If you approach the game with specific goals in mind it will be a grind, yes. But I just fly around, scan species, collect loot and explore alien world. And sometimes uncover a bit of lore or progress in one of the stories. I think it is a relaxing experience full of fantastic vistas, game often looks like those old school scifi drawings. And as it gets more and more feature rich, the whole random generation thing gets better and better. It is true that after a while you will find very similar planets, but discovering something that looks crazy/beautiful is great. And due to the nature of this game, you are likely the one that discovered it. Ideal game to sometimes play with the Spotify app on the playstation too. And on top of it all it's a great photomode title.