The Planet Crafter

Surprising at every turn. That's the best way to describe it, really. I got into this game without knowing much about it, it was just there - languishing in the early access section of my wishlist, and when it hit 1.0, a friend of mine suggested playing it together. So play it we did.
To keep it spoiler-free: it starts out feeling like Subnautica, except on dry land. But then - it unfolds. Yes, it's that kind of game, and I'm pleased to tell you it unfolds really nicely - and keeps things balanced and fun until the end. I've played on the Intense difficulty with a friend, for reference - it makes survival needs drop faster and the terraforming grind somewhat longer, but I still felt it was pleasant.
Step 1: Survive
When it comes to survival, this is a pretty standard fare. Oxygen, thirst, and health/hunger; there is no combat in the game, so it's fitting - but you can take damage from other sources such as falling. Carry emergency rations in case of a fall! How else are you going to mend that broken leg?
What is interesting is that the way you take care of these needs keep changing. Once your initial rations are out, what are you going to do, hunt for rocks? Fish? In what water? Grow stuff? In sand? With what technology? Oh, your benevolent corporate overlords will probably provide for you... if you live long enough to make yourself useful, at the very least.
As for water... you melt the naturally ocurring ice, of course. But what if the ice runs out, for one reason of another? Other sources of the precious liquid will have to be found. What will they be? I don't know about you, but I found such questions very exciting. And whenever you discover a new way to deal with the limitations of your flesh, it's always such a joyful moment.
Step 2: Build
Since this planet is just a barren rock, you'll need shelter to even breathe. I had lots of fun building a cool and useful base, but let's be honest, the main things you'll be building are the devices to terraform the planet. Heaters. Drills to generate pressure. Some special tubes, where hardy plants can grow to provide some oxygen. And more, later on; just keep in mind - the process of getting what you want is slow and gradual.
It's actually a little bit like an idle game. Build stuff to generate stuff, and then more stuff happens. Build more stuff. But make no mistake - if you won't take an active role in constantly expanding your facilities, you won't get anywhere. You're to terraform an entire planet; so better get to work.
That said, there will be moments where your production is satisfactory and you need some rare materials anyway. And that's where the other fun part of the game comes in.
Step 3: Explore
I can't write too much here because this part is the easiest one to spoil... so let's just say that the map is large. There's a lot to see. And you will need to explore to find the resources to expand your facilities, considering that better buildings require more rare materials.
There are different "biomes" (no biosphere here, so calling them that feels weird), and they all have their unique feel, and some contain resources not found elsewhere. And, perhaps, ways to build more advanced gear and/or buildings can be found, too.
Step 4: ...Story?
Yes, the game has a plot, of sorts. You're here for a reason. And this barren rock has been chosen for terraforming for a reason as well. And you didn't choose to be here; you're a convict, and this is a way for you to carry out your sentence. Put the two and two together.
While the writing is pretty shoddy, it still managed to make me care - although I felt like some parts didn't make sense, or didn't have a good story progression. Still, you don't exactly play this kind of game for the story, so I'm not going to complain too much.
Conclusion
Roughly 57 hours to complete on Intense with a friend. The final few hours were a bit of a drag, but that's because we were a little tired and didn't want to expand our production one final time. Once we did, things got moving and we got to the ending. We'll likely play the DLC as well - we did like the game, after all.
If you do decide to play this, for the love of f*ck, don't look up anything on the wiki. The game tells you everything you need to know. The wiki is full of stuff I personally would consider spoilers, so for the best experience just stay away. With that out of the way, I just have one last thing to say:
IKHLAS LIVES
Curator page

Gave me the 'Minecraft for the first time' feeling, something I never thought I'd feel again. It's a world to get lost in. Stuff to explore, cool bases to build, danger to avoid (asphyxiation, dehydration, starvation), and a lot of gear and blueprints to unlock that helps with all three.
It's not a perfect game. The terrain get a little weird (sudden rock formation pop-in, collision mesh not quite matching the model), but this is mostly a problem in the late game outer areas.
Make sure to have an alarm ready, You WILL lose track of time playing this.

A game that scratches the Subnautica itch. Terraform a planet from barren to bountiful, from uninhabitable to habitable. This game has strong depth in crafting and was addictive at times. I did feel the middle portion of the terraformation levels was somewhat boring, and I found myself without a lot of tasks to do and just waiting as my terraforming metrics went up steadily. Maybe that balancing will be fixed in the 1.0 release.

Overall would recommend this game. I had a lot of fun.

An excellent, slow-paced survival-crafter game.
Pros:
* Lots and lots of secrets to discover.
* Great tech tree to unlock.
* A surprising number of biomes.
* Freaking beautiful, and great (low-annoyance) soundtracks.
Cons:
* Some of the late-game mechanics aren't explained very well. (genetics, mostly, tho that may've been because I unlocked mammals way later than I should've)
* One biome (rainbow caves) is key to mid-to-late game progress - if you haven't found it yet, you're almost crippled by a lack of quartz varieties. A hint towards it would have been nice.
Meh:
* Most of the late-game "special" foods' perks were... useless, to me? I certainly never bothered, anyhow.
TL;DR: If you like exploring/crafting games, 9/10; else, avoid.

A great solo survival experience for those that don't play with friends. You'll experience the highs of terraforming a planet a planet in real time while you work through a progression of better equipment to help you explore and survive .
I've only played up to unlocking the first rockets but I enjoyed every moment I played and only put it down to play my favourite MMO for a while.
Finally, a game worth its overwhelming positive reviews. Not only did the developers speed through early access they listened to feedback and made a more than viable 1.0 update. Look forward to the future here.

I know I'm echoing what most everyone else is saying already, but this was my experience:

I downloaded the demo for this game not knowing anything about it. I thought "Oh, this is one of those survival/crafting/exploration games" and that was enough for me to give it a try. After a couple hours, I was completely hooked and bought the full game.

What I wasn't expecting was how WELL DONE this game is. The gameplay loop is top notch and incredibly rewarding. Then the icing on the cake is getting constantly delighted and wowed by the amount of exploration and discoveries you make along the way of terraforming this plant.

For only being in early access, this game is already packed with awesome places to explore, tech to build, and very cool lore. Safe to say, I am so glad I found this game and can't wait for 1.0 release. Kudos to Miju Games for knocking this out of the park!

It's a 6.5/10, full of exciting surprises but also many letdowns.
PROS:
+World is *very* fun to explore
+World changes in delightful ways as game progresses
+Time spent base-building feels rewarding
+Excellent soundtrack
+High volume of unlocks, lots of content
+Relaxing crafting game with decent resource management loop
CONS:
-Placing structures is buggy and adherence to grid is inconsistent
-Environment collision is a horrific mess, clipping inside geometry is commonplace
-Certain unlocks are virtually useless and feel like padding
-Draw distance on medium graphics settings causes extreme pop-in and important structures do not have any LoDs, rendering them invisible at a fairly close range
-Late-game crafting loop lacks useful automation and recipes for insects/frogs are extremely tedious
-Aesthetics, gameplay, and many icons are *highly* derivative of Subnautica
-Disappointing ending(s)
-Many structures/recipes/terraforming phases unlock in bizarre order depending on how you choose to increase Terraformation index
-Living creatures lack variety, animal system should be huge reward but feels underdeveloped.
-Certain mechanics do not function as expected (specifically resource miners needing very specific placement and production fuses not working on many machines that produce items i.e. food growers)
-High volume storage unlocks too late in the game
-Pinning a recipe should be a default mechanic, not an unlock.
All in all, a fun game with a very exciting first 15 hours that eventually becomes highly tedious. A vast amount of content and systems, but many elements lack a robust implementation. Well worth the money, but decidedly uneven.