Starbound
Starbound is said to be the sprite version of Minecraft. A lot of people compared it to Terraria for the longest time. In fact, that game came out in May 2011. Starbound had a kickstarter in 2012 and just now was released in good 1.1 fashion here in October 2016. Like all games in kickstarter fashion, people reviewed the game in its "incomplete" form. In fact, Stardew Valley just came out with their 1.1 update which also helps boost the game incredibly from its 1.0 state.
Where was I? Oh yeah. So very similar to Minecraft, the game has specific biomes that you can visit - desert, forest, swamp. The difference it adds another depth with planetary conditions, sub-biomes, and multiple races. The biggest difference I could see is that Starbound adds a way to port between locations with a click of a button. You make a flag with the most basic material and name the checkpoint whatever you want. I debated whether this made the game trivial, but it actually made it much easier to transverse between bases, towns, colonies, and highly sought after mineral deposits. Did I mention the number of customization you can do through your clothes, furniture, or villagers?
At first I thought the game would add... a variety of different locations you can visit. I found The Outpost and thought "This place is cool. I like this. I want more of this." Then I realized that The Outpost was more like a general store where you exchange goods. There is only one of its kind. That's how it was everywhere I went. If I found a castle, it would look exactly the same as the last one. If I found a village, everything in it would look identical to the last one. Find a building underground? Yep, it looks exactly like the last mini-dungeon you found slightly to the left or right.
This doesn't mean I didn't like playing the game. The pre-built quest zones and their bosses made the game all the more enthralling. You meet specific heroes and learn their personalities. They, in turn, provide a service. The weapons are randomly generated from a super long list of artwork (sprites) and special abilities. One moment I found myself thinking that I would never find anything better than a sword and shield before finding a spear with energy whirl ability. Then I used that for awhile before finding a staff with fire orb. Then I found I could hang with a grappling hook while using a grenade launcher. All of it was really exciting.
After completing the main quests, I was unable to motivate myself to start the game again. I went to every type of world and seen every race. I didn't even have the heart to add more colonies, find more cosmetics, reap my harvest, or catch some bugs. I found it all frivolous... just some side jobs to add more time to the game. Even the sub-biomes all began to blur together as the tier or type of planet didn't change how things looked underground. I think, like any game, that things would be a lot better if playing with a friend. For a lot of people, showing what you built or found makes the game much more enjoyable.