# FTL: Faster Than Light

> Spaceship simulation roguelike-like game with crew management and strategic combat. (iPhone/iPad app by Subset Games.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ftl-faster-than-light/id833951143 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Subset Games](https://appshunter.io/developer/833951146)
- Category: Games, Simulation, Strategy
- Price: $9.99
- Rating: 4.50/5 from 805 App Store ratings · 286 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 9+
- Requires: iOS 8.0 · 238 MB
- Languages: American English, French (France), German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Chinese (Simplified, China), European Spanish
- Released: 2014-04-03
- Data updated: 2026-08-19
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ftl-faster-than-light/id833951143/reviews.md

## What is FTL?

The award winning PC spaceship simulation game from Subset Games comes to iPad! Includes the free expansion, FTL: Advanced Edition, which adds new ships, enemies, events, weapons, and more!


PC version’s awards include:  
 - IGN - Game Of the Year Nominee 2012
 - PC Gamer - 2012 Best Short-Form Game
 - Indie Game Festival 2013 - Excellence in Design
 - Indie Game Festival 2013 - Audience Award
 - Game Developers Choice Awards 2013 - Best Debut: Subset Games


In FTL you experience the atmosphere of running a spaceship trying to save the galaxy. It's a dangerous mission, with every encounter presenting a unique challenge with multiple solutions. What will you do if a heavy missile barrage shuts down your shields? Reroute all power to the engines in an attempt to escape, power up additional weapons to blow your enemy out of the sky, or take the fight to them with a boarding party? This "spaceship simulation roguelike-like" allows you to take your ship and crew on an adventure through a randomly generated galaxy filled with glory and bitter defeat.


Key Features:
 - Give orders to your crew, manage ship power distribution and choose weapon targets in the heat of battle.
 - Pause the game mid-combat to evaluate your strategy and give orders.
 - Upgrade your ship and unlock new ones with the help of seven diverse alien races.
 - Hundreds of text based encounters will force you to make tough decisions.
 - Each play-through will feature different enemies, events, and results to your decisions. No two play-throughs will be quite the same.
 - Permadeath means when you die, there's no coming back. The constant threat of defeat adds importance and tension to every action.


Website - www.FTLgame.com
Twitter - @FTLgame


NOTE: Only compatible with iPad 2 or newer -- Will NOT run on iPad 1!

## Key features

- Crew and power management
- Strategic real-time combat with pause
- Ship upgrades and unlocks
- Randomly generated galaxy
- Hundreds of text-based encounters
- Permadeath

## What do users think of FTL?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- ⭐ Amazing game
- 🚀 Highly replayable
- 🎮 Excellent gameplay
- 💎 Challenging yet rewarding
- 🎶 Great soundtrack

**Cons**

- 🤯 Extremely difficult, even on easy mode
- 🔁 Repetitive start-from-scratch gameplay
- 🕹️ Clunky controls on iPad
- 🔍 Lack of save/load functionality

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Sound issues on iOS 10+
- Compatibility problems with newer iPad models

**Most requested features**

- Endless/sandbox mode
- Multiplayer support
- More ships and customization options
- Difficulty tweaks for easier progression

## Recent user reviews (10 of 286)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ftl-faster-than-light/id833951143/reviews.md

### 4/5 — This game was surprisingly easy for me.

*2026-08-10, version 1.6.21*

I know, so surprising! But I watched my dad play for years, and when I started out he helped, now I have memorized almost all outcomes for every decision, been playing it for years, favorite offline game by far!

May I point out that the age restrictions are 9+? Imagine a nine year old playing this game, better hope he is the most mature nine year old ever or it’s guaranteed a 1 star review.

### 1/5 — Frustrating Beyond What’s Reasonable

*2026-07-24, version 1.6.21*

Ok, I’m done with this game. Even on ‘easy’ mode, events are so random that you can be totally killing it. Then when you jump, one bad RNG roll, and you get wiped out. 

I am a game designer; that’s my job. I have so many ideas to make this game more fun and playable. I’ll give the developers one hint for free, on every failed attempt, give upgrade currency to improve your ship on the outset. 

As is, this game is a waste of time.

### 5/5 — A Very Good Game

*2026-07-12, version 1.6.21*

I miss the click-and-drag selection for launching crew commands, but this game is very fun and I am happy it was modded for mobile, only it took me like twelve years to notice. Thanks!

### 4/5 — Was having my best game yet, before a random encounter destroyed me

*2026-06-22, version 1.6.21*

It’s a very addictive and challenging game. Skill is a factor, but luck plays an equal part. Would love to see an ‘easier’ mode to help explore game mechanics. Would also love to get some reward for repelling boarders, fighting off 4 attackers on an early ship deserves something! Love this game but getting totally destroyed by an overpowered random encounter is frustrating. Skill alone is not enough

### 5/5 — I Love this game!

*2026-06-15, version 1.6.21*

This game is one of my favorites! I love the graphics, gameplay, and strategy of this game. I also like how you can command your own ship while evading a horde of other ships. I also like the advanced mode and being able to command your crew, and all of the systems and weapons you can unlock. My only issues with this game is that it’s incredibly hard, even on easy mode. I have never won the game before, even though I have gotten to sector 8 before. My other issue is that it’s difficult for me to unlock ships. It would be nice if there were more of specific sectors (Such as: “Rock Homeworlds” and “Rebel Stronghold”.) Anyways, I love the game, but I would like it if it was easier to win.

### 1/5 — Loading

*2026-05-30, version 1.6.21*

I played the game three or four times over the span of a couple weeks. Now when I try to open the app it just gets stuck on the loading screen. I even tried deleting and reinstalling it, still just loading…

### 5/5 — Awesome

*2026-05-24, version 1.6.21*

Ok hear me out this could possibly be the best strategy game ever it is so replayable! It is also EXTREMELY hard but it is definitely worth it to buy! 👍

### 5/5 — Still one of the best iPad games years later

*2026-05-23, version 1.6.21*

Hasn’t been updated in a long time, but doesn’t need it. Beautiful, deep, engaging, simple, fun. Hours and hours of gameplay, and has been translated well to touch. Runs on any iPad too and easy on battery. Still a MUST-BUY for iPad users!

### 2/5 — Clunky interface, iPad afterthought slop

*2026-05-18, version 1.6.21*

The interface is extremely clunky and just doesn't do a lot of things that are very obvious that it should do. I see the last update was four years ago, so iPads haven't changed a lot since then so I don't really get why the touch interface is so bad. They threw in this pause-when-you-select-your-guys option that's more like a nod to the fact that the interface is so badly designed in the game can't be played in real time as a result. Sometimes you'll get a dialogue that pops up the instant you're selecting a character in the same spot as a dialogue option so you don't even get to read the dialogue and you're forced into whatever you happen to be touching at the moment you definitely get the impression that the developers never play tested it. It's just a gambling, RNG psychological manipulation type of game so they probably won't enjoy it knowing the manipulative mechanics. 

It would make a lot more sense if the battles just started paused. Instead, you got this weird thing where pause is being toggle depending on what you're doing so you're constantly miss touching what you intend to do and there's no other alternative. For instance, you have to go into "door mode" to open and close doors then you have to turn it off again to do anything else you can't just select outside the door mode to disable it. The same is true for every single kind of subsystem. You have to turn on each subsystem to use the thing even if there's only one thing then you have to turn that mode off again. It's ridiculous. You can tell the developers really didn't care. They just wanted to get an iPad version out so they could get it in Apple's silo ecosystem. I also have to mention that the newest version of the iPadOS loses your entire review if you change your orientation, so Apple is getting worse and worse because they can keep getting sales as a monopoly as the only option outside of Google. I don't know why iOS 26 is so bad. It's been six months and they still haven't fixed a lot of very obvious glitches.

### 1/5 — Imitation of Participation

*2026-02-25, version 1.6.21*

That’s how I would describe this game. The outcome of any session depends mostly on randomness (around 80%), with player skill having only a minor impact (about 20%). No matter how good you are at the game, randomness ultimately decides whether a run is successful or not.

Because of this, the game barely needs a player at all. The developers should take a look at Dead Cells to understand how to properly balance randomness with player skill. In its current state, the game feels like a slot machine — just much, much longer.

## Frequently asked questions about FTL

### What is FTL: Faster Than Light?

FTL: Faster Than Light is an award-winning PC spaceship simulation game now available on iPad. It's a 'spaceship simulation roguelike-like' where you command a spaceship and its crew on a mission to save the galaxy. You'll face dangerous encounters, manage ship systems, and make critical decisions.

### What are the key features of FTL?

Key features include managing your crew, distributing ship power, and targeting weapons in real-time combat, with the ability to pause for strategic evaluation. You can upgrade your ship, unlock new ones, and face hundreds of text-based encounters that require tough choices. The game features a randomly generated galaxy and permadeath, ensuring no two playthroughs are the same.

### How much does FTL: Faster Than Light cost?

FTL: Faster Than Light is a paid application. The price reflects the full game experience, including the FTL: Advanced Edition expansion, which adds new ships, enemies, events, and weapons.

### What devices is FTL compatible with?

This application is only compatible with iPad 2 or newer. It will NOT run on iPad 1. Ensure your device meets these specifications before purchasing.

### What kind of gameplay can I expect from FTL?

You can expect a highly challenging and strategic gameplay experience. Each encounter presents unique problems, from enemy attacks to system failures, requiring you to make quick decisions about power allocation, crew actions, and combat tactics. The permadeath feature means that failure is permanent, adding significant tension and replayability.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.6.21 — 2021-10-05

Update for newer iPad Mini support.

### 1.6.20 — 2021-05-18

-Added localization for 9 new languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese!
-Improved aspect ratio support for newer iPad models

(Version 1.6.18 + 1.6.19 + 1.620)
-Fix for JP localization launch failures
-Fix for rare crashes on some devices
-Fix for stability on older iPad devices

### 1.6.19 — 2021-05-12

-Added localization for 9 new languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese!
-Improved aspect ratio support for newer iPad models

(Version 1.6.18 + 1.6.19)
-Fix for rare crashes on some devices
-Fix for stability on older iPad devices

### 1.6.18 — 2021-04-21

-Added localization for 9 new languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese!
-Improved aspect ratio support for newer iPad models

(Version 1.6.18)
-Fix for rare crashes on some devices

### 1.6.17 — 2021-02-23

-Added localization for 9 new languages: French, Italian, German, Spanish, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese!
-Improved aspect ratio support for newer iPad models

(Version 1.6.17)
-Updated app package to correctly flag the newly supported languages

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-19.*