SMALL UPDATE Jan 2016 - Check comments for details!

[] :
Space Engineers meets some StarMade and the exploration aspects of Shores of Hazeron.
I DON'T RECOMMEND buying this game right now, unless you're a HARDCORE FAN of sandbox and space games. I really mean that. Don't say you weren't warned.
I DO RECOMMEND watchlisting or following it if you like sandbox games in general.
If you want more details, read further to understand.

[]:
- Me and Empyrion:
I got to know Empyrion through Scott Manley's Youtube Channel 2 weeks before the Steam Early Access Release, and decided that I would most definitely give it a go.
I went through ~97% of the game - I got all the resources I need and explored (probably) everything, but didn't build a Capital Ship yet.

- The Team:
Empyrion is made by 3 indie devs. They pushed through a failed kickstarter, and here is the (early) result. They seem nice, and determined.

- This Review:
I'll first describe the game with as little personal notes as possible, and in the end I'll give my take on whatever I find necessary. This way, I save both your time and mine! :)

[] :

> INTRODUCTION:
Your capital ship crashes on an alien planet. Left with a escape pod, you must gather resources and craft your way back to space.
Crafting, mining, building, hunting, surviving, running for your life when things go wrong. You'd like that, wouldn't you?
Empyrion provides a very immersive and fresh experience for those who like survival and sandbox games.

> GAME FEATURES:

SURVIVING is your first priority and your constant goal in Empyrion. You must find Water to generate Oxygen, hunt, scavange or forage for food, and find Promethium Ore to make Fuel to power all your operations!

MINING is crucial. You'll need to find resource deposits and strike the earth in order to build your base, vehicles and personal items. Mining is done by equipping your drill and digging - vehicles don't mine yet.

CRAFTING and BUILDING is a main part of the game. Much like Space Engineers, every final item is comprised of components which you must craft first. Removing a block will return its components, so remember to bring your Removal Tool to rip those expensive components from ships and bases you find in your expeditions!
Building your base is straightforward, and can end up looking pretty nice.

VEHICLES are critical for survival, exploration and progress. You can build a hovering Ground Vehicle, Small Vessels for interplanetary and atmospheric flights (as well as small-scale combat and raids), or Capital Vessels for (not yet implemented) intergalatic travel and serious combat operations.

COMBAT can happen on ground or in space. You can also be inside a ship or on foot, which makes things great: what if you leave your ship, but get flanked or surprised by the enemy?
You can also hunt wildlife for food and resources.

The EXPLORATION vibe is definitely there. Even on initial release, you can't help but wonder what awaits you when you look at the night sky - or when seeing a weird building from a distance when you're still a survivor with just a escape pod. Maybe you could cannibalize or take over whatever that thing is, and turn it against your enemies (or against the unsuspecting wildlife)?
It's something I was looking forward in a survival sandbox space game for ages.

> GAME ASPECTS:

GRAPHICS: Very good for an indie game, but could definitely look better. Yet, I wasn't bothered by it.

SOUND: Decent, but needs mastering, attention and variety - which are probably planned.

INTERFACE: Simple and straightforward, if you have played any similar games you'll be ready to go in minutes. The lack of a tutorial or proper in-game instructions WILL make things harder and more tiresome for non-hardcore fans. Be ready.

GAMEPLAY: Survive, mine, craft, build, fly. The gameplay and progression already feels nice, and the game doesn't take you by the hand. You're free to do whatever, whenever, however you decide.

BUGS AND ISSUES: There was a big number of release issues and bugs, some people even had their savegames corrupted or fallen out of the world. I didn't experience anything gamebreaking like that, but there's a lot of minor things that can get on the way of your fun. Still, it feels more polished than many Early Access titles I've played.

> PERSONAL NOTES:

= Positive:
- Regarding GAMEPLAY: Even though story and quests/missions are planned, I love how YOU choose where to go.
There's an obvious way to go about things ("now I need X ore that's only available on Y planet in order to build Z item"), but you can ignore that and end up getting end-game gear by your own means and creativity. I REALLY hope this doesn't change with development.

- Random, non-scripted "events": Sometimes, circumstance might surprise you. You might be distracted and hear a weird noise, and a squad of drones are coming for you..and you forgot to craft a better gun and more ammo. This sort of stuff is what could potentially make Empyrion the best space sandbox out there, but it only happened one time..and I was probably lucky.

- Currently, I believe food and oxygen requirement is well balanced: you won't have to run every 5 minutes back to base, but if you neglect your needs you might find yourself in deep trouble. Which is always fun.

- The game has a good selection (for an Alpha) of weapons. Choices for personal weapons include Assault Rifle, Sniper, Rocket Launcher and Laser Rifle, and ships have both (automatic/manual) Turrets and fixed weapons like the Gatling Gun, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Cannon or Rail Gun.

= Negative:
- The Unknown: There's a LOT of work to be done before it makes sense to buy and play this game. How commited is the team? What is the roadmap and milestones? Will the annoying stuff ever get fixed? There's a lot of questions like these, which are critical for EA titles to answer first.

- Annoying bugs/half-made features: Crafting takes a LOT (and I mean, A LOT) of time and requires you to manually craft EVERY SINGLE COMPONENT. Removing blocks take AGES. Mouse-wheel doesn't work. Flight model feels bad. And so on, and so forth. This makes playing the game rather painfully after the first hour or so. Is player convenience a priority?

- Space-Flight and Space-Combat must be redone from scratch. Both as an astrounaut or in a Small Ship, space-flight is terrible and space combat is insanely bad. Getting near an enemy in space will break your controls and make you lag and wonder what happened.

- Community, Hype and Fanboying: This kills games. I've seen criticism be bashed simply due to hype or 'fandom'. There's a real HUGE amount of things to be done and fixed, and dodging/dismissing feedback and criticism is not the way to go. I didn't see much developer interaction (on Steam forums), and I hope people get more of it.

> CONCLUSION:
The core concept and gameplay from this Early Access title definitely deserves to be noted and followed, but it doesn't make sense to buy it yet - unless you're really, REALLY into it.
People who played the very first moments (before building an actual base, vehicles, and getting to space) loved it - and I did too. But after these ~2 first hours, the current state of the game presents itself.

There's A LOT of work to be done in Empyrion, more than people seem think or talk about. There's many critical issues to be fixed or developed, and it's still unknown wether the ACTUAL content (planned storyline and progression) will make any sense. There's no human/alien 'sentient' NPCs or any trace of a story/quest system, and the space part of the game is really terrible and not developed at all. This is why I can't recommend you to jump head-first into it.

Therefore, put your expectations in line, take a deep breath, and make your choice.
Thanks for reading! :)

SMALL UPDATE Jan 2016 - Check comments for details! [ SUMMARY ] : Space Engineers meets some StarMade and the exploration aspects of Shores of Hazeron. I DON'T RECOMMEND buying this game right now, unless you're a HARDCORE FAN of sandbox and space games. I really mean that. Don't say you weren't warned. I DO RECOMMEND watchlisting or following it if you like sandbox games in general. If you want more details, read further to understand. [ BACKGROUND AND DISCLAMERS ]: - Me and Empyrion: I got to know Empyrion through Scott Manley's Youtube Channel 2 weeks before the Steam Early Access Release, and decided that I would most definitely give it a go. I went through ~97% of the game - I got all the resources I need and explored (probably) everything, but didn't build a Capital Ship yet. - The Team: Empyrion is made by 3 indie devs. They pushed through a failed kickstarter, and here is the (early) result. They seem nice, and determined. - This Review: I'll first describe the game with as little personal notes as possible, and in the end I'll give my take on whatever I find necessary. This way, I save both your time and mine! :) [ REVIEW ] : > INTRODUCTION: Your capital ship crashes on an alien planet. Left with a escape pod, you must gather resources and craft your way back to space. Crafting, mining, building, hunting, surviving, running for your life when things go wrong. You'd like that, wouldn't you? Empyrion provides a very immersive and fresh experience for those who like survival and sandbox games. > GAME FEATURES: SURVIVING is your first priority and your constant goal in Empyrion. You must find Water to generate Oxygen, hunt, scavange or forage for food, and find Promethium Ore to make Fuel to power all your operations! MINING is crucial. You'll need to find resource deposits and strike the earth in order to build your base, vehicles and personal items. Mining is done by equipping your drill and digging - vehicles don't mine yet. CRAFTING and BUILDING is a main part of the game. Much like Space Engineers, every final item is comprised of components which you must craft first. Removing a block will return its components, so remember to bring your Removal Tool to rip those expensive components from ships and bases you find in your expeditions! Building your base is straightforward, and can end up looking pretty nice. VEHICLES are critical for survival, exploration and progress. You can build a hovering Ground Vehicle, Small Vessels for interplanetary and atmospheric flights (as well as small-scale combat and raids), or Capital Vessels for (not yet implemented) intergalatic travel and serious combat operations. COMBAT can happen on ground or in space. You can also be inside a ship or on foot, which makes things great: what if you leave your ship, but get flanked or surprised by the enemy? You can also hunt wildlife for food and resources. The EXPLORATION vibe is definitely there. Even on initial release, you can't help but wonder what awaits you when you look at the night sky - or when seeing a weird building from a distance when you're still a survivor with just a escape pod. Maybe you could cannibalize or take over whatever that thing is, and turn it against your enemies (or against the unsuspecting wildlife)? It's something I was looking forward in a survival sandbox space game for ages. > GAME ASPECTS: GRAPHICS: Very good for an indie game, but could definitely look better. Yet, I wasn't bothered by it. SOUND: Decent, but needs mastering, attention and variety - which are probably planned. INTERFACE: Simple and straightforward, if you have played any similar games you'll be ready to go in minutes. The lack of a tutorial or proper in-game instructions WILL make things harder and more tiresome for non-hardcore fans. Be ready. GAMEPLAY: Survive, mine, craft, build, fly. The gameplay and progression already feels nice, and the game doesn't take you by the hand. You're free to do whatever, whenever, however you decide. BUGS AND ISSUES: There was a big number of release issues and bugs, some people even had their savegames corrupted or fallen out of the world. I didn't experience anything gamebreaking like that, but there's a lot of minor things that can get on the way of your fun. Still, it feels more polished than many Early Access titles I've played. > PERSONAL NOTES: = Positive: - Regarding GAMEPLAY: Even though story and quests/missions are planned, I love how YOU choose where to go. There's an obvious way to go about things ("now I need X ore that's only available on Y planet in order to build Z item"), but you can ignore that and end up getting end-game gear by your own means and creativity. I REALLY hope this doesn't change with development. - Random, non-scripted "events": Sometimes, circumstance might surprise you. You might be distracted and hear a weird noise, and a squad of drones are coming for you..and you forgot to craft a better gun and more ammo. This sort of stuff is what could potentially make Empyrion the best space sandbox out there, but it only happened one time..and I was probably lucky. - Currently, I believe food and oxygen requirement is well balanced: you won't have to run every 5 minutes back to base, but if you neglect your needs you might find yourself in deep trouble. Which is always fun. - The game has a good selection (for an Alpha) of weapons. Choices for personal weapons include Assault Rifle, Sniper, Rocket Launcher and Laser Rifle, and ships have both (automatic/manual) Turrets and fixed weapons like the Gatling Gun, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Cannon or Rail Gun. = Negative: - The Unknown: There's a LOT of work to be done before it makes sense to buy and play this game. How commited is the team? What is the roadmap and milestones? Will the annoying stuff ever get fixed? There's a lot of questions like these, which are critical for EA titles to answer first. - Annoying bugs/half-made features: Crafting takes a LOT (and I mean, A LOT) of time and requires you to manually craft EVERY SINGLE COMPONENT. Removing blocks take AGES. Mouse-wheel doesn't work. Flight model feels bad. And so on, and so forth. This makes playing the game rather painfully after the first hour or so. Is player convenience a priority? - Space-Flight and Space-Combat must be redone from scratch. Both as an astrounaut or in a Small Ship, space-flight is terrible and space combat is insanely bad. Getting near an enemy in space will break your controls and make you lag and wonder what happened. - Community, Hype and Fanboying: This kills games. I've seen criticism be bashed simply due to hype or 'fandom'. There's a real HUGE amount of things to be done and fixed, and dodging/dismissing feedback and criticism is not the way to go. I didn't see much developer interaction (on Steam forums), and I hope people get more of it. > CONCLUSION: The core concept and gameplay from this Early Access title definitely deserves to be noted and followed, but it doesn't make sense to buy it yet - unless you're really, REALLY into it. People who played the very first moments (before building an actual base, vehicles, and getting to space) loved it - and I did too. But after these ~2 first hours, the current state of the game presents itself. There's A LOT of work to be done in Empyrion, more than people seem think or talk about. There's many critical issues to be fixed or developed, and it's still unknown wether the ACTUAL content (planned storyline and progression) will make any sense. There's no human/alien 'sentient' NPCs or any trace of a story/quest system, and the space part of the game is really terrible and not developed at all. This is why I can't recommend you to jump head-first into it. Therefore, put your expectations in line, take a deep breath, and make your choice. Thanks for reading! :)