9. FTL: Advanced Edition
Even if you don't care much for space travel, and think the money spent on humanity's interplanetary ventures could be better used to try and protect our own planet than poke around on a dead one, the appeal of managing your own spaceship is undeniably... universal? Well, you can try to deny it, but that would reveal that you haven't yet played the hit indie sensation FTL (Faster than Light) - a rogue-like management game in which you deal with the day-to-day goings-on on a spaceship, as it tries to deliver a data packet to a Galactic Federation (like the UN, but more functional) while evading rebel ships, asteroids, and scores of other potential hazards in the vast void of space. Despite being a top-down game with fairly simple graphics, FTL is an emotionally engaging experience. If one of your crew members dies, they're not coming back, and often you'll be faced with tough decisions that may involve sacrificing one of your crew so that you may save the rest - the kind of decision that no space commander should have to make... but the kind that every gamer relishes. Along your journey, you'll get into dogfights, trade with intergalactic races, and upgrade your ship to become an interstellar powerhouse. The Advanced Edition (which you can
pick up at GOG.com) features new aliens to interact with, ships to manage, weapons, music and more, and is the best way to enjoy this astronomically popular indie gem.