Universal dislikes don't universally make sense...

[Cthulhu]

I mean, c'mon. How can Shane *not* love the chicken statue? Why would Maru hate a Dwarf Gadget? And what sort of kid cries because of the garbage gift you gave him--which was a freaking DINOSAUR BONE?

In seriousness, I was really disappointed to find out that all artifacts are universally hated. I felt like I was matching gifts to people in a way that really made sense; I was giving them things that dovetailed with their interests--or things I thought they'd be interested in, at least. I finally had to check the wiki to figure out why people were yelling insults at me, and that's no fun. Stardew is best when you manage to figure things out without consulting a guide (at least it is for me!) and so I was sad.

Almost as sad as when Shane sneered at me for giving him trash.

 

[Lemon_Stone]

Oh yeah, I definitely agree. Many of the things that are universally disliked or hated do not make sense for a lot of NPCs. You'd think Shane would absolutely love the chicken statue, but nope, somehow one of his most despised gifts. And why does he hate Joja Cola as a gift, but

Spoiler

his 14-heart event implies that he drinks it, and he loves it at the movie theater? Pam is in a similar boat. She hates Joja Cola as a gift despite liking it at the movie theater.

I also totally agree that Maru, and maybe even Demetrius, should at least like the Dwarf gadget. I'd also like to suggest a similar change with Abigail, who absolutely hates the bone flute, despite playing the flute, and neither of the kids like any of the doll artifacts. Speaking of Maru, I feel like she should also at least like minerals, giving how I'm pretty sure it's said in-game that she "needs crystals for her experiments." Same with Emily, who seems to have a thing for crystals, given her favorites and the fact that she mediates in a crystal garden if married to her. She also talks about "rare and powerful rings forged by forgotten civilizations" in one line of dialogue but, you guessed it, she hates the Elvish jewelry for some reason. I think it'd be amusing if Gus at least liked lemon stone as well. I just get the feeling that he'd be interested in anything that would be considered a delicacy. And if the rainbow shell is so beautiful, then why is it a near-universal neutral? You'd think that more NPCs would at least like it.

 

[Ereo]

Well the dolls are just creepy, I can see why the kids gate them.

I agree about a lot of the other ones. And why does Lewis have a fridge full of tea and milk, but he doesn't like milk?

 

[Potatoes]

I think everyone should have at least 1 or 2 trash/artifact gifts that they like or love. Kind of like how you can give Leah driftwood.

 

[Lemon_Stone]

Currently, only Rasmodius likes the geode minerals, with the exception of some NPCs who love a specific few of them. You'd think that the Dwarf would at least like the geode minerals (not counting lemon stone, which they love), and maybe even Clint. There's also the weird case with the strange bun. It's hated by pretty much everyone, but it doesn't really make sense in the case of Krobus. Shadow People can drop strange buns in the mines, and they contain void mayonnaise. As such, you'd think he would love them.