For those unaware, it's a survival and crafting game, set in an open world with a rain forest theme. There is a story you can follow or you can play as a a true sandbox survival game, seeing how long you're able to make it. And for that, there's numerous sliders you can adjust that will change specific elements of game play - how wildlife treats you, how enemies will react, nutrition/food/hunger, etc..., so it's quite customizable.
There's a tutorial that in my opinion is absolutely mandatory. I don't have crazy-insane experience with crafting games, but this is quite detailed. And while the items and things you can do follow real-world logic, how you actually perform those functions isn't nearly as intuitive - which is where the tutorial comes in. I've been surprised a few times at the crafting element - just experimenting a bit and figuring out how to do something that changes my odds of survival. A few times (most recently with water) I was really impressed with how the game handled creative use of resources. It's not something I can recall seeing in another game.
For my first attempt I wandered around the starting area for quite a bit, only to then realize the sun was setting and I had absolutely nothing but some bananas. Classic mistake. For my next attempt, I didn't leave the area where you start and immediately set to creating shelter. I've now managed to survive three days and have a basic system/routine set up that (I think) will let me survive. However, if there's any chance of me making any progress on the story, that's not enough - I need to thrive.
The game really rewards creative thinking and the actual crafting element is really detailed. You start off knowing a few things, but as you explore the environment and start to interact with new objects, new crafting options open. But sometimes it's just a matter of intuitive experimenting to unlock a tool or object you need.
For actual survival, you can be physically wounded or set upon by leeches, parasites and bacteria. Not only will these things impact your health, but you have sanity as well. The food you eat has different types of nutrients, and in addition to finding clean water, you also need to balance your carbs and proteins. You have a magic watch that tracks all your nutrient levels and overall health (how / why it exists is in the tutorial) so you can figure out how best to manage what's happening.
There's a skill system that levels up as you craft items or build fires or successfully hunt.
Really, a ton of stuff to explore and the game looks absolutely beautiful with a day/night cycle and weather. There's a multiplayer option, but it's not something I've looked into at all.
Would recommend, particularly if you have real interest in the wilderness survival genre - TV, books, movies, etc...