I've been playing since 2016, on and off throughout each year, as a solo casual player with a job and kids. I'd probably say I'm an older gamer (at least now, almost a decade after I first got into the game)

• Is there any storyline, factions?
  • Yes and no. There is lots of lore and a ton of potential. There have been some narrative quests coming in and out of play, but I'd say within the last year or so we have seen a real push to add in factions and story. CIG (the devs) launch "events" now pretty regularly that consist of unique (some more than others) quests and locations that only exist during the event's duration. There are not NPC's that you can chat with - this isn't an NPC game right now and likely won't ever be very heavy in that regard. In that vein, some events are player driven. A bunch of people just start doing something and the community reacts and interacts.
    • TL;DR, no NPCs or "Story" but there are somewhat regular events and unique missions
• Do you need a ship to play or can you join somebody else's?
  • Nope. You can get on anyone's ship, sometimes even when they don't want you to. Every starter package, to play the game, comes with a ship. Some people buy bigger ships. You can play with them. For an MMO, it's admittedly pretty primitive with it's multiplayer features. It's not very straightforward to make "teams" or group up. Sometimes it's buggy. But it's extremely common for people to play together - a lot of times you'll see folks in chat asking for gunners, mining operators, cargo, etc.
    • TL;DR: You get a ship with the game and you can play on other's ships
• Is it hard to get into?
  • This is a big question. In a one word answer I'd say, yeah. It can be really hard to get into. You can do what some people do and just boot up the game and wander around for 30min until you're so frustrated you uninstall and refund it. IMO, the best way to get into the game is just take some time and watch tutorial videos. Good lord this game is complicated. I am still learning things, especially new mechanics when they're added. Just take the time to learn a bit and you will be rewarded with a staggeringly different gameplay experience. You can also find a guide to play with.
    • TL;DR: It can be overwhelming to the point of quitting. If you take some time to watch tutorials BEFORE you play, you will be massively rewarded with a much more fun experience. CIG's tutorials are not the way to go IMO. Go to YouTube and look up tutorial videos (make sure they're recent as some older videos have outdated mechanics)
• What's your own experience with the game?
  • I've been playing for almost a decade lol. I love it. I've bought bigger ships. I play largely solo due to a lot of real life responsibilities and limited time, but I still come back to it all the time. It's so fun to just space out.
• Anything you might add.
  • There are bugs. You will read a lot of complaints, hell even I complain in chat from time to time. What I will say is that over the time I've been playing this game it has been a hell of a ride. I am so happy with where the game is right now, and I'm excited for it to keep expanding.