I admit that I have not played the game yet and I definitely will, but videos from players are downright depressing. And you can really feel the...initial wonder go into disappointment when you realize how artificial the world is. I mean....you can fly towards a planet but it's just....an image. You must go into your menus, drop on a landing spot and explore for...about 5 mins before hitting a boundary. See that cool mountain that you can't reach? Try a closer landing spot. Oh look....there's no mountain now. That is beyond immersion breaking.
You stumble on an outpost and....it's the same outpost you have cleared 15 times. Not only is it the same outpost in design, but it's the same enemies at the same exact locations. Over and over and over.
Your hear about this incredible sidequest line, and the NPC mission giver floats through the ceiling. Oh well, you can reload. Nope. Same cat is going to fly away again. Only fix is a new file and hoping that the NPC doesn't Poochie through the fucking boundaries of the game.
Oh you invested in the persuation skill? OK. You know what it changes? Nothing. The quest will continue in the same way no matter what you decide. Sometimes there are quests with two endings but...they are insignificant side distractions. When the game clicks and does that Bethesda magic, then yes, it becomes truly something to behold. But....you have to get lucky with that random RNG of "something cool happening".
This isn't quite "Wide as the ocean but deep as a puddle". It's wide as a puddle, and as deep as some water you sprayed in your driveway.
But hey Skyrim is still one of the top 10 best games of all time. Come at me.