Why Is Stardew Valley Stressful? (And why isn't Outer Wilds?) 

"Time is the only resource you can't get back" damn I wasn't expecting an existential crisis with my gaming analysis

You trying to plant seeds on untilled soil was the most stressful thing I’ve seen so far

every single day is a time limit, a really strict one, and it burns me the hell out

I knew SV was stressful when I realized I felt relaxed while playing Project Zomboid afterwards

Bro this is why I miss mi blind experience with Stardew Valley, I didin't know what the game required and I was so chill about it, but now knowing everything, the min max is so powerful that I end by burnout

Excellent video! Great use of different music in the background to highlight how you felt about each point. Really emphasised it. Your editing is fantastic, great work mate

I truly felt the stress of stardew when i wanted to decorate my farm, 1 day trying to decorate a small section where i wasted a lot of hours trying things out and seeing what looked better and what not, to actually start building in like day 3 or something because days fly by so hard in this game, i think it took me 4 in game weeks to get everything in place, even ignoring festivals and stuff just to get my farm dripped out... only to still not convincing me... Even to this day when i try to play a "comfy" farm i still need to pause just to think or reset the day if i had to backtrack for something i forgot

12:04 FTL sleeper agent activated

This was a wild video to come across for me, I was taking a break from my checklist to complete perfection on stardew, got Outer Wilds from the steam sale, no lifed that for a few days and then this video pops up. You totally nailed the analysis I myself was feeling, from the stress of listing out every item I needed to collect in stardew to the curiosity that lead me to just float in space next to some weird floating satellite thing for an entire cycle to see if it did anything (keeping that detail vague for obvious reasons, but you've definitely seen the thing I'm talking about). I choose to believe you made this video for exclusively me lol. Very good stuff.

8:55 Where is a special event that can happen in a new loop. But you just need to dive straight in a mystery to discover it.

This is EXACTLY my problem with Stardew and games similar to it, and why I feel that i need mods (f.e. time slow) to play it in a way i feel comfortable with! I very rarely do multiple playthroughs of a game, so I want to be able to play a game comfortably on my first playthrough without feeling that I'm "missing out" because of time constraints. I'm aware that there's no actual missing out, because the game loops after the first year, but what if I miss that specific summer thing again the second year because of being distracted with something else? Missing a time-line like that feels like actual waste of time, in a game where I'm supposed to have a cosy time and enjoy the little things. It makes me feel overwhelmed, stressed, and pretty quickly makes me lose interest aswell. Great video!

its you describing the exact thought prosses that causes me to jump into the sand pillar

4:36 I have heard that friendship hearts never goes down after it is earned (unless you got a divorce). Once I knew that I felt less anxious about just focusing on specific things and not worry about checking in with everyone all the time.

The truffle is a big cash drain, but my goal year 1 is getting the greenhouse, which is very achievable. I always get in fall 10 or 11 with speed grow fertilizer on pumpkins. Getting the CC done is cool, but I don’t make much use of ginger island until year 2 anyway. The greenhouse allows me to get my ancient seeds planted to multiply them as well as getting strawberries ready for spring year 2.

Excellent video. I thought I was watching a big Stardew youtuber, Im sure you will get a lot of subscribers soon! I just started playing stardew recently, and am on my first year and have been feeling so overwhelmed trying to complete the community center in my first year. I gave up on that goal and have been feeling so much better playing it 😅

I've finished CC by the end of fall twice now by consulting a guide and being really, really stressed out 😅 True perfection though haven't done it in two years despite trying my best. The rng on community board is what's stuffing me up like not getting the right quest on time and getting Demetrios' and Pierre's quests all the time.

Stardew is so relaxing. Outer Wilds is so stressful and horrorifying that it induces great anxiety and has made me cry.

I went into Stardew just wanting to get perfection. I don't care how long it takes. I'll make speed a priority in a later run.

I can see why people feel overwhelmed by stardew. Theres sooo much to do and very little handholding. I refuse to let it stress me out though and don't min-max at all. Ive literally spent an hour just fishing and ignoring any quests, requests and community centre bundles. I just don't do the stuff i dont like doing and mod whatever i cant get away with avoiding. My first playthrough, I never entered the skull cavern once and instead got the statue of perfection and relied on that for iridium.

I feel the opposite, the fact outer wilds wastes time is the reason it stresses me out, stardew gives me a progression dopamine boost.

this ROCKS bud, real good stuff looking forward to more x

Hell yeah new upload!

great video!! glad it's not just me that get mildly stressed by stardew :) now i wanna sink a load of hours into outer wilds lmao

Listening to you talk about outer wilds makes me fall inove with a game i already love! Can i rest myself so i can play it for rhe first time again?

oh ghost how i've missed you dearly

The stress is the RUSH 😁 Enjoy it! 😇

I’m just stressed out because I’m waiting for the 1.6 update to come out on PS5 or the switch pick one … hurry up already

6:51 yep that BSO is fucking awesome.

15:59 🐷

lol the spoiler at 21:35

i use way more than 26 hours in a stardew valley year...

I dont really understand this. Completing the community center within one year always felt like a bit of 'speedrun' to me, for people who want the challenge. So feeling stressed because of this self-imposed time limit of one year is like saying you dont like a game because speedrunning it you felt stressed cause you had to be quick? You can play however many years you like. You can even ask grandpa for another evaluation if you didnt get all candles the first time around. You got all the time you want.