She has a "version 2" as well! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLFbZlYWaKc

Yeah, I've tried those out before. It tends to make the game feel weird, if that makes sense? Like, everything is still expecting time to progress.

Really, I want a game like Stardew, but without the hard timeline baked in from the start.

Yep. I love planting things, harvesting them... I want Stardew Valley without the time management stuff.