Teenagent got a star for having a bit of spirit to the writing: the peculiar army officer, secret drinker guard and the player character's fourth-wall breaking antics. But the puzzles are way out there and the production qualities are everything that you expect from a small studio in the mid-nineties. If you absolutely have to play it because you are an obsessive-compulsive weirdo completionist like me then use a walkthrough, that way you will only waste an hour and a half of your life and you can write it off in the same way you would a bad movie.
FTL features short real-time combat encounters with a pause button, interspersed with resource management, all served up with a charming sci-fi theme. Each play-through takes about two to two and a half hours, but auto-save means that you can leave and come back any time you feel like it. It is so addictive that it could almost be a negative but in theory you can play for as little as five minutes since that is roughly how long each encounter with the enemy takes. Being a well balanced game there are a multitude of possible winning strategies and you will quickly find one you like. However, the characteristics of each new ship acquired will force you out of your comfort zone. The game is hard, and yes, even unfair at times, but it is a testament to its quality that I often hit 'Restart' before I have finished cursing. Good music, good writing, good design and its bug-free as far as I can tell. Considering how many hours people sink into this little game it represents extremely good value for money.
