Nah. That’s nonsense.
A career? Fuck that noise, statistically you will never make enough to make the effort worth it, get a job that offers you what you need and doesn’t demand more bullshit from you (although i understand some places just won’t let this happen). Family? Frankly i think having kids is a mistake regardless, but once they are old enough you shouldn’t be a helicopter parent anyway. A partner? Good partners let you have some time for yourself and your hobbies (and that goes both ways!).
3 didn’t write then into a corner, it just set up a landmark they refuse to acknowledge. they could have an entire universe of stories about units trying to survive the wars humanity has endured without needing some galaxy ending threat. Reach (the planet) was one variation of millions of similar stories humanity has in Halo and the game exploring it was one of the best, just do more of that!
There is just something about coq that feels bad. I play CDDA, i play elona, i dabble in DF, and i play the heck out of kenshi, but coq just doesn’t click. Maybe it’s the UI, maybe the game just doesn’t feel as deep or as rewarding to explore.