First time you start the game, grandpa is on his deathbed dictating a letter to you. It's kind of weird we see him talking, but this is supposed to be a letter. Are we the player made to believe that the main character is imagining his grandpa saying this as he reads?
Anyways, the reason you can tell it was made in the 2010s is, one of the first things grandpa says in the letter is:
There will come a day when you feel crushed by the burden of life
And you can tell that was last decade, because I assure you, anyone living on THIS side of 2020 has absolutely passed that day long ago.
Life is agony and it'll never get better. Everyday is just a new low. And you're in 2020 thinking surely thats rock bottom, right? And then 2025 is like:
"Buckle up shitbag, because we're about to take a fucking nosedive."
With all the crap going on in the world right now, comfy cosy games like stardew valley are about all that's keeping me hanging by a strand.....but at least there's a strand.
But seriously, if grandpa could see 2025, he'd be like "holy shit I threaded the needle between 2012, and 2020, and peaced out at just the right time."
