Unmodded, the game is mostly banging rocks and trees, and running back and forth over the same old ground. Huge, pretty world with a thin coat of content, using tedium to supplant actual gameplay.

With mods, you can avoid a lot of the tedium and the game becomes a more balanced mix of what you might expect.

You might also wait until the 1st content expansion, which is allegedly due within the month. There is considerable chatter questioning the work ethic of the devs now that they are all multi-millionaires who never need to work again in their lives. The 'Hearth and Home' content update will tell us a lot about the games future. A big, robust update will be needed to keep folks waiting for the next patch. A meager update will be a sign that the Devs are done trying.