An Indie Backlog curated overview. We round up the best indie roguelikes and how professional critics and players received each one — the scores below are theirs, linked to the source.
Command a starship on a desperate dash across the galaxy — the tense, systems-driven roguelike that launched a thousand imitators.
At a Glance
| Developer | Subset Games |
| Release year | 2012 |
| Platforms | PC, iPad |
| Subgenre | Strategy roguelike |
| Length | ~25 hours (main story) |
| Metacritic | 84 / 100 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (~95%, 77,000+ reviews) |
| Steam Deck | Playable |
| Languages | 10 |
About the Game
FTL: Faster Than Light, from two-person Subset Games (who would later make Into the Breach), is a real-time-with-pause spaceship roguelike. You captain a single ship fleeing across randomized sectors, pursued by a relentless enemy fleet, managing power, crew, weapons, and shields through a string of tense encounters and impossible decisions.
Every run is a precarious balancing act. You divert power between systems mid-battle, send crew to put out fires and repair breaches, and weigh whether to answer a distress call (and risk an ambush) or play it safe. Resources are scarce, death is permanent, and a single bad jump can undo an hour of careful play.
A 2012 Kickstarter success, FTL became a foundational indie roguelike — endlessly replayable, brutally tense, and deceptively deep. The free Advanced Edition added even more ships and systems. It runs on practically anything and remains a genre touchstone over a decade later.
Screenshots
Screenshots: official Steam media for FTL: Faster Than Light.
Why It Made the List
FTL makes the list as one of the roguelikes that built the modern genre. Its tense, decision-dense spaceship management still has no real equal, and “one more jump” is as addictive now as it was in 2012. A timeless classic.
What the Critics Say
FTL: Faster Than Light holds a Metacritic score of 84. Critics praised its tension, replayability, and depth; the main caveat is its reliance on luck and a steep early learning curve.
What Players Say
On Steam it’s rated Overwhelmingly Positive across more than 77,000 reviews — about 95% positive, over a decade after release. Players still call it one of the most replayable games ever made.
Praise & Criticism
Praise
- Tense, decision-dense ship management
- Endlessly replayable
- Runs on almost anything
- A genre-defining classic
Criticism
- Heavy reliance on luck
- Steep early learning curve
- Dated presentation
Games Like This
- Into the Breach — Subset Games’ tactical follow-up
- Slay the Spire — another tense, run-based classic
- Darkest Dungeon — punishing, decision-heavy roguelike
Where to Buy
Plain store links for now — swap in your affiliate-tagged URLs once you’ve joined Amazon Associates and the eBay Partner Network. (Steam has no affiliate program; that link is for convenience.)
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