The Independent Games Festival (IGF) is a celebration of gaming's hidden gems. On March 27th, five games will compete to win the Seumas McNally Grand Prize. Every weekday until then, Shacknews will be highlighting a finalist, exploring what makes each game so unique.

Who hasn't imagined owning a spaceship, exploring the galaxy with an eager crew? FTL: Faster Than Light lets us live out that life... while reminding us that jumping around space ain't no picnic.

Inspired by sci-fi TV shows like Star Trek, BSG, and Firefly, developer Subset Games created a roguelike adventure where your vessel will constantly come under surprising new obstacles. Go after a rescue beacon, only to be infected by a mysterious disease. Make a FTL jump, only to land right next to the sun. Try to fight against space pirates, all whilst your engine is on fire and half your crew has been jettisoned into space by a hull breach. Whoops.

Being a roguelike, the game has the hilarious tendency to kick you when you're down. As your ship limps to its final destination with an ounce of fuel left, FTL will (more likely than not) throw something horrible your way.

And yet, you'll come back for more. Disarray called it "simultaneously the greatest, and worst game ever made" when we awarded it a Best of 2012 award, proving FTL is a game that's simply hard to quit.

FTL: Faster Than Light is now available on PC, Mac, and Linux. A DRM-free version is available direct from the developer.