It aimed for a very specific feeling. There was a sense of discovery and a dreading sense of isolation. It made you sit alone with your thoughts in between bouts of awe and wonder. Death was cruel and could be frequent, and the universe had nebulous rules which were never made entirely clear to the player. And why would it? You’re in the mind of a dying machine.
Current NMS is an excellent space sandbox minecraft-lite, but the experience of meeting players ten minutes into a new game, and a focus on community events and progression strips away that feeling of isolation.
It’s mostly fine. The game has a much broader appeal to match its marketing budget. The game was just obviously aiming at a much more niche audience initially.
I did not expect this thing to actually be hauled to shore. Kind of thought they were just going to leave it. How much did it cost to pull that thing up?