Stardew is pretty devoid of meaningful choice because it’s devoid of meaningful challenge. Other games in the genre, like Harvest Moon 64 or Rune Factory 4 (no particular reason for those examples, they’re just my favorites in the genre) are defined by taxing time limits, complicated schedules to remember, and so on. Rune Factory 4 even has very challenging dungeons which reward understanding the crafting system and the various skills.
Stardew is pretty devoid of meaningful choice because it’s devoid of meaningful challenge. Other games in the genre, like Harvest Moon 64 or Rune Factory 4 (no particular reason for those examples, they’re just my favorites in the genre) are defined by taxing time limits, complicated schedules to remember, and so on. Rune Factory 4 even has very challenging dungeons which reward understanding the crafting system and the various skills.