unlike a lot of posters, I form my own opinion from actually playing the game. Now 3 weeks in, I can say without a doubt that SH5 is one fine simulation.
The amount of actual bugs is fairly small and comparable to SH3/4 when released. What is more amazing are the many improvements to the SH5 code that give it such a great potential. With a few patches and some TLC from modders, SH5 could be the new standard in submarine simulations.
for example:
yes, it has map updates on and this is eye candy, but how cool is that periscope station? everything you need is on one screen. The TAI map can be dragged into any shape you want.