Part of the issue is that modern games are usually getting fixes right up to release. Pre-release reviews tend to focus on things that aren’t likely to ever change significantly, like design and writing.

It would be nice if they gave a summary of issues they saw with a disclaimer that they may get fixed instead of omitting that information entirely.

The dev stated that it mostly exists for more performance-limited applications like mobile.

Similarly, VLC names their releases after Discworld characters. It’s a fun way to make major versions feel like more than just a number increment.

I’ve been playing Gamedle recently. I tend to discover interesting games both as answers and while researching the info I have.

More biomes don’t fix the fundamental flaw in the design. It treats planets the same way Raft treats islands. They become purely a resource hunt for the player, no matter what skin they have.

Raft gets away with it by having your base travel with you, being incredibly hostile, and being short enough that the loop doesn’t get tiring.

NMS and Starbound struggle from the same issues. Infinite tiered worlds end up feeling the same, but also remove all meaning from the exploration. In Minecraft or Terraria you aren’t going to be flying to a totally new place in five minutes, so you want to get to know your surroundings and put down some roots.

Travel time and not having tiered world progression makes the player care about where they are at instead of seeing it as a stepping stone.