The Loa play very different from the other races. Not in a bad way, but they certainly won't be for everyone.
You'll be using smaller fleets, usually, due to their method of FTL, but their ships are sturdy and have the most guns of any race, along with the advantage of being able to be reformed into any other ship(s), anywhere, at anytime, so long as there is enough ship material present in the fleet.
Their colonization mechanics are a bit different, too. They ignore climate hazard, but biosphere operates similarly for them, so they spend time clearing that out. Their population growth rate is also linked to solar activity (lower is better), and directly related to their tax rate. Also, they get AI tech right really early, but no research advantage from it.
They probably play the most uniquely of the races, and they're certainly interesting.
EDIT: If anyone is thinking of firing it up to try out the new expansion/update, I'd suggest playing on a decently large map that's not full of AIs. I've found that the AI tends to over-emphasize their war efforts if they get into an early war, and ignore their expansion, crippling their growth. A little growing room to get their empire up and running seems to help them out.