I don’t understand why the majority of cozy games have a calendar system and or time limits. I already have a limited time on earth and I don’t want game devs to artificially restrict how I spend time in game.
I have to drop games like Stardew Valley because of the calendar system. I know there is no strict time limits and I can just wait for the following year if I miss an event. But that just makes the game stressful. Also the day/night cycle is extremely quick. Every action I take I have to look at the time and consider the duration.
Similarly in Persona series, why do they have the calendar system and restrict how much you can do with social interactions? When I play an RPG I like to take my time to explore as I want.
I am writing this because I finally found a game that feels cozy, which is Fantasy Life i. No calendar, no time limits, live as many different lives as I want. I prefer games to be games.
I like how Stardew Valley has a calendar and seasons, but I don’t like how it keeps track of the year. It makes my inner min-maxer go like, “I need to complete the CC before year 1 ends!!!”, and I grind instead of enjoying the game. It also feels off to see the kids never growing up.
There is a mod that let’s you control when the clock moves forward. It makes the game both better and worse. Better because you now have time to do everything and worse because you now have time do everything.
TimeSpeed? I use it. Unless I limit myself, it makes the issue worse - then I’m trying to get a clean farm day 1*, and rich in the first Wednesday (rain day, spent mostly fishing catfish).
*I do the same with the SNES version of Harvest Moon, since time doesn’t pass at night. I wonder why I always marry Karen in that game /s