Yes. FTL: Faster Than Light is still a good game in 2026, and I think it's going to be a good game for a long time. I've put over 100 hours into it on Steam, and I actually went back to it after playing Into the Breach , the studio's follow-up , because Into the Breach made me want to play FTL more, not less.
Both are from Subset Games. FTL came out in September 2012 and Into the Breach in February 2018, per their Steampages. Both are on sale in the games.gg store this week.
What Is FTL?
Subset calls it a "spaceship simulation roguelike-like". You command one ship and its crew across a randomly generated galaxy, jumping from beacon to beacon while the rebel fleet closes in behind you.
Every encounter is a decision. If a missile barrage knocks out your shields, you can reroute power to the engines and run, power up more weapons and fight, or send a boarding party across. And when your ship is destroyed, the run is over , you start again from the beginning.
Is FTL Still Good in 2026?
Yes. I went back to it, and Into the Breach is the reason. Into the Breach is a turn-based strategy game about mechs defending cities, but it has the same Subset feel , and it made me want to play FTL more, not less.
A newer game from the same studio sent me back to the older one, more than a decade after it came out.
How Hard Is FTL?
It depends on your level of patience. I don't think it's hard if you have the patience to understand what's going on. For parts of it, though, it's less of a learning curve and more of a learning wall.
You can also get stitched up by the RNG, quite a lot. The galaxy, the shops, and the fights are all random, so a run can end because of bad luck as much as bad decisions. That's part of the deal with a roguelike.
What Ship Should You Start With?
You don't get much choice at first. You start with only one or two ships, and the rest unlock as you play , so the question of which ship is best only really opens up once you've had a few runs.
For a first run, the ship question mostly answers itself: you fly what you've got, and more ships open up the more you play.
Best FTL Tips for Beginners
- Expect to die. I doubt very much that anyone completes FTL on their first run.
- Learn as you go. Use early runs to understand what each system does and what benefits you in different situations.
- Knowledge carries over. What you learn persists to the next run, even when your ship doesn't.
Should You Turn On FTL: Advanced Edition?
Honestly, I didn't even know what it meant at first. It isn't a graphical setting. Advanced Edition is a free expansion from 2014 that adds a new alien race, events, weapons, playable ships, drones, and more, per Subset's Steam page.
You choose whether it's on with a checkbox in the hangar when you pick your ship, for each new run. Digital Trends' FTL guide suggests leaving it off for your first runs, so you learn the base game before the extra content.
What About the FTL: Multiverse Mod?
I haven't played Multiverse, but I've watched videos of it. It's a big fan-made mod for FTL, and people are still searching for it in 2026 , which says a lot about how long the game has lasted.
The Verdict
FTL needs patience and it will kill you, especially on your first run , but it's a good game and I think it will be for a long time. And if Into the Breach does to you what it did to me, you'll end up back in FTL. Both are on sale in the games.gg store right now.
