I really wanna like this game, but I just can't. Alpha Centauri did the sci-fi setting better, and Civ 5 does the hex grid civ formula better, so BE kinda sits in this odd space where it's not objectively bad, but just struggles to justify its existence.
The game also doesn't really present you with interesting dilemmas like civ 5 or AC does, and instead, almost all the decisions the game throws at you always have an objectively best choice for every playstyle, so it ends up feeling samey and bland.