Choose FTL: Faster Than Light
Choose FTL: Faster Than Light if you want a Simulation experience. On Steam, it's currently about 33% cheaper on the Steam Store. 46,262 Steam reviews back the pick.
FTL: Faster Than Light vs Heat Signature
FTL: Faster Than Light and Heat Signature both land in Strategy, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam. FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) is 5 years older than Heat Signature (2017). Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (FTL: Faster Than Light: 46,262 reviews, Heat Signature: 6,133). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Heat Signature
Choose Heat Signature if you want an Action and Adventure experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2017) and ships with the modern feature baseline. 6,133 Steam reviews back the pick.
Both FTL: Faster Than Light and Heat Signature sit in Strategy and Indie on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Steam reviews are nearly tied (95.5% vs 94.8% positive), so genre fit is the cleanest tiebreaker — scroll the table for the feature-by-feature view.
Side-by-side comparison
 FTL: Faster Than Light |  Heat Signature | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2012 | 2017 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie, Simulation | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Playable | Deck Unsupported |
| Price | 9.99 USD | 14.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 95.5% positive (46,262 reviews) | 94.8% positive (6,133 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Subset Games | Suspicious Developments |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) is 5 years older than Heat Signature (2017).
- Both sit near 95% positive on Steam (FTL: Faster Than Light: 46,262 reviews, Heat Signature: 6,133).
- FTL: Faster Than Light is currently ~33% cheaper on Steam than Heat Signature (9.99 USD vs. 14.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: FTL: Faster Than Light is Deck Playable, Heat Signature is Deck Unsupported.
FTL: Faster Than Light vs Heat Signature — FAQ
- Which is better, FTL: Faster Than Light or Heat Signature?
- On Steam reviews the two are nearly tied: FTL: Faster Than Light sits at 95.5% positive (46,262 reviews), Heat Signature at 94.8% (6,133). The choice usually comes down to genre fit and the platform features each one supports — see the comparison table above.
- Should I play FTL: Faster Than Light or Heat Signature first?
- If you want chronology, FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) came out before Heat Signature (2017). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are FTL: Faster Than Light and Heat Signature similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.