Games

It's a farming game. Farming is a big part of it. Expecting not to farm in a farming game is a little misplaced as an expectation.

I love Rimworld and Stardew, but they're different. Rimworld is a strategy game in which you strategically plan and the NPCs run their lives until you take control of them.

You can respect a game and not enjoy it. Games are art and taste is important. I hate first person shooters for example. Don't force yourself if you don't want to, but expectation and comparison are thief's of joy. If you want to enjoy something, don't expect, just play and let it guide you and choose which parts of the mechanics you enjoy interacting with more.

Mod the game.

You should give it more time. You are a young, new farmer, and as such, it's supposed to suck. You're learning a new trade in a strange place. The game evolves to a point long before the end game where energy doesn't matter, and the tedious tasks are handled. You will have plenty of time to go do the things you would rather focus on.

That being said, if it's not your thing, then that's cool too!

It actually took me multiple trues to get into Stardew. The whole "track down everyone" quest is intimidating for a lot of people.

Up to you if you think it's worth keeping at it, for the possibility of getting hooked later.

It took a few tries to get into it. Once you play for a while you realize how much freedom you really have at the start and can make cash and advance pretty easily. I fell in love with the mines. Worked really well since the more you mine the more materials you get to automate farming.

Also if you have someone to coop with do it. Having multiple players makes things fun and easier.

The wiki for the game is amazing and helps a lot starting out.

https://stardewvalleywiki.com/Getting_Started

I tried picking it up a few times and tried playing conventionally and felt like it was basically a snoozefest, break down a handful of rocks and stumps and faint in the field lol. Similar kind of road block. The time and the energy stirs up a little anxiety in me, trying to be efficient and stuff.

But then, I tried playing again, ignored the crops, and just went off fishing and exploring the caves, and fell into a hole.

it might still not be the game for you, but if you pick it up again, a no-crop playthrough might be far more engaging

Thats fair enough if it's not for you. The thing about Stardew is that things build up and its up to you how you do it. Like you don't have to farm crops if you don't like it manually; you can fish or scavenge or raise animals etc. And as you progress you can automate some things and explore new areas.

But the core gameplay loop is you doing the stuff, rather than managing others. It's not micromanagement as you're not managing anyone, you are doing.

I actually didn't think it was for me at first to be honest, but I got into it in a few hours. As you upgrade tools and can do more and more for less effort, it has its own satisfaction as you build your farm up. But if you're not feeling that after a couple of sessions then it's probably not for you and that's fine.