Just bouncing around some ideas:
Hearts of Iron USSR: prefer not, very low social policy, pretty direct about what you're supposed to be doing. There are mods with more social policies, but I don't see it being anything more than waiting for political power to build, as well as German invasion. Some international politics will be open.
Victoria 3: Will take a long time do anything, depends on starting country and how aggressively revolution is pursued. Would Tsar Nich support revolutionary trade unions? Probably not, but the alternate path will take a long time.
Stellaris: start as workers co-op, probably quite chill compared to the previous two, though less interesting than Vic.
Tropico: Another chill option, a lot lower investment for me.
Workers and Resources: meaningful urban design choices, but will be a lot more work for me. I want to be good at this game, but God damn.
Terra Invicta: I'd need to practice, but has a lot of scope and China is a strong regional interest to play. Haven't played in a while.
Rimworld: hexbear commune. We'd sell drugs and have guns.
I think overall I want a game where I can enact meaningful decisions based on forum input while not being too much work on my end. It is also potentially educational, but don't take it too seriously.
Mod lists welcome.
Roleplay welcome (though don't take it too seriously, you can declare yourself minister of the interior at the outset, but that doesn't mean anything)