At its core it is a sandbox war economy simulator in space with some bad (optional) story tacked onto it. It offers some tutorials but most things will be learning-by-doing. The battles are quite fun and you can participate with whatever ship you like, from fighters, frigates or corvettes all the way up to destroyers and carriers. Building your own stations to fill the deliberate shortages of the NPC economies is very satisfying and the station designer is easy to use. The universe is somewhat dynamic with warring factions being able to take over territory of other factions and the Xenon faction posing a threat to everyone although these changes are slow so you won't be rushed into defending yourself (except if you setup shop near enemy territory).

It's the only game that really does what it does, but it has a learning curve like a brick wall, and a combo of UI & certain mechanics that make it harder than it needs to be. I still keep playing it...

If you yearn for complex space logistics with some first person space combat sprinkled on top, and can tolerate obtuse mechanics and some bugs, it's quite fun.