I really like that you have to take into account what your villagers like and build the city around their needs. It makes choosing the type of buildings exciting every run. And then making sure that the production is fast enough so that the needs are satisfied.

I didn’t play the games you mention so I don’t know what do you enjoy about them, but for me this game was a fantastic surprise. It somehow gives me the old Warcraft III vibe, without the “building an army” part that I didn’t enjoy and was never good at.