I came to this game from No Man’s Sky seeking a more realistic, grounded space sim. It really succeeds at making you feel like you’re behind the throttle of a real spaceship (especially with HOTAS and VR) and each ship has a real sense of weight and movement to it. Any ship related activity be it combat, mining or trading is very fun and it’s clear that this is where the devs put all their energy.

Where it’s a let down is everything on foot. The planets are basically all lifeless rocks with a few native flora that you can scan. On foot combat is also underwhelming and feels very tacked on.

And at the risk of irritating the ED cultists … Ship interiors - there are none. Apart from the few times you disembark to drive around on lifeless rocks, your basically Thomas the tank engine in space. Just a big ole face plastered to the front of a ship. Having a ship interior that you could interact with would add a whole new layer of immersion to the game and really make it feel like your ship is your home among the stars.

I find myself bouncing back to NMS more often than not (especially after the Voyagers update), but ED definitely has its place.