A few years back I wrote about a little game called FTL. Well, a year or so ago they put out a free update, which added a whole load more encounters, weapons, equipment, ship rooms and other stuff too. I hadn't played the updated version much due to the fact that I played the classic version a lot (a crazy amount, in fact!).
Recently, one of my good friends finally got into the game and had been telling me a little here and there about his adventures and it started to re-ignite my enthusiasm for the game. After just a few games I feel like I'm completely hooked again!! Annoyingly I have to start from scratch because I now have FTL in steam and on a new computer, so I have none of my unlocks from the previous time I played.
The game is fundamentally the same as it has even been and if you want to know what that is, then follow the link I put in the first sentence of this post. If you can't be bothered then essentially the game involves you managing a space ship, fleeing from a rebel fleet across numerous procedurally generated space system. There is no load facility so if you die that's it, you can't reload from an early point. It's a desperate dash involving a certain amount of luck on what you find on your journey and decision making, with frantic real time space battles. At first the game can seem completely luck based and out to beat you into a pulp on every attempt, but as you become more familiar with it you become savvy to it's tricks and learn how to manage your resources and make better decisions. Each run through takes up to an hour and a half tops, but normally averages about the hour mark. It's a glorious game.
Anyway, back to the updated version of the game and what it changes. Well, as I said at the beginning of this post it just adds in a whole bunch of new options and potential encounters, sounds nice and just more of the same, no? Well, I don't think it is anymore. Because there more ways to do things and more ways for your enemy to end your desperate journey, I think it changes a lot more than just the new alternatives. This new update makes the game significantly harder because you have to guard against so much more. In the old game you could pump your shields and engines up and you'd be pretty much golden, but now your crew members might be mind controlled, or your shields might be hacked and taken down completely at a stroke! Also, the game isn't any longer and due to there being so many more variations, if you see something you want the chances of it appearing again in another system are next to nil, so you have to grab it when you can!
I must admit I didn't like the added complexity when it first came out, which is why I've not played it since the update. I thought that it diluted the game too much, took away the simple charm of the original version. I think it is because my friend has got into the game that I now feel I've seen it in a new light and really do appreciate it again.
This game will run on the most basic of laptops, there's even an iPad version. The graphics and music are beautifully "retro" and the gameplay is excellent. If you like a game with a short run through that is highly replayable, possibly endlessly replayable, then invest a few quid in this absolute gem of a game.
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