Too bad this game is a comedy. Could be so much better as a chilling, immersive space survival. Other than that the game is a blast. Subnautica in space that looks and runs better than Subnautica. Plus the length/price ratio rocks, took me 20 hours to finish the Early Access part and apparently it's just 1/4 of the game.
I cannot attest to the earlier iterations of the game but as of post 1.0.x, it's been rock solid and loads of fun. There are some areas where it can get a little mundane (walking is repeatedly mentioned), however I've found those to be on the margin and usually there's enough to look at or find during each trip that it's not entirely wasted and the devs have provided some shortcuts after completing an objective. Overall, the developers have done a very complete and great job of engrossing the player into the environment and self-pacing. Challenges aren't incredibly difficult and players with a good eye for detail and recall will be well rewarded when needing a specific part for a particular recipe for crafting. I've enjoyed it all, including the pithy comments and banter. Some tools have seemingly short lifespans, but it can't all be infinite or it'd be entirely too easy and un-enjoyable. To each their own..
There's no random pointless animals swimming around. This game is just different than your normal craft/survival games. It's deep, but not deep enough that you'll need to study. Great game. Only downside is waiting for the last 2 chapters to come out some time this year (maybe)