I'm not an X aficionado, I play X3: Terran Conflict from time to time, and find it fun, complex, deep and relaxing in between. I hoped X Rebirth would make the sometimes intimidating experience of being dropped into the wide nothingness of the universe and steep learning curve a bit more accessible. You could say it did that, in the same way stripping all the wiring from a house is turning off the lights in one room. It is a dumbed down, extremely feature-free and way too linear sequel, that destroys the feeling that made previous X games feel like themselves. I kind of regret giving it as much time to prove me wrong about my first impression, because the right move would have been to request a refund.