When they said this would be hard sci-fi, I actually imagined myself piloting an actual space ship and doing astronaut things, not a glorified magic plane.
If someone is looking for what Starfield offers but better, here are my recommendations at a fraction of cost:
Space combat, but better: Everspace, Everspace 2, House of the Dying Sun, Chorus, FTL
Hard(ish) Sci-fi shooter, but better: Titanfall 2, Call of Duty Infinity Warfare, Mass Effect (technically not FPS)
Exploration, but better: Outer wilds, No Man's Sky, Astroneer, Deep Rock Galactic (I would say subnautica but that's not really space).
Privateering, but better: Star traders: Frontiers (Though not 3D).
Maybe the issue is that this game, like NMS before, tried to be everything to everyone and didn't develop towards something meaningful.
Hopefully, like NMS will find its soul and develop into something worth playing. (IMO)
EDIT: This is a stealthy way of getting recommendations ;)