Empyrion Galactic Survival

I personally would have to say that this by far is the favourite game in my library, also the most value for money when you compare cost to hours played. even this long after release they are still adding content/ updates / bug fixes to the game. There a some really good communities out there for this game and some good servers as well if you wish to play multiplayer. The game has a lot of great workshop items that can be downloaded and used in game built by very talented creators and artists.
Then if you include the custom scenarios such as Reforged Eden which has more content over vanilla it all adds up to hours of endless entertainment.
You can either play single player or connect to a MP server and play with friends, playing with a group is fun esp when running poi's.
Personally if you are new to the game it can be a steep learning curve from first spawn to building your first capital vessel but there is a good in game tutorial and several good YouTube videos out there on how to do things.
Overall there are so many things to see and do in this game and it is up to you as the player how you survive and progress.
Also i would recommend joining the official discord and the forums. have a look round and go from there.

As a long-time Space Engineers player, I made the switch to Empyrion for several reasons:
Dynamic Environment: Unlike a barren space, Empyrion offers a vibrant setting filled with random pirate ships, trading stations, and diverse planetary flora and fauna. There's an abundance of PvE combat that keeps things exciting.
Cooperative Gameplay: Having a second player onboard is a game-changer. Human-operated turrets offer more firing options, making a crewed ship far more formidable than one just equipped with automated turrets. For example, artillery turrets can fire EMP rounds under human control, effectively disabling enemy shields.
Small Fighter Relevance: Fighters built with smaller blocks are crucial since capital vessels (CVs) can’t operate effectively on planets. These fighters excel as shield breakers and remain valuable throughout the game, unlike in Space Engineers.
Ground Combat: Empyrion features extensive infantry combat where you can raid bases, engage in intense firefights, and explore hostile environments.
Expansive Universe: The game offers a vast galaxy with numerous planets and moons, each with unique features. Whether exploring points of interest, mines, reactors, or towns teeming with creatures, the thrill of discovery feels endless.
Resource Management: I appreciate how gold and platinum serve dual purposes: resources or currency. How you use them is entirely up to you, adding a layer of strategy.
While Space Engineers is a fantastic game, Empyrion fills in the gaps it left. Empyrion provides a complete gameplay experience that keeps you engaged all the way through. Achieving "endgame" status is challenging, and boredom is a rarity. I’d rate it 90%, with minor drawbacks like graphics that don’t quite match Star Citizen’s or the occasional bug, but overall, it’s an incredible game.

For its construction/sandbox merits alone, it's not really on the level of Space Engineers or a lot of other ship-builders. But a lot of other games, SE included, don't give you a whole lot to actually *do* with your creations, and this game takes a shot at providing that. Combined with the Reforged Eden mod, which you only need a basic level of familiarity with the game's controls to enjoy, it's an extremely janky experience that nevertheless manages to be pretty fun, especially for the price tag.
Your best friend for construction will be the F5 key, which summons a free drone that gives a limited (but pretty large) range of vertical freedom to pick up and place things. It's always available, no assembly needed. Some of the reviews seem to have missed this vital ability.

As an experienced SE player, I switched to Empyrion for a few reasons.
1.The game is not an empty environment, it has random pirate ships, random trading stations and fauna and flora on the planets, there is a lot of PvE combat.
2.In this game having a second operator on the ship is a big bonus, the turrets operated by Humans have more shooting options, generally a ship with a crew is stronger and is not just a ship with turrets ,for example artillery turrets in the Human operator option can shoot EMP, which is quite effective at knocking down enemy shields.
3.Fighters from small blocks are very important in the game because CVs are useless on planets, Fighters also have greater strength as shield attackers, generally small fighters are important throughout the game which this aspects was very discredited in SE.
4.The game has a lot of infantry combat aspect, where you have to attack stations and take part in gunfights,
5.Very large galaxies with many planets and moons with different shells, endless time of research and discovery ,POI ,mines ,reactor , towns full of spiders or bugs ,fight fight fight.
6.I was delighted that gold is gold and platinum is platinum, money is important in this game ,this is your choice if you get gold how you are going to utilise it as resource or money.
Please don't get me wrong, SE is a great game but all the shortcomings it had were filled in Empyrion, Empyrion generally gives you game satisfaction until the very end, it's hard to reach end game status and start to get bored ,for me 90% score ,there are negatives such as Graphic in comparison to Star Citizen or small bugs but game is great.
*SE = Space Engineers

I like the fact you have 3 mode of playing this game. The internet is so toxic, so solo or coop is perfect for me. I don't need or want the drama, and with this game I don't get it. Thank you.

Good basis for a survival game (nearly 3000 hours in, I still enjoy it - planet-side survival, horror, exploration, mining, crafting, building, ship-battles, open universe, multiplayer), but the recent paid DLC (Dark Faction) is not getting much love.
The game is so much better if you add the Reforged Eden scenario (free pre-packaged mod/DLC) which is available from the workshop (just subscribe to install); very comprehensive rework and there are lots of servers out there which run it too (search "RE" or "Eden" in the filters when looking for a server).
There's a new work-in-progress revision of that scenario that's just hit beta a couple of weeks back (again, freely available in the workshop), which is even more fun though isn't mature yet (search "RE2" or "Eden 2" or "Beta" in the filters when connecting in multiplayer), though as it's only just beta there are a few bugs (none that serious or frequent, that I've seen after a hundred hours or so in the beta).
As with all incarnations of the game, the "ailment" system can be frustrating early on (bitten by a spider and poisoned in your first minute in the game? You're dead - it will just take a few minutes more to realise that, as you won't find/make any meds in time) but the new RE2 beta makes that somewhat better, and as long as you know what you need to make the meds, and search for them, quality of life (and duration of it) is much improved. As soon as you're in space and can buy meds from OK'y Medical vendors, it's not generally a problem again (though, being scragged by an Overseer and irradiated is still a nuisance!).
As a minor gripe, dialog from the vendors is dire (I really don't care that everyone is Bertram's cousin!) as is the dialog presentation, and the game could do with more interesting quests but RE2 may fix that.
Love this game.

More than anything, I wish this game had more exposure. These devs deserve to be acknowledged for the amazing game that I've spent years playing and enjoying. The building freedom is incredible and I'd love to see what more funding would do. Thanks for the nearly 2000 hours of fun I've had so far.