I was big into Starbound pretty early but never quite felt the highs I got from Terraria. I would say if Starbound is up your alley, Terraria is a must-try. It's great with friends, too, and if they're anything like mine, the moment someone brings it up after a year or two, they're always down for another Terraria playthrough~

I think what appeals a lot about Terraria is the world. It's like a living thing in its own right. Biomes don't just sit in place, and the world doesn't just spring up on creation and stay static except for what you do to shape it to your liking. Building is less convenient than Starbound, but also more central. As you stretch out into the world, it quickly becomes your home. It's so comfy and pleasant to come back to and build a new place. Upgrades and progression are kind of nuts, too. You're always moving forward on some game-changing new accessories, new crafting items, new NPCs to buy neat stuff from. Even when it's starting to feel like you've explored everything, your progression is set to change the world and make it feel new again.

Starbound felt like more of a streamlined story/experience built around the bones of freely exploring terrain as you like. Worlds have this No Man's Sky effect of being mostly the same across the whole surface and populated by randomized variants of the same recognizable critters, but ultimately not feeling like there's much unique to make them distinct from each other. They feel rather disposable, like you have all this space but it only makes it harder to determine where you want to set down your roots and develop a personal connection to a place. Ultimately it was challenging for me to keep pushing through when it was so optimal to leave systems behind once I got what I needed there.