When is Kafka just too much for event streaming?

Hey everyone, I've been evaluating event streaming solutions for a new project and Kafka keeps coming up. It seems like the default choice for many high-throughput scenarios. However, for smaller or less critical event streams, is Kafka often more than we need? What are some signs that a simpler message queue or even a direct pub/sub system might be sufficient and less complex to manage? Curious to hear your experiences and when you've opted for alternatives.