FTL: Faster Than Light is a tactical spaceship combat simulator, however rather than commanding a ship directly, the player manages and commands the crew of a ship in addition to several ship systems (power, weapons, shields, etc). Navigating the ship across a sector of space is turn-based, but ship-to-ship combat plays out in real-time. The game can be paused to make it easier to order the crew about in the heat of battle. Crew members can be sent to different stations (ship rooms) by selecting a crew member and clicking on his destination inside the ship. The ship layout is presented in a simple top down layout consisting of various rooms and corridors. There are more things the crew can do, such as fight fires, seal hull breaches and defend against invaders who beam aboard. Crew experience plays a vital role in the long run, as only a highly skilled crew can survive the later more difficult levels.

The game begins with a rather basic ship (several other models can be unlocked by completing achievements) and several crew members with no skills. The mission is to escape the pursuing Rebel forces by navigating eight sectors and reach the Federation Base in order to deliver vital information concerning the Rebels. The game is quite difficult and just reaching sector 5 unlocks an achievement. Along the way, you may encounters friendly or hostile forces consisting of Rebel patrols, Federation allies, distress beacons and traders who can supply improved weapons or special ship augmentations. For a price of course. Eventually the Rebels will advance far enough into a sector to make escape almost impossible, so while it is useful to explore as much as possible, making sure you can escape intact is vital.

The entire universe is randomly generated each time so no two attempts will be alike. The player also won't know exactly what sectors they will have to navigate until they get closer. Most encounters are randomly generated as well though the game steadily becomes more and more difficult with each passing sector.

Unlocking achievements allows the game to be played with a different starting ship and crew. Some require a completely different approach. For example the Engi cruiser has weak offensive weaponry but can often disable enemy weapons and keep the enemy harmless while it either uses remote drones to attack or powers up it's engine and escapes.

Faster Than Light is all about tactics and planing ahead. Though it features many different weapons and ship systems, it's up to the player to come up with tactics that will use such upgrades effectively rather than just get bigger guns and fight bigger enemies. To win the game it is necessary to learn which tactics work and survive long enough to reach the Federation forces and help them defeat the Rebels.

[edit description | view history]

Screenshots

FTL: Faster Than Light Windows Weapons, remote drones, special equipment and ship systems, supplies, fuel and even crew can be offered by a trader.

FTL: Faster Than Light Windows Hangar - the journey begins...

FTL: Faster Than Light Windows Game over. The player is presented with various statistics, records and achievements unlocked.

FTL: Faster Than Light Windows One clever way to deal with fires is to open up the airlocks and suck the air out of the affected rooms.

[40 more | add screenshots]

Promo Images

[14 more | add promo images]

Alternate Titles

"FTL: Advanced Edition" -- Title as of 3 April 2014 update (patch 1.05.4)

[add alternate title]

Part of the Following Groups

User Reviews

Not quite fast enough.	Asinine (1006)

[review game]

Critic Reviews

Polygon	Sep 21, 2012	9 out of 10	90
Gaming Nexus	Oct 31, 2012	8.9 out of 10	89
Hooked Gamers	Oct 02, 2012	8.1 out of 10	81
IGN	Sep 19, 2012	8 out of 10	80
GameZebo	Sep 25, 2012		80
Gamereactor International	Oct 05, 2012	8 out of 10	80
Metro.co.uk	Sep 28, 2012	8 out of 10	80
Absolute Games (AG.ru)	Oct 10, 2012	80 out of 100	80
Game Critics	Oct 10, 2012	7.5 out of 10	75
XGN	Sep 18, 2012	7.5 out of 10	75