This game is absolutely unique as far as I can tell. Very good for the engineering types.

- You get to work with gases/liquids/solids (hopefully not solids in pipes) and have to think about their phase changes, and how they interact with each other.
- Electricity is just the right amount of realistic so that it is actually just fun, where things such as batteries and transformers just sort of naturally lose their charge, and things can burn-out or explode if you push too much current through, but things like dealing with AC or DC is omitted.
- There is farming, which can be fully automated, and some plant genetics (which I haven't gotten around to yet...)
- Most machines and devices (excluding airlocks) on their own are not too useful, but functionality can be FULLY customized with MIPS assembly (or standalone logic circuits, but those are less efficient in game?)
- The start of the game is very rough in terms of overall difficulty, but the game itself is rewarding.
- There is some degree of survival through water, food, oxygen, and hygiene (though hygiene seems very easy to ignore), so a lot of non-technical infrastructure needs to be built as well, which I find very nice, as it forces me to make things other than just massive factories.
- End game ores are based around region-bound "Deep Miner" machines which eventually generate an infinite amount of 1-3 types ore.
- The only end game gas source is trading as far as I can tell. (And mining rockets, thanks commenter :))

What I feel is currently missing is a way to fully automate those region-bound Deep Miners, as the only Rover in-game is rather clunky and walking to those Deep Miners just isn't as fun.

There seems to be a plan to (re-)add space travel and spaceship building, potentially with the ability to cross over to different planets, which could alleviate the grass-is-greener(-on-the-other-planet) syndrome for me.

This game is incredibly well made. Everything just works. It doesn't prevent you from having fun through some convoluted mechanics or awful mini-games, but the progression is thought through and gives you reason to move forward and to revisit and improve what you've built. The sheer amount of content with the DLC is definitely worth the price tag, given that it also reworks the base game a fair bit. There's pretty much nothing that can't be worked around with the tools the game provides.

This game has a rather unique concept where a new player has the exact same equipment as a veteran player - in other words, there is no progression in that regard. This game does not hold your hand, but gives you all the tools necessary to navigate the world and its dangers. I enjoy the balance of the game, and the updates so far are leading it into an even more interesting direction. I also enjoy just how "alive" this game feels on High Seas, and only your own survival instinct and perception of (ships, rowboats, and mermaids) going on around you can keep you safe.

Can't wait for Baldur's Gate 3 2