The game doesn't offer any meaningful strategic gameplay

Title. This I think is the main reason it feels boring or unfun. There are not many meaningful strategic decisions to make.

You industrialized in the same way with any country, only difference being how fast you do it. The internal politics of any country are very similar and are alwayse a form of "push against landowners" to get some decent development laws and then kinda just forget it. Diplomacy is still bare bones and even frustrating. If you are big enough you just ignore it, if you are small you just pray the right is good. Neither highlights long term strategic decision making. And lastly, war. An activity inherently strategic, requiring long term commitments to procurement, logistics, training, institution building and economic planning as well as a deep analysis and understanding of the environment of the fighting. None if that is in the game.

So we are left with quite a good simulation that takes you on as a spectator and doesn't give you much levers to poke it and express yourself in it.

And that is boring.