The Outlast Trials
The Outlast Trials
Game
Game2012
FTL: Faster Than Light
Developer Subset Games
FTL: Faster Than Light is a roguelike game created by indie developer Subset Games, which was released for Windows, MacOS, and Linux in September 2012. In the game, the player controls the crew of a single spacecraft, holding critical information to be delivered to an allied fleet, while being pursued by a large rebel fleet. The player must guide the spacecraft through eight sectors, each with planetary systems and… From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
524 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
87
LovedLoved
320 positive · 47 negative
95% range 83–90%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 320 | 47 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 40 | 5 | 111 |
| Lemmy * | 1 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Overwhelmingly Positive
56,927 of 59,575 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
87% recommend · 227 yes, 35 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 262 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Overwhelmingly Positive (75,068 of 78,963 positive).
Players widely praise FTL as a timeless, tightly designed roguelike with immense replayability. [1][2][3] Many note the game is brutally difficult but rewarding, with a steep learning curve. [4][5][6] Some reviewers criticize reliance on luck and specific mechanics like boarding. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [7]
As a preliminary statement, this review never would have been a recommendation, but I wouldn't have left a review at all (positive or negative) if I didn't want to reach people interested in the problems others see in the game. If I could rate it on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 7.5 I am writing this review as someone who has literally obtained every single achievement, in-game and out, in FTL, at the hardest …
- [1]
Maybe writing a review for a wildly popular, decade-plus old game is a futile exercise, but that sign won't stop me, because I can't read! FTL is a perfect game. You should buy it and play it. Thank you for your time.
- [5]
"To boldly go where no man has gone before." – Captain James T. Kirk FTL manages to immerse you in a brand new story every single time you set out in a shiny new ship. As you’ve probably gathered from other reviews, you will die often and spectacularly. Your crew will suffocate to death, be eaten by giant mutant space spiders, get beaten to death by rock aliens or mantises, burn up while flying too close to a sun, …
- [2]
In the thirteen years I've been playing FTL I've come to realise that this is one of the best and most tightly designed games I've ever played. I'm so sad that the developers did not create any more content beyond Advanced Edition because, in spite of there already being so much content to sink your teeth into for the ten dollar price tag, it has left me wanting so much more. I recommend this game to everyone and it …
- [3]
Still playing 14 years later, genuinely never gets old. One of the best indie games ever made, they don't make em like they used to.
Summarised from 34 of the 385 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
FTL: Faster Than Light sits at 87% positive across 367 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
FTL generally received positive reviews, with praise for the game's captivating nature and means of tapping into the imagination of the players who have envisioned themselves as captains of starships. The game's approach and setting has been compared to science fiction works; Ben Kuchera of Penny Arcade Report called FTL "Firefly by way of the Rogue-like genre", while others have compared it to Star Trek and Star Wars. PC Gamer awarded FTL its Short-form Game of the Year 2012 award. The game won both "Excellence in Design" and the "Audience Award", and was a finalist for the "Seumas McNally Grand Prize" awards for the 15th Annual Independent Games Festival. It was also named the "Best…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 524 · most liked firsti have been playing FTL: Faster Than Life again and rediscovering that this game is an incredibly dangerous time sink for me
positive · AI labelView post →God it must be nice to be the kind of video game player who doesn’t need to be playing something different every 3 weeks. It must be awesome and economically beneficial to just play FTL and Skyrim for 15 years
neutral · AI labelView post →13 years ago today, FTL released on Steam and your support and enthusiasm for the game completely changed my life. It allowed me to quit my day job, focus on music full-time, and afford health insurance for me & my partner. I had wanted to work in games since I was a teenager. Thank you everyone!
neutral · AI labelView post →Like every year since 2012, I've been playing FTL: Faster Than Light again.
positive · AI labelView post →Had early access to Claude Fable 5.1. Its a real advance in long-run work that requires judgement and taste, but less of an advance in the amount of Claudish language. Here is a game from Fable 5.1 with retro graphics where you run an accurate space ship inspired by FTL cold-watch-game.netlify.app
neutral · AI labelView post →like roguelikes/FTL? this is a good video game like BSG? this is one of the finest works of video game adaptation in the history of the medium
neutral · AI labelView post →okay the "backpack battles/the bazaar, but FTL" game is pretty funny
neutral · AI labelView post →I will literally play Stardew, Rimworld and FTL over and over again before I'll rent a virtual game console and I will never get bored.
positive · AI labelView post →I've been replaying FTL every 3 months for 13 years. A difficult but truly effective game, which you can learn to master as you go. One of my favorite games, ever. And @benprunty.bsky.social 's soundtrack is so good. 👌
positive · AI labelView post →WEEK 1 games: 🦴 Dig Dig Dino! A game about digging... for dinosaurs bones and other treasure! 🔘 Fulcrum Defender, a quick action game from the makers of FTL: Faster Than Light and Into the Breach. See you on the scoreboards! play.date/s2
neutral · AI labelView post →FTL Games artist David R. Darrow passed away in May 2025. He was known to gamers for illustrating the box art for Dungeon Master as well as for FTL's first game Sundog. He also did extensive work for Hollywood films
neutral · AI labelView post →Maybe writing a review for a wildly popular, decade-plus old game is a futile exercise, but that sign won't stop me, because I can't read! FTL is a perfect game. You should buy it and play it. Thank you for your time.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finally managed to beat FTL on normal mode! In most games that would not be a big deal but the achievement for it is one less than 10% of players have. It's not an easy game. That was the last thing I really wanted to do in it, too. So maybe I'll actually play some other video games now!
positive · AI labelView post →Command Deck, a sci-fi roguelike deckbuilder inspired by Slay the Spire, FTL, and 70's sci-fi novel covers (Berkey, Di Fate, Vallejo), is now available on Steam in Early Access! I'll finish another game first, then I'll try to play this one next week and give you a quick review.
neutral · AI labelView post →These have to be my tops, I didn't give it much thought and these were all just obvious choices. The Castlevania games I had on a double pack for GBA sp, inspired everything I do today. Honorable mentions: FTL, BOI, and Duck Game. #gaming #topsters
neutral · AI labelView post →It's a chill day for me so it's time for another AMA! Ask Me Anything about - Subnautica 2's soundtrack - game music - working as an indie - making electronic music - FTL - Into the Breach - my cats - my very odd career path - anything else you can think of
neutral · AI labelView post →Humans are your workforce AND your fuel! Hull Rupture is a darkly comedic FTL inspired pixel art indie game that blends base-building and tower defense. Free playtest on Steam: tblink.co/AlphaBetaGamerRupture by indie dev @despotsgames.bsky.social #gaming #PaidPartnership Paid Partnership
neutral · AI labelView post →You will like our indie game if you played these games: - Helldivers 👾 - Sea of Thieves 🏴☠️ - FTL 🚀 - Left 4 Dead 🔫
neutral · AI labelView post →Playdate's second season includes brand-new game from FTL and Into the Breach studio www.eurogamer.net/playdates-se...
neutral · AI labelView post →14 years ago today, bolstered by income from FTL and my first press interview (thanks @benkuchera.bsky.social), I quit my day job to focus on game music full time. This was a moment I had been working toward for a little over a decade. I had almost given up, but I'm so grateful I didn't.
neutral · AI labelView post →Outer Wilds is third on Eurogamer's superb "100 best recent video games" list. I'm not surprised. 😌 Lots of love too for Citizen Sleeper, FTL, XCOM, Titanfall 2, Mass Effect, Returnal... and so many video game masterpieces, sci-fi or not. www.eurogamer.net/the-eurogame...
neutral · AI labelView post →PLAY THE MULTIVERSE MOD FOR FLT!!! Ok, now that's out of the way... This game is hard. Like, hard hard. My keyboard would be in pieces whenever I play this game if I could afford to buy a new keyboard every other day. You will be put in situations where no matter how well you play, or how diligently you prepare, you will fail. Sometimes its fun, sometimes it not, but the vast majority of times you will learn something from your failure. This is the key to understanding FLT.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Everyone who's played FTL and Into the Breach has nothing but good memories. But on the surface, Fulcrum Defender is a very different design. It's an arcade game, and it's as twitchy as they come. Our review: bit.ly/4mFlMrv
neutral · AI labelView post →Live: Cool 3D World Freak Game (Ultimate Drummer), Hull Rupture (FTL Inspired) + more? twitch.tv/vinesauce
neutral · AI labelView post →Portraits for npc gems from the campaign, rough quickie designs that I try to do in like 20 minutes, usually right in the middle of introducing them in-game "Oda" Sodalite, Chrysoprase, "FTL"/"Fittle" Citrine, and Turquoise
neutral · AI labelView post →I’ve long said that the 2014 game FTL would be a perfect candidate for a voyager mod or just like take that games combat and make a trek universe for that combat to take place in. Still haven’t gotten this voyager game cause it sounds like it’s buggy right now and so I can wait for a sale
positive · AI labelView post →---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☐ Decent ☑ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☑ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☑ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The closest you'll see a game be a flawless masterpiece of its genre. The premise is simple, the mechanics are easy to understand yet allow for tons of nuance. There is a learning curve, and this is a game that will humble you unless you respect that most things the player can do, it can do at you right back. Some ships will be hideously mean with their weapon specs. There will be ships that seem to dodge at impossible rates. All of them are a puzzle for you to solve with tools you yourself…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love FTL except the part where I lose constantly and have never completed a run in the like decade I've owned the game because the final boss is fucking insane
neutral · AI labelView post →idk why felt like reinstalling FTL the other day, that game is kicking my ass, I keep getting destroyed by the final guy, it fucking rocks
positive · AI labelView post →If you've played FTL, it might give some solid insight into what we're going for. Focus on the PCs. Don't have an entire new game for players to learn. Changing into tactical starship combat is as seamless as we can make it.
neutral · AI labelView post →there are more things, like, uh, biotics, naval combat, the actual mechanics of FTL requiring you to discharge your static charge on worlds, that would have been fun to do in the game...
neutral · AI labelView post →Best low-memory, turn-based, run-on-anything, strategy game on the market.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"To boldly go where no man has gone before." – Captain James T. Kirk FTL manages to immerse you in a brand new story every single time you set out in a shiny new ship. As you’ve probably gathered from other reviews, you will die often and spectacularly. Your crew will suffocate to death, be eaten by giant mutant space spiders, get beaten to death by rock aliens or mantises, burn up while flying too close to a sun, or be wiped out by a virus. Over and over again. FTL is brutally hard, and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →in about an hour @prettygrimgames.bsky.social and I are playing a game HEAVILY INSPIRED by FTL... It's called Void War, it looks neat but "heavily inspired" might be underselling the similarities. Watch Here:
neutral · AI labelView post →The original FTL is almost 14 years old, at the same time it never gets old. I enjoyed the original game for many hours, its core gameplay loop is fantastic and the game's difficulty (I play on normal or easy) is in the sweet spot to pose a challenge while it keeps the game being a fun and relaxing experience. And don't forget the music, it fits perfectly. My recommendation: Get the game, it's a blast! Nothing more to say here. That's it, as simple as that. No wait, there's one more thing.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you miss FTL, don't miss our next game, Cosmo Cargo! We've just updated the demo, and it's better than ever. It has about ~1 hour of gameplay. And we welcome your feedback: feel free to share your thoughts with us on Steam or Discord. :) #screenshotsaturday #gamedev #indiegame #space
neutral · AI labelView post →In the thirteen years I've been playing FTL I've come to realise that this is one of the best and most tightly designed games I've ever played. I'm so sad that the developers did not create any more content beyond Advanced Edition because, in spite of there already being so much content to sink your teeth into for the ten dollar price tag, it has left me wanting so much more. I recommend this game to everyone and it has made me a staunch fan of Subset Games. Please work on more things so I can…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →---{Graphics}--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☐ Good ☑ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ Free Fire ---{Gameplay}--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It‘s just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{Audio}--- ☑ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☐ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{Audience}--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ All ---{PC Requirements}--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☑ Potato ☐ Decent ☐ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amusingly there is this game called Stellaris, which started off with three different kinds of FTL, and one of them was Star Trek style warp drive Anyway they removed all of them except for jump points
neutral · AI labelView post →Words cannot adequately express the satisfaction that comes from improving your skills micromanaging a spaceship to travel across star systems, punch through enemy defenses, and deliver important Federation messages (and prevent the evil Rebels from destroying a hard-earned galactic peace). In FTL: Faster Than Light, unlike other roguelike/lite games, you don't get upgrades or bonuses that will make subsequent runs easier. Your skill as a player is what's getting upgraded. That, coupled with…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →had a dream about a neat video game! It was all about inventory management... The game screen was a top view of a space ship, pretty much like FTL but it was also your inventory, an even grid kinda like Resident evil inventory.
positive · AI labelView post →You can't make a FTL-inspired/space game without hyperspace jumps 🚀✨ #gamedev #indiegame #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →FTL: Faster Than Light basically planted the seeds for how i engage with games bc it taught me a very critical lesson: a game can have no story, but lots of story.
positive · AI labelView post →The game got a pointless update AFTER 14 YEARS because one of the devs trooned out and absolutely needed was/were name changed. The game is now 117 MB bigger WITHOUT ANY SANE REASON. No patch notes. This also broke all the mods, but hey. Why care about your paying customers?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is fantastic. A ship-to-ship space combat roguelite where instead of steering the ships, you control their main systems (weapons, shields, engines, oxygen, etc.) and manage their crews. The gameplay, which largely consists of putting out many, many literal and metaphorical fires all at once while trying to blast enemy ships out of the sky, is still as fun today as it was on release. There isn't much story to write home about, which plays to the game's strengths. FTL was a phenomenon in its…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The best way to game! #tightywhities #ftl
neutral · AI labelView post →Pain, RNG, frustration, sleepless night, one more jump, giant spiders and many many more await you in this little gem. Get it on sale or not and be happy to get a great game. Play it for a while, then instal multiverse and get the sequel which was never released. 10/10 Absolute gem.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Still playing 14 years later, genuinely never gets old. One of the best indie games ever made, they don't make em like they used to.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm on the train again today so Ask Me Anything about - making electronic music - Subnautica 2 - FTL - indie game music - working for yourself - Into the Breach - my cats - D&D - Generation Exile - anything else you can think of
neutral · AI labelView post →Fairly new game, only just came out. Haven't played much but seems good. (get the multiverse mod)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kinda love juggling rechargeable batteries in video games. FTL, caves of qud, XCOM. I would play the hell out of a cozy incremental or roguelite game where you rig solar panels, relocate batteries and daisy chain extension leads around your solarpunk dystopian commune.
positive · AI labelView post →As a preliminary statement, this review never would have been a recommendation, but I wouldn't have left a review at all (positive or negative) if I didn't want to reach people interested in the problems others see in the game. If I could rate it on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 7.5 I am writing this review as someone who has literally obtained every single achievement, in-game and out, in FTL, at the hardest difficulty. I have pumped countless hours into the game (my actual hours are a quite…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey gays. I'm gonna stream tonight! Going back to a game I have nearly 100 hours in: FTL: Faster Than Light It's a roguelike spaceship management game. Come watch this puppy live out her Star Trek Fantasy twitch.tv/skylierrain 7:30PM
neutral · AI labelView post →Live in 1 HOUR with Keep Driving. It's like FTL, if FTL was a game about a road trip, and not about suffocating members of starfleet. 💗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO4f... 💜 www.twitch.tv/nerdcubed
neutral · AI labelView post →I forgot how hard FTL is, truly a great game still, but oh my god sometimes it just kills you
positive · AI labelView post →Game is peak even before the Multiverse mod! If you buy this game, play it once/twice vanilla, then get the multiverse mod. Trust me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Every run is pure tension. You think you’re doing great until your ship catches fire and the crew suffocates. Brutal, but I love it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →DEEPSPACE VOIDTRUCKERS is HEAVILY influenced by the videogame FTL.
neutral · AI labelView post →I first bought and tried FTL a whopping 10 years ago, got frustrated at the final boss and shoved it to the side for a very long time. However now that I'm much older and far more patient I finally gave the game another chance, and fell in love with it. This game invokes a certain feeling that games rarely get right about space. It's something beautiful, but also very vast and lonely, and the soundtrack perfectly captures that feeling the moment the game is launched. Sometimes I'll let the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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