, engine, doors, sensors, and so on. They are split into two categories: systems and subsystems. The difference is that systems, which everything but doors, sensors, and piloting is, require you to first purchase the extra power slot and then increase your reactor. You can have far more power slots than you do power, and you may, say, draw down extra power from your med center, since you don't need that if no one is injured, and instead put it towards your shields. This part alone becomes this huge cost benefit analysis where you have to weigh your choices carefully.

Shield are generally good, but it costs a lot of scrap to get the two power bars you need for one more shield point, and then you need to increase your reactor to provide that power.

What I've covered so far is just a small selection of what it's possible to do in this game. The first time I played it I thought it was easy because I just jumped quickly through a system, staying far ahead of the rebel fleet that gobbles up everything behind you, and I actually made it to the 8th and final level. I died right away, but then managed to follow the same strategy my second attempt, and got a little further. Eventually I realized I was going about it all wrong, found the value in different strategies, in investing in different systems, and so forth. Finally, on my 16th attempt I returned to the 8th level, faced the boss, and barely survived the fight, with weapons that were inadequate and a strategy that didn't exist. Unfortunately, I also learned that the boss has multiple phases, because he kicked my butt during the second one. It wasn't until my 17th attempt that I actually beat the boss, through a combination of a lot of luck, a brand new ship that fit my style, and making more of an effort to prepare.

I'm having to break plenty of rules to review the huge game that is FTL: Faster Than Light, since I could pretty much play it infinitely and never be done with it, and will probably continue to play it long into the future. Still, after 14 hours, 17 attempts, and one actual victory, even though I know I'm just scratching the surface, I feel I can recommend this game with ease. It's worth every bit of the $5 I spent on it, and generally feel that is a really good price for a very good game - 8 out of 10.

So, the final breakdown:
Score: 8/10
Suggested Price: $5+