Same as it ever was. Anyone who's been paying attention since the beginning of video games knows that game play is what you make of it .. "It's not a very good game" has been said of many stellar successes in this realm, where the position usually changes after people have actually, you know .. played .. with something.
The game isn't supposed to be a game for game's sake, in other words; it's intended to just be an adventure. "Winning" and "losing" are a means towards that end.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Man%27s_Sky#Gameplay