Happy to see you guys like the recommendations!
So, I'm trying to scratch an itch... Played Subnautica: Below Zero up to the current story end, then started a replay of Subnautica; both are great games. I guess these are one of the types of games I enjoy - open world, survival, crafting, bit of a sense of progression, and a bit of a story. I'm trying to find something else like it.
Here are some I've looked at, and feel are.. lesser.
The good:
Empyrion Galactic Survival is close, but while I love the block-building for ships & structures, I hate the block-repairing of such. Minecraft is good, but a bit too much of a sandbox - I go in with big ideas, and end up working out of a single room with every crafting thing available. Also have Oxygen Not Included, which is decent.
The not so good:
Picked up Fortresscraft Evolved, and I'm glad it was cheap - put a bunch of hours in it, and I just can't get the feel for it. I had picked up Factorio some time ago, and likewise have to give it a pass - just don't want to build for the sake of building. Satisfactory looks like it'd be much the same - automation for the sake of automation. Speaking of, Automation Empire was one I'd picked up a year or so ago, and recommend a really hard pass on that. (My play time is listed at ~100 hours, but the actual PLAY time is a fraction of that - no time compression, and a lot of time spent waiting). 7 Days to Die seemed decent, and was for a bit. Then it felt shallow. (I guess I wanted a 3D Cataclysm:DDA)
I do like a variety of other types of games - Portal, Talos Principle, Borderlands, Dead Space, Fallout, Half-Life, Saint's Row, Skyrim, Supraland, X-Com (original & Firaxis), Creeper World, and of course, DF & Cata:DDA. (Lots of others in the library, but these are the notable ones, I guess).
But right now I'm really looking for something else like Subnautica, and can't come up with anything quite like it.