This game has a bit of everything. Exploration, building, crafting, getting better and better things in a "level up" way. The story is good, weaving in and out of places and things to do. Multiplayer is great, I play with my buddy all the time. I know the universe is expansive but I never see anyone else besides them in free play. Finding just the right ship is great fun, and hunting for the perfect capitol ship is awesome. The versatility between systems is also good enough to be fun. There are enough "side missions" like opening up inventory space and getting ships, to keep it entertaining, even if they all have an end to them eventually.

There is an endpoint to this game. There are only so many things you can collect, even though it's procedural there's only so much you can see before it starts to appear the same. It may not be the same, but the novelty wears off. The game isn't challenging past about 5-10 hours either. Making units or nanites is super simple and not very grindy, perfect for casual players that can put 5-10 hours in a week but not for long term sustainability in playing. There's also only a few ways to make excessive amount of units, funneling you into a similar path. You can choose different paths, but it will be a longer grind.

You will probably get a good 100, maybe 200 hours before you run out of things to do. Then, it turns into any creative building game, waiting for the next patch to do new things. At this point, I will move on. Might beat the game in permadeath first. Solid pickup when on sale. Great fun with friends.