Graveyard Keeper Versus Stardew Valley

I am ~10 hours into Graveyard Keeper, and the game is just not clicking with me. I have spent the entire time feeling as though I'm somehow playing it wrong, yet I still feel compelled to play it. Given the obvious inspiration from Stardew Valley, I believe that comparing the two will help me vocalize my issues and explain this discrepancy.

• aesthetics
• mechanics

  • crafting & building
  • character progression
  • gathering & production
  • NPC interactions
  • world unlocks
  • time passage