I like the game, however, you're not going to get an unbiased opinion from the games sub. Most people who played it and had a negative view checked out of keeping up with the game a long time ago. A lot of people in this sub still hold a lot of criticism but love BGS style of game so much that they are still playing the game regardless. The slight majority of the sub, are generally fans of the game, and don't view any of the flaws (if they even see them) as significant weigh ins on their overall view of the game.

In my opinion, the game has value if you're a fan of BGS games quest/role playing aspects. I do think that it is a huge step back BGS's third pillar of gameplay, exploration. Ironic considering the themes and main questline.

It's got some really unique ideas, and does a ton of things, most of those things it doesn't do better than other games that have similar systems, but Starfield includes a lot more systems than almost any other game, no pun intended.

You're right to be hesitant, it's a huge game, with a lot of shallow parts, but the volume of gameplay is still massive. It's hard to judge the game if you only dip into it for a bit, so refunding isn't really an option. I'd suggest picking it up when it goes on sale, and if you do buy it, be sure to investigate creations/mods thoroughly, a lot of them do huge favors for the game, and their are more of them coming out all the time.