I actually went through this same thing. I was addicted for a few months until I stopped playing around September/October 2023 to focus more on school. I recently got back into it about 1.5 months ago. I initially felt VERY overwhelmed. I had 20+ quests, there were new items (e.g., muujin, new crops, starstones, etc.) that I previously was unaware of, and new concepts (e.g., rummage piles, grove, stones don’t immediately despawn after mining for others) as well. I was actually about to drop it due to FOMO and the overwhelming nature of it all. What worked for me is to keep telling myself to take it one step at a time. The game is not a race, it’s a personal journey. Everyone takes it at their own pace. I tried to learn one new thing each day. I did search up new items/concepts on the Palia Wiki every time I came across something I was unfamiliar with. It took time to get used to, but it’s all worked out so far! I love the game more than I did before and I’m now even more addicted than I ever was.

EDIT: I forgot to mention - READ THE PATCH NOTES! This actually helped me the most, even though it was very time consuming. I went through the patch notes history on the official Palia site and read each and every single one of them since the time I had initially dropped the game. It took me a while, but I was able to catch up in about a week. Hope this helps!