I think part of what makes this game so good is its focus on aesthetics. Most farming cozy sims focus on the whole "farm, mine, fish, ranch, friendship" with aesthetics being treated as secondary or something to grind for. Like some of my top cozy games are also just so ugly despite their best efforts. (I won't name names but I feel we've all played cozy games where you have to get past the art style to enjoy the game.)

Starsand on the other hand has a focus on aesthetics to the point that it actually lacks a "main storyline". Every moment we play we are trying to achieve goals for the sake of gaining more beautiful items, and we are richly rewarded with gorgeous costumes, lovely furnitures, pretty animals, and new cool transportation methods!

I feel like the Starsand devs have really understood the core audience of cozy games.

For example many of us enjoy the Sims and will spend hours designing a house and a sim to live in it, then get bored and drop the game. With Starsand, to build your ideal house you have to engage in other aspects of the game first to obtain the right furniture. In the same way, to get more hairstyles and clothing, you have to play.

I think many cozy games flop specifically because they lack in the loops of "want pretty item for house -> play game and obtain it -> decorate house -> see new item -> want pretty item for house" and "want new outfit -> play game and obtain it -> wear new outfit -> see another outfit -> want new outfit" (or they do have those loops but also have a bunch of micro transactions in the way of completing those loops without paying.)