Realized what I like about No Man’s Sky is that it combines aspects of Minecraft (which I’ve played a LOT over the last 5 years) and Wing Commander: Privateer (which I played a LOT of back in the 1990s).
Both open-ended, self-directed sandboxes. Like Minecraft you seek out resources and build equipment and bases. Like Privateer you fly through space and do different types of missions depending on what you want to do.