Do farming games have to rely on tedious resource gathering?

[rupsch]

This is not a rant. I intend to start an actual discussion. As most of us might be aware, farming games depend (by nature, I would say) on completing a number of chores day by day. In another discussion, I pointed out how many farming games really depend on this fact because otherwise, they would be quite empty. And this "padding" is something I am becoming more and more aware of in a negative way. Maybe I've just reached the shallow end of my saturation curve when it comes to the genre, but I'm wondering if it could actually be possible to create a game that can do without it. I'm feeling as if this gripe I have with the last few farming games I have played is akin to a player of ego-shooters complaining about them relying too much on shooting targets with various guns over and over again. On the other hand, I think what sets apart one farming game from others is what lies beyond this core mechanic of the daily grind.
One example from this game for illusration (and I want to make clear that I do enjoy this game):
I have pointed out that the hunger meter is just there to extend the playtime. You are never really struggling to have enough food on the table. The only time when it becomes an issue is winter, but until then, you will have been able to find a way to preserve and stockpile food. The other seasons mostly consist of walking the same circle around town, shaking trees and bushes, maybe going into the mine for a bit, doing whatever is necessary at your farm (possibly watering a vast field inch by inch) and use whatever is left of the day to complete quests or just socialize with the villagers.
If you disable hunger, however, the game suddenly leaves you with very little to do. You can have some influence on what your own children do, and you can remove villagers by giving them poisoned cake, but that is basically it. The rest are fetch quests that mostly rely on you gathering more resources. One really enjoyable thing is to build and decorate your farm, but even that relies on gathering vast amounts of resources (the classic "chop down the equivalent of a small forest in order to have enough wood for your new small picket fence"). And I'm just thinking about how long it would take if I still had to also complete my daily round (which I still kind of do since I need that wood).
Are there games in the genre or genre-adjacent that do not have that padding-issue? Is this even something that bothers other players? Maybe it's just an age-thing since I really wasn't bothered by hours of mindless grinding when I was a teen.

[HunterSilver]

Games need a gameplay loop to exist as a game. As a genre farming games stem from Harvest Moon and largely utilize its gameplay loop. If you're playing a farming game expect it to use virtually the same farming, foraging, mining, socialization, decorating, crafting, and sometimes combat as Harvest Moon with some tweaks here or there.

You can get experimental, but past a point it's not a farming game anymore and goes into a different genre, such as a colony sim like RimWorld or Squad Tactics game like Kenshi. Both games contain farming, socializing, and any number of elements that you'd consider essential to a farming game, but are distinctly not what you would consider a farming game.

Art is transactional with the observer and any experience you get out depends on what you can put into playing it. A disinterested, bored player is going to get less enjoyment from games.

If you're bored of a game then it's usually a good idea to try the age old advice of 'take a break'. There are other games to play, other genres to dip your toes into. Whenever you want to play Plum Grove again, it'll still be in your library.

If you're looking for an adventure game that's farming-game-adjacent, maybe try something like Kynseed.

[rupsch]

Thanks :-)