Not for everyone... I often have it as a goal without rushing or stressing about it, its just when I have nothing to do I go "might as well complete this monster slayer goal, need it for perfection anyway" and then there's only a couple things left, why not push a bit. It's really just about what you enjoy doing and how you want to play.pursuit of perfection ruins the experience of your game
).
).I want to be more like you Evie! I’m hard wired to achieve perfection. I have stopped some of my farms from the exhaustion of the perfection goal.I have never reached perfection or completed the community center or reached level 10 in every skill or... you get the point. But I enjoy starting new farms ALL THE TIME because I pick a different spouse, or I buy a Joja membership or I try to do crazy things (like not selling anything until community center is completed or romancing everyone). The great thing about Stardew is that perfection isn't required to be a 'good' player or to make it fun. You could just completely ignore the story and your journal and focus on filling your house with cats. Because that's definitely normal.
Much the same with me, took me 20 in-game-years in my first save until perfection, much bc I had to learn how to play the gameMy first play through took 16 in game years for perfection because I didn’t know what to do.

I'm brewing on the idea of making a mushroom farm, were i am only allowed to sell mushrooms or their corresponding artisan produce. The protagonist would be Jack Morel, a teacher from Gotoro University. He moved to the valley to study the fungi of the Gemcoast. As years pass by, he slowly turns more and more into a shroom, (with Razzy's shrine of illusions) finally being a unrecognizable abomination, a so called "wereshroom" (like werewolf, just fungal, lol) and making A LOT of money through mushroom logs with mystic trees. I don't think he would marry anyone, maybe a gf or bf, like Leah maybe.I have never reached perfection or completed the community center or reached level 10 in every skill or... you get the point. But I enjoy starting new farms ALL THE TIME because I pick a different spouse, or I buy a Joja membership or I try to do crazy things (like not selling anything until community center is completed or romancing everyone). The great thing about Stardew is that perfection isn't required to be a 'good' player or to make it fun. You could just completely ignore the story and your journal and focus on filling your house with cats. Because that's definitely normal.