Title is a reference to a recent Semi-Ramblomatic video by Yahtzee.
this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2026
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Can't say I've actually seen anyone complaining about Stardew Valley or Animal Crossing for those reasons, seems like everyone loves Stardew, and AC complaints are just about nintendo's content pipeline being sparse on release.
That said, if people are complaining about "doing tasks" in Stardew and AC, I'd imagine that it's because it's mostly things you can do IRL. I can decorate my place or plant flowers or talk to other people in real life. I can't go kill bad guys in real life. In a way casual cozy lifesim games make me feel self-conscious, that instead of improving my virtual life, I could instead be doing this same stuff for my real life. Games that are more detached from real life don't seem as likely to trigger this guilt.
Also I'm fully expecting someone to respond that owning a house/etc is a fantasy, which is the fantastical appeal of Stardew/AC.
Just this week I was with friends, many genders, all of us play Stardew Valley and we all joked and lamented about how task oriented it is, like a list of daily chores. It is ok to acknowledge it and also enjoy it.
Mind you, doing things you could do in real life might actually be a major part of the appeal.
Sure, in real life I could grow quality potatoes or power wash a house or drive a truck to a city that's 400 kilometers away. And I'd get a little bit of dopamine from a job well done – after hours, days, or even months of work. Plus what's needed to acquire the tools/land/licence necessary to do it in the first place.
Or I play Euro Wash Farm Valley Simulator 2026 and finish the job within half an hour of gameplay that's just challenging enough for me to feel that I actually did something. While possibly interacting with a cast of charming and/or interesting people along the way.
There's a reason why job simulators are such a popular genre. They take the interesting bits from a job, drop the tedious parts, and greatly accelerate the whole affair. They're like working in real life but better.
Except Desert Bus, of course. That one very deliberately isn't.
I'll give you one then. My kids love Animal Crossing. It bores me to tears. There's no real objective and I just don't get it. I've got no problem with them playing it, the game is harmless, but I just can't get into it.