I recently bought stardew valley and its fun but the farming grind feels kinda forced, no? I feel like I need to pay attention to not loose myself in the game which defeats the purpose.
I used to find it kinda stressful until i realised there was no time limit to the game like the usual harvest moons so once I realised that, I never find myself rushing around or overextending my ability to farm to grind more and just focused on what I was enjoying in the game which was a bit of everything.
There is sort of a time limit though, you get your "review" at the end of the second year (at which point no new events happen). Also getting things planted in time for when the seasons change etc is kind of time-limiting.
But that's all detail, it's great that people can enjoy it without time pressures!
I only really played early on, not dabbled with it properly in years but I do remember things happening. It's not like I could only get things to happen in the first two years in game
I can imagine it gets better but the grind is kind of not for me. The mining and farming grind in minecraft I understand and the grind in factorio as well. Maybe its heightened due to the saving cycle that seems to want you to keep going.
There are ways to play (besides mods) where you barely have to grow crops. Unless you're trying for all the achievements there's not really a wrong way or a time limit to play.