I'm more or less on the same page as you. A bit of naughtiness if nice, but the game has to work as a game.
My all time favourite is probably Rimworld. It's just fun that keeps on giving and if the game isn't enough, there are so many mods to add to it. But developing a character is probably my favourite aspect. I even like the sims for that same reason. Even in football games I just go the long way. I used to have xbox game pass (it's just ridiculously expensive now so I just gave up) and would play Fifa/EA games. I wouldn't buy them, but I would play them as they are part of the gamepass library. I would have the same team for a year or two, sometimes I would even skip the entire new version of the game so I could keep the same team. I often don't have too long to play, so one or 2 football matches sometimes are nice, as I have trouble only playing half an hour of Rimworld, MoR or some other "long" game.
In MoR I kind of ended up helping and collecting people. And after some time, I released everyone from slavery and kept them as paid servants. But the game needs more content. The Dengi Invasion is a disappointment. It's basically a long fight that you can't really win. Every time you put money into the republic, the Dengi seem to grow stronger. So you need a crap load of money. The fighting option is ridiculously hard. But there is nothing to do. There is no "quest", no path, no nothing. Needs a lot more content.
As for the rest of the game, more sandbox, more house management. A functioning economy (not just make the same guns and sell them at the same place). And the factions are just way too bland. I truly love MoR, but can't quite see myself playing 1000+ hours like I did Rimworld. But still in development, so let's see what the future brings. I hope it makes it to steam someday. Not a complaint, but to me, this is not a monthly subscription worthy game nor do I even have a patreon account, or want one.