I really have to hand it to the developers: they haven't given up after many years. They continue adding new features: base building, land vehicles, space stations, quests, and even multiplayer! More updates are coming, too. Set aside the hype, promises, media attention, etc. Just look at this as a resource management, survival, crafting, technology progression, exploration game. It maintains all those features very nicely. A few concerns: (1) The gameplay loop is pretty simple. Once you can fly after the first hour, you're pretty much just jumping to new bases, planets, and star systems to get more resources, unlocked technology, (very simple) story progression, and ship purchase options. You will not find a very deep story; you will not find unique encounters or interesting boss/dungeon mechanics (there are no dungeon-like or boss features). (2) Compare the features to the price. Reviews aren't supposed to get into pricing, so I'll just say: if a good $30 game priced at $60 will raise some eyebrows. (3) Some players look for excitement. This game is more relaxed. Plan to see amazing landscapes and interesting alien animals while hunting for resources and technology upgrades. Plan to sit back and relax (after you get your oxygen and flight systems in place, that is). (4) Although multiplayer now exists, most multiplayer features players expect do not exist. There is no guild feature, you can't form a party, there's not a good way for players to combine strengths (like there's no tank, damage, and healer class). There's no big reason to play together: no group dungeons (or whatever you would call them in space), no group-based technology or crafting (like a reason to get together and work on something together). So, if you're looking for multiplayer: just understand you'll be relaxing, exploring, and doing maybe small fights together just to chill and have fun. It's not the traditional MMO or co-op experience.
If you hesitate because this is a roguelike, give it a chance. I agree with so many other reviewers: this game is great in that almost every death feels like something the player could have prevented. I almost always feel like I learned a new strategy (or learned which strategy is bad) when I die. Yes, there are some elements left to chance (I hope I get a weapon which matches my preferred strategy within the first sector), but failing that isn't a death sentence. The fact that ship-specific achievements unlock new starting ships and loadouts for future attempts gives this game a feeling of progression. There are so many fun strategies to learn, even after you beat the game a number of times. I got this game because I like the idea of space-themed games. For a 2D game, this really gets the imagination going--especially with the writing and interesting events scattered throughout. I heard there may be a fan-fiction novel in progress for this game, too!
