a) how much effort they obviously put into it, historic details from Egypt 2k years ago, game engine, quests, little details
b) how much it feels like a thin wrapper around Cookie Clicker
Steam tells me 1/3rd of players don't even get out of the Prologue area.
So probably still in line with what you remember.
Just to say we all have nostalgia and the good old days are never coming back.
From my perspective, there’s been a small but steady trickle of good games for decades. Recent AAA games that pushed the boundaries are Elden Ring and Baldurs Gate 3, and they would not have been possible at their scale back in the day.
Also plenty of mil Sims available if you are into multilayer.
But try the new James Bond game. Linear shooter, but a great story and fantastic cast on top of super fun mechanics. By the Hitman studio with a lot of their core ideas Bondified to favor action over stealth. It hasn't irritated me in the way almost any other game manages to.