FTL: Advanced Edition

Time flies by when you play this game!

It's FTL!The best space-exploration rogue-like! Killer soundtrack!

Roguelike games don't have to be your favourite a genre in order for you to have fun with this diamond in the rough. You definitely get bang for your buck out of this: no playthrough is the same thanks to random weapon and item unlocks, as well as random events. Multiple playthroughs are still rewarded via the 9 unlockable ships--and each ship has an additional layout you can unlock, leading to 18 unique customizations. I've personally unlocked 6 out of 9 of the ships, of which I'm only missing 2 layouts, and they all make for very different playstyles--the Slug Cruiser type A is currently my favourite, but this only goes to show how much variation this little game manages to pack in. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses, but the same basics: manage your systems, power, crew (6 different races!), weapons, and repairs properly. Sounds easy enough, right? As long as you're also prepared to fight off boarders, put out fires, deal with enemy drones, and fly through ion storms, solar flares, and asteroid fields. It took me about 16 hours before I was able to defeat the boss the first time (and definitely play on Easy first) and since then I've put another 16 hours into the game--it's a game I don't feel bad about being addicted to. Overall, FTL is infinitely replayable, and the flexibility in the gameplay makes you feel like a true captain of a starship, where you have to adapt to different circumstances at each and every beacon. I can't recommend this little gem enough!

Back in the 1980s I used to love playing a game called Psi-5 Trading Company, where you had to navigate through a couple of menus just to start the engines of your ship. FTL is much more accessible, but hard as nails nonetheless. If you are thinking whether you should buy it, then ask yourself the following question - do I see myself commanding a starship? I gave it a try... and after few weeks, I found myself admiring my fleet of unlocked ships. Its great fun; check on YT for channels of streaming Gamers still playing it! For anyone remotely interested in Sci-fi, its a MUST HAVE!

Adding another review this late in the game (so to speak) is probably not going to influence too many people. Unfortunately, I was influenced by the fall sale and the high ratings for this game. Man, what a turd. Nothing is more frustrating and illogical than random encounters. The first three times I played this game, one or more of my crew were slaughtered at the first jump beacon when some random boarding attack event took place. I never made it past the first jump on my second time when all of my crew were wiped out. So I start playing on easy, and I manage to make agonizing progress. After probably putting in 10-12 hours into the game, I finally get to the boss battle and I was completely wiped out in seconds. So, I thought I would try again and save scum. I managed to get to the final boss with what I thought was a pretty awesome ship (complete with the FTL shield boost to level 5 that I got from another random event.) I was wiped out again pretty easily. So I tried another tactic where I attacked the weapons and causing fires to kill the crew. That seemed to work great and when I landed the final shot ... the boss teleported away ... After giving chase, the boss was fully healed minus one gun. However, it somehow magically got drones and I got toasted by the 5 attacking my ship. To add insult to injury, an invasion drone punched holes into my hull to suck the O2 out. I only had 5 crew members, who didn't stand a chance. Naturally, after losing that battle, I deleted the game and now I'm writing this rage quit review. The most fun I had with this game was deleting it and emptying my trash folder. That's probably the best way to defeat the final boss.