I would advice against going full 3D for your first major game project. Personally, I would start with a simple 2d or text based project that doesn't require a heavy artistic workload and treat it strictly as a learning experience.
You should also never get in the habit of comparing yourself to others and do things strictly for the love of the craft and growing.
Good and proven game engines suited for beginners and hobbyist are godot, unity, game maker 2 and quest. Don't bother worrying about the current community reputation of the engines as they are simply tools at the end of the day and the first 3 engines have frameworks and 3rd party tools you can work with to finish your project.
Don't be afraid of following youtube and udemy tutorials carefully when you are figuring out the ropes and always put what you learn to use even if you find it boring and tedious at the time as it will pay off when inspiration hits.
Also, don't fall into the trap of worrying about how much or how little you are getting exposed online . People that obsess over that are generally make themselves miserable.