I know everyone is like wow omg wholesome dad game with all white cast! yay! based!
But I am a father and playing the game makes me profoundly sad. I have real children near the same age and the game nails the mentality so perfectly I feel guilty playing it, like I am cheating on my real family. Maybe in 20 years I'll play through it to reminisce once they are gone. But I can't play it now for more than a couple minutes before feeling disgusting.
No one is realizing how seductive this is. Like porn tricks you into thinking you have endless women and thus defeating your drive to find a real one, Dad-games sap away your energy to have a real family.
I know in the hunter-gatherer sense all videogames are a waste of time and should be avoided, we're all addicts and none of this is healthy. I can't attack anyone for playing this game while I still waste time with other RPGs and shooters. But there's a reason this game came from a country where reclusive shutins are such a problem they have a completely collapsing birthrate.
This is a great perspective. My eternal naiveté wants to suggest that this doesn't have to be pernicious. It could just be creatives expressing the feeling you're describing to share with others. You'd think I'd learn by now.