I agree that they do things well in this game, but not one thing particularly shines through. but that's OK, the mechanics are all good enough. The game works too (I haven't had any bugs or crashes personally). I think this is all OK because the game isn't about one aspect, but all the possibilites and as long as those possibilities (stealth play, flying the spacecraft, crafting etc) are good enough and from my experience so far, they are.
Finally completed a mission last night that got me a new upgraded spacecraft. I was so happy when I made it through the lair to see a huge ship for me. (along with new space suits, although the one I have now is still better). And all of this was fairly random because I just happened to jump to a system (since I was too far from where I wanted to go) that had a spaceship on it that I decided to explore. (once I boarded it said I started a mission, so figured I'd play it out, well worth my time).
At this point, I could sit there and play this game non stop and not realize how long I'm playing. I do wonder how long that feeling will last though.