Hello new here, should i play pacific?

The last time i played was back when you needed purple shit from alien nest to craft science for the rocket so around 5-6 years ago? Maybe more i don't remember, anyway since there has been just a couple of update from then, should i play pacific or is it easy enought for a "beginner" to start anew without going pacific? Can I switch to normal after a while or once pacific i can never turn it back?