One other thing worth mentioning: both games have a DLC which lets you play like an infinite roguelike dungeon crawl which is super fun. I probably have more hours in the respective roguelike DLCs for both than I do for either of their campaigns. I just love the idea of taking classic CRPG/D&D mechanics and giving it progression like Slay The Spire
I wish games wouldn’t claim to be like Cities: Skylines when they clearly aren’t. C:S is a city builder, not a colony sim. This game looks much more like Banished or Frostpunk.
They are completely separate story-wise. Kingmaker’s story is IMO a bit easier to follow at the beginning. WOTR is newer though and therefore has more character customization options. They both use the same engine and the gameplay is almost identical.
100%. I stopped playing a decade ago, but when I played I was always amazed at the behaviour it brought out in people. I would watch people who I considered friends IRL turn into abusive jerks when I played with them. It’s this weird prisoner’s dillemma of a game where the psychology of the game appears to encourage ganging up on the weakest player.
IMO WoW is not a good game at all if you are looking for “role playing”. It’s a multiplayer online game and all the quests boil down to simple linear stories. There is very little player choice, and the other humans playing the game make it impossible to suspend your disbelief and actually imagine your character as a real person in the game world.
I would recommend Dragon Age: Origins. BioWare games in general have always been great at letting you build a character where role playing choices matter a lot. Other games I would recommend for RPGs with a capital R and a capital P:
Tyranny (choices matter a lot in this one. There are basically 4 or 5 distinct stories in the game depending on choices you make)
Fallout New Vegas (any of the fallout games are good, but this one has the best writing IMO)
Mass Effect Legendary Edition (play all three in order)
Pillars of Eternity 2
Pathfinder (Kingmaker or Wrath of the Righteous)
Divinity Original Sin 2
Baldur’s Gate 3 (Early access right now but should be releasing soon)
If price is an issue, my top recommendations are definitely Dragon Age Origins and Fallout New Vegas