Isn't the game Kingmakers partly that whole 'GATE' idea as it does have top down strategy elements?

As someone who's a veteran of the Tiberian/Red alert wars and who's first strategy game was Dune 2000 (who's soundtrack is criminally overlooked), I'd say one of the first things you need to properly invest in is setting and dialogue. You can have something with fantasy, sci fi, historical or a mix of all three, if you're not invested in the setting, you won't care about the game as in a grand strategy you're seeing things from a bigger perspective.

Isn't the game Kingmakers partly that whole 'GATE' idea as it does have top down strategy elements?

As someone who's a veteran of the Tiberian/Red alert wars and who's first strategy game was Dune 2000 (who's soundtrack is criminally overlooked), I'd say one of the first things you need to properly invest in is setting and dialogue. You can have something with fantasy, sci fi, historical or a mix of all three, if you're not invested in the setting, you won't care about the game as I'm a grand strategy you're seeing things from a bigger perspective.