Clearly, one of these things doesn't quite match the tones of the other. That's actually the point. Sometimes, you just need a game that isn't going to tax you. A game where the success and fail states are of your own choosing, and you know what? That can be just as powerful of a power fantasy as playing the overpowered hero that saves the world.
In Stardew Valley, your main goal is the repair of the Community Center at the center of town. You repair parts of the Center by collecting specific crops, making specific goods, finding certain ore, catching fish, donating money, and so on. You don't even need to do that. You can just grow your farm, explore the mines, befriend the townsfolk, get married, and participate in the annual festivals. When exploring the mines, you may run out of health, but there's no game over. Someone helps you out, some money is lost for treatment, and you may drop some items. With the pace and victory conditions in your hands, you can set it to be anything. Do you want to grow a lot of different crops in a neatly organized system? Cool. Want to have a bunch of flowers everywhere? Buy those seeds and get to work. Want to have groves of fruit trees and relax under them? Rad. There is charm in taking things slow.
This brings me to Animal Crossing, an even lower stakes game than Stardew Valley. In Animal Crossing, you typically just need to earn money to pay off your home loan. The loan has no interest, you can pay back at your own pace, and your house can be expanded under the same plan, once you pay off the previous part. To earn money, you will typically shake trees so they drop fruit, you catch butterflies, go fishing, or find seashells. Sell them to your local shop, save some money for the loan, and buy that new stereo system the shop got in. You can help out your local museum by donating fish, bugs, and fossils you find, so they can show off the species that live in your town. Turning stuff in to the museum also gives you interesting information about the creatures too, so collecting fossils can teach you about the creatures who lived ages ago. This low pressure makes Animal crossing a great game to play for 15-20 minutes a day. It's almost meditative. Grab the fruit that's regrown, and make your pass at the beach for shells, sell everything, chat with your neighbors, get a small smile on your face, and save. Every time I picked up Animal Crossing New Leaf to go through a daily cycle, I leave it in a slightly better mood than when I started it.
These games have a certain power to them. They act as a way to unwind from other games by bringing down the adrenaline levels, instead of spiking them. You don't need to strain with them. They flow like water from moment to moment, like a gentle stream. I love having these games on hand as a way to unwind after a long day. The types of people who like Doom or Mass Effect can like these games. Everyone needs some way to unwind, and for some of them, the gentle rhythm of a hoe tilling the earth is just what they need.
