Backed this one on Kickstarter, so I've been playing the beta for a couple weeks.

GOG: http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/faster_than_light
Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/

Here's a post I wrote on GOG.com about it:

As a Kickstarter backer, I've been playing the beta via Steam quite a bit over the past couple weeks. […]
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As a Kickstarter backer, I've been playing the beta via Steam quite a bit over the past couple weeks.

I don't really agree with this game being called a roguelike, as it doesn't play anything like one. It's more like a board game with real-time elements. It does have a ton of game-to-game randomness, though: the beacon layouts, sector types, encounters, loot, etc. are different every time.

The general flow of the game is that you jump from beacon to beacon, and sector-to-sector, choosing how to deal with random encounters and attempting to incrementally upgrade your ship in whatever way you see fit with the resources available (with an ultimate goal of being able to face down an enemy mothership/flagship). Sometimes you choose or are forced into combat, and this becomes a mini-game of micromanaging your crew and ship systems:
- you can juggle reactor power amongst multiple systems if you don't have enough to go around
- certain systems gain bonuses from being manned, and you may need to send crew member(s) to various parts of the ship to repair damage
- controlling which weapons you fire at a given time has a major effect on combat, as different enemy ships have different systems and shield capabilities to contend with

They also set up a clever mechanic where an enemy fleet is chasing you across the sectors. This is depicted by a red circle that encroaches from the left side of the map, with a second circle showing where the fleet will advance to when you make your next jump. This forces you to make judgment calls about which beacons to visit within a sector before moving on to the next one. My general strategy is usually to tack up and down the sector while staying just ahead of the danger zone, but the beacon layouts don't always make that easy.

The game is quite challenging (but not downright frustrating); I haven't managed to beat the final encounter yet, despite having reached it 3 times or so. I even switched to Easy mode after the first time I lost near the end, and it didn't improve my chances to the point where I could win.

What will help me win, I think, is that you can unlock new ships and alternate layouts by getting certain achievements. This is loosely analogous to classes in roguelikes, as different ships are focused on different play-styles (engi ships, for example, specialize in drones).

Overall, it's a fun and addictive game that never plays the same way twice. Each session is a few hours long (provided you live that long), and I'm still seeing new encounters and such after playing it on and off for a couple of weeks.

TotalBiscuit "WTF Is..." video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-SnIhpCm5w

Would like to see an LGR episode on this game, or even an ADG filler 😀