Monday Impressions: FTL: Faster Than Light

FTL: Faster Than Light is a Strategy Simulator for the PC. An addicting game that you could find yourself playing for hours. You command your own spacecraft and crew through dangerous territory. It's a concept that should have been tackled before. I have no idea why I held off buying this game, but I'm thankful I caved in the end.

You are given the simple task of bringing vital information to the allied fleet. With the rebel fleet behind you, you have to jump from sector to sector to avoid engaging the rebels. Each playthrough can clock from 1 -2 hours. But don't let this disappoint you because  it's not about how long the journey is, it's how you got there and how you survived. The game is tough, which leaves me still trying to beat it on normal difficulty after 22 hours spent in just a week. yes, it's tough to the point were I spend countless playthroughs trying to reach the end. With this game, once your hull life goes zero, it's over.

After all those hours spend, I'm surprised that I don't find any sense of repetitiveness in the gameplay. The replay value really makes the $10 price tag worth the buy because each new game is different from the rest. Moving from sector to sector, you are given different results, making each encounter and event pretty random and unpredictable.

The gameplay will also make any Star Trek, or any sci-fi series that involves a ship happy. You are in charge of everything on the ship; which crew member man's what, how to distribute ship power between systems, and order your men to either board enemy ships, extinguish fires and repair broken parts in the ship, it looks simply but actually crazy. It can go out of control so fast that I appreciate the pause feature that lets me analyze and plan my next move.

This game can be pure addiction. The day I purchase the FTL on Steam, I download the game, which is only 157MB big, and lost my whole afternoon in a blink of an eye. It's a great strategy game and has a unique gameplay. It makes me wonder why no big developer has bothered to make something like this. FTL: Faster Than Light happened thanks to Kickstarter, and all the supporters that backed the project. It was released last year and I understand now why people were giving so much praise.

The soundtrack is also worth hearing. I'm really not into soundtracks, especially in video games,but FTL's music got me humming every time I play. The sound effects also fit well with the soundtrack, so it's a treat for the ears. For me, It's not everyday you get to play a game and give the music big praise. I honestly can't remember when's the last time I loved a game's soundtrack.

This game is special, a game that's worth more than the price tag placed on Steam. I would love to give this game a full review and talk about other aspects of the game, but I'll hold off for now because I still have to experience other ships you can unlock and actually finishing the game. I'm still very determined to finish the game, even with Normal difficulty kicking my ass every single time. But I love the challenge. I could easily finish the game on easy, but I stopped and really want to get my first win on normal. I'm just stubborn that way. If you got some spare change and want a game that is a definite time sink, get FTL: Faster Than Light. Only regret so far is that I didn't buy it earlier.

Trailer