FTL: Faster Than Light ▶ Trailer
FTL: Faster Than Light screenshot 1FTL: Faster Than Light screenshot 2
IndieSimulationStrategyRoguelikeSpaceSci-fiSingleplayerPerma Death

732 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 1,191

Peak in the last 7 days: 1,364

FTL: Faster Than Light Steam store

Game description

This "spaceship simulation roguelike-like" allows you to take your ship and crew on an adventure through a randomly generated galaxy filled with glory and bitter defeat.

Basic info

DeveloperSubset Games
PublisherSubset Games
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateSep 14, 2012
Price

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows XP / Vista / 7
Processor2 GHz
Memory1 GB
Graphics1280x720 minimum resolution, OpenGL 2.0 Support, and recommended dedicated graphics card…
Storage175 MB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 417 reviews from the past 1 year

85.2/ 100
Top 40%

Steam rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (95%)

Metacritic: 84 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

A roguelike starship sim where every run can end in disaster, FTL: Faster Than Light scores 85.2, top 40% of games we analyzed.

👍 Strengths

128 reviews love it and find it fun, calling it tightly designed, and a few praise its community mods. 49 praise its strategic depth, saying every weapon and subsystem has tradeoffs and there are many synergies to discover. 31 enjoy the difficulty, saying each failure is a lesson and that victory feels earned. Content Volume ranks 33rd of 1351, Story & World ranks 297th of 1096, and Gameplay ranks 488th of 1396.

👎 Where it falls short

81 reviews find it too hard at times, with a final boss some call an unfair spike and runs that end in bad luck after hours. 19 feel the balance leans on luck over skill, saying randomness can undermine good choices, and a few dislike specific ship layouts. 15 point to a learning curve with hidden mechanics, and some say new players must learn when to flee and which upgrades to buy first. Visuals & Sound ranks 439th of 1249, and Pricing & Fairness ranks 583rd of 1399.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“10/10 rating, very good gameplay, never heard of bugs” · 128 reviews
“every ship is a puzzle requiring tool assembly and tactical understanding” · 49 reviews
“amazing soundtrack that stays with you” · 31 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 68% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Strategy +3.38 · Depth of builds, tactics, and meaningful choices
Positive “every ship is a puzzle requiring tool assembly and tactical understanding” · 49 reviews
Negative “engi ship class frustrating to play” · 2 reviews

Progression 11% · Difficulty 48% · Onboarding 15% · Freedom 1% · Controls & feel 5%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 15% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

World +3.48 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “schematic visuals enable imagination and immersion in sci-fi setting” · 10 reviews
Negative “sarcasm about friendly universe contradicted by giant alien spiders” · 1 review

Story 5% · Characters 0%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 52% of reviews · Top 5% of the games we've analyzed

Replayability +4.45 · Reasons to play again — runs, randomness, New Game+
Negative “no endgame after unlocking all ships and achievements” · 3 reviews

Volume 17% · Variety 9%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 20% of reviews · Top 40% of the games we've analyzed

Audio +4.07 · Music, sound effects, and voice acting
Positive “amazing soundtrack that stays with you” · 31 reviews

Visuals 9%

Playing with others, the community and servers

Not enough data — only 4% of reviews mention this.

Community +3.32 · Who you play with — how many, and how friendly

Playing together 1% · Servers & Connection 0%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 15% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Balance -0.23 · Whether classes, weapons, and builds are evenly matched
Negative “Engi cruiser layout A is unfun and worst experience” · 19 reviews
Positive “excellent balance between ship strength and enemy difficulty” · 3 reviews

Anti-cheat 0% · Pricing 4% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 7% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Performance +0.09 · Frame rate, optimization, and loading times

Stability 2% · Developer support 3%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

Was this analysis useful? Sign in with Steam to vote

🎲 What kind of gamer are you? Find your title in 3 minutes.