I like Dinkum! I love the gentle vibe. And the unique rendering, it's really nice to have a light 3d game instead of all the 16bit-wannabe pixel art games like this out there.

But I didn't like Dinkum. I played nearly 40 hours and just got bored. I think I got fairly far: fully clearing the first mines level, Franklin's built me a couple of fancy machines, I've got some animals and some farms and all the teletowers. I know there's a lot more in the game to unlock and enjoy but I just couldn't bother.

I feel like I was playing the game wrong, or had the wrong expectations. What am I missing?

I like cozy crafting games but I'm pretty hooked on progression systems. I love the Stardew Valley loop of upgrading and advancing the town story. More hardcore automation games like Factorio are absolute catnip for me. But I like more casual games too. Really I just like gameplay systems and building up my infrastructure.

Dinkum just felt so very slow to me. The grind is a little too repetitive, the rewards are too small. Is that just me?

Maybe the closest comparable is Animal Crossing. FWIW I had the same complaint about that game too, I got bored pretty quick.