FTL Faster Than Light - Review

FTL Faster Than Light is a sprawling space adventure with a procedurally generated mission set and random events that will keep you coming back time and time again.

The art style reminds me of the mid-90’s, when pixels were still kings, had more colors than brown, tan, and other brown, and more game to play than cut scenes to watch. The bright style of FTL makes the retro style of its art come alive and helps bring it to the top and polish it for all to see.

Chippy, sci-fi music plays out through the game, bringing a calm feeling of expanse to uninhabited sectors and intense battle tunes belt through when engaged in life and death combat. It isn’t an orchestrated piece that resonates with all listeners and invokes visions nebula’s and nova’s, but it fits perfectly with the art and gameplay, helping pull the player deeper into the experience.

It really is an amazing game in my mind, but FTL is not without a few flaws.

For one, playing FTL takes a little getting used to at first and a slight learning curve to just how you prefer to control your space ship.

Along those lines, the level of customization leaves a little to be desired. The fact that you can’t pick which races make up your beginning crew or weapons is a bit discouraging, but it isn’t the end of the world. And you know what? Unlocking new ships can be a bit of a tall order, needing to invest a bit of time and luck into getting what you need. Having some other weak or new ships to start the game with would have been good to keep it fresh especially if a player gets too frustrated with one ship from the beginning.

My final gripe is replayability. FTL game is very fun to players like me. Players who play the same mission of a game over and over again to refine their giant robot design or test out new weapons made to kill huge, alien ants. But for those who like a long, unique adventure, there isn’t much to keep them going after they complete the story a few times. What I would have liked to see to combat this would be an endless mode. One with no approaching force, no branching paths after a sector; just random map after random map made to let the player explore an universe forever.

After my little wish list for this game, I really have to say FTL Faster Than Light, is a great game for those who like rogue-likes, space, and a bit of difficulty.

Overall rating – Pretty dern good. 

FTL Faster Than Light - Check it out!