I love that AC is real time, that has been one of the bigger draws for me since the original.

Few games have events around real life holidays (in real time), and give you a sense of jumping on to see what today has in store.

If AC is a game you try to rush through, then it may not be the game for you. But if you go in understanding and accepting it for what it is, you’ll enjoy it more.

For me, this is less about trying to rush through, and when I have time to actually play.

That means that some days when I want to play, everything is closed, because it's too late in the day, and others everything is closed because it's too early - and the game punishes you for changing the clock to fit more than one of those circumstances.

The two games have totally different vibes, which is fine. AC is more for relaxing and unwinding, while SV is more of a story-driven/objectives-based game.

Agreed.. was a bit disappointed by AC when I was hoping for something more like stardew valley. Would love a recommendation for something like that if it exists.

You could try the original franchise from which Stardew Valley was cloned from: Harvest Moon (also know as Story of Seasons) or it's Spin-off Rune Factory.

There is also Graveyard Keeper, which is similar in vibe and mechanics, but with a very different setting.

Rune Factory is the usual comparison. Rune Factory 4 just re-released on Switch and I played a decent chunk to tide over my AC longing before it launched, and I quite liked it. Much more story focused, combat, and not real time.

You can simply cheat around the real-time-effect. Powergamers do it all the "time".