Yep, there are definitely many comparisons between Starbound and Starfield, it is why I was excited about SF in the first place - it looked like a big budget SB made by an experienced veteran team! The joke’s on me I guess lol

I too wish for a game like this but apparently it’s impossible to do it, either due to lack of vision, budget or expertise (or all of the above). Starfield sounded perfect on paper and it was a good studio to attempt it but in the end it was just a bland, soulless, boring mess of a game.

As for my suggestions, I just got smaller games, not larger ,and in that vein honestly: FTL. It’s a 2d sprite roguelike and yet it’s the best game at giving me the feeling of being a scrappy starship captain on the run, trying to scrounge together resources in order to complete my trip despite overwhelming odds.

The second closest game is Starbound but your mileage will vary, it feels unfinished and there is no real story to speak off, although the ship you continually improve and build in over time as you explore the universe does start to feel cozy and homely. It is also basically a worse Terraria in space so if you don’t like gameplay like that, skip.

If you like Mass Effect you ought to try KOTOR1 and 2, oldies but goldies, but they do have the same weaknesses you already outlined for ME, it’s very much a set story.

Just completing the main quests afaik, if it’s only been a year then there shouldn’t be too many.

They actually went back and reduced the painful grinds for some of the previous stuff, like crafting railjack/necramechs and most syndicates are now much easier to progress.

I dunno if it counts as an MMORPG but Warframe has sunk its claws back into me and I can’t get it out of my head. The new update is mindblowing in many ways and I’m so into whatever the devs keep cooking if they continue like this.

It’s a tough game to get into but I’ve been playing it on and off for a decade now and there’s nowhere I’d rather be

It’s a weird game. You’re not really supposed to play it like a game and have fun like in a game lol, if that makes sense.

For example - you should avoid combat if you can. Take only one or few enemies at a time and that’s if you are in good condition (not panicked, exhausted, in pain, malnourished and drunk at the same time)

Never run anywhere, it just tires you out and creates noise. Calmly walk away from zombies and lose them by breaking LoS. This takes practice and is generally tedious

Don’t do fun stuff like rely on vehicles or guns too much, at least in the early game. They are noisy and attract too much attention, you use them once you have enough ammo and a place to fall back to in case it goes wrong. Cars are great once you have a secured base away from the main city areas but aren’t that useful for city exploration.

Bases are not really safe. You can barricade all you want but if one zombie starts banging on it, soon the others will join due to noise. Generally you want to be out of reach and hidden rather than well defended. Proactively clear out the areas you spend a lot of time in.

etc. etc. It’s much more of a simulator than a game at times, for better and worse. I have a love hate relationship with it xd

I haven’t even started with satisfactory 1.0, I’m still behind on DSP the dark swarm update. Factorio coming out soon and I’m eyeing Alan Wake 2 that’s on a sale right now, while I just recently bought the DLC for Against the Storm that I only played for a few hours.

I need help

Guys its getting harder and harder every year to still hope this turns out okay

In some ways I wish they cut even more, act 3 felt bloated and very badly paced to the point it felt like a slog to get through.

I have 0 expectations or hopes for it. Hope some people find it fun, I personally have such a backlog of good games from trustworthy and beloved developers that the only way I’m going to get this is on a 80% discount in a few years, if ever.