Leveling up takes awhile, but when you consider that you have a dozen (maybe more) worlds to explore, and don't have many levels, thats a big deal.
Then once you level that specific thing up you finish it, then moves on to the next ship, then the next pilot. Not like there's a shortage of things to do.
It's taken me hours upon hours just to do a bunch of things on one world, but...
I mean, this game isn't $60 material, it's really fun when you get into it, but as of right now it's not $60.
More like $30 or $40, possibly $45, but $60? No, it just doesn't feel like a Triple AAA experience despite having high production values.
It has exploration but the world as a whole, the star system you're a part of, it's nowhere near as large as No Man's Sky, or Elite Dangerous.
I'd compare it to something like a mixture of No Man's Sky and Destiny? Only instead of using stupid BS to level up, you just level up as you would in any other RPG-Shooter.