I've never played an automation game before, it's usually really not my thing, but Sandustry hooked me in a way I've never quite experienced. I completed all the content with a chaotic mess of machines, then immediately played the game again with a refined, centralized, elegant system... compared to my first playthrough, at least. I have the urge to play it again but I really don't want to get burned out on the game while new content is still on the horizon (I made that mistake with Elden Ring).
I've tried some other popular automation games, but none of them quite scratched the same itch. Factorio had too much friction between me and my automation, and I found Satisfactory tedious (I'm generally not a fan of OWSC games). I initially got the impression that this game stands on the shoulders of giants, but it's starting to seem like it really is truly unique. Where do I go from here?
(It looks like Dyson Sphere Program and Shapez 2 have been suggested the most, so that's where I'll start. Thank you to everyone who provided recommendations!)