Stardew is such a good example given the community is similarly mod-centric

Did you even read the comments you’re referring to? Do you know anything about the game we’re talking about here? “The Dark Place” and “Ocean” are not spoilers for the sequel, and no one is saying the sequel is going to resemble EEAAO.

Refamiliarize yourself with the source material, and actually read the article you can’t stop popping off about.

This one felt like too much like reality to be fun

There’s an argument to be made that this is intentional, funnily enough

I choose to believe they’re seriously criticizing you for 23 year old spoilers, it’s so much more fun.