my opinion is unless you are doing a historical period piece or a thing about "true events" you just shouldn't ever put a date on it.One of my favorite things was the final season of parks and rec. They specifically dated it as 2017 with a 2 year time jump into the future. Had more drones and random future things that were played off as jokes.
I mean that for all media btw, games, movies, shows, songs. adding a date does not enhance an experience when consumed at launch but sure as hell makes it age badly when consumed late.
Outside of that, yeah don't put a date unless you have a specific need for it. In Hapax I have a specific date because props need a date but it just causes issues. Either the date is too soon and people think it's unrealistic or the date is too far and people expect Star Trek.
Watching reviews for Observation though it's funny how few mention the slow gameplay. This is the only video I've found that dissects it in any way.