See the write up I did recently which covers most of the questions here:
MonoGame roundup for 2023 - DarkGenesis - indie development for the new world order (zenithmoon.com)
In the end it comes down to what you are familiar with and what is your preferred method of game development:
- If it’s code first and code always, then MG is for you (although as @Aristurtle pointed out, there are open source engines / editors built on top of MG)
- If you prefer GUI’s and visual scripting, then MG might not be your preferred choice as it is programmer first, not GUI first.
Personally, I’ve always liked code as the code never lies and nothing is hidden in a magic routine on the editor has access to. If I need an editor, I’ll write one just for the scenario I need it for (or write a content pipeline extension to do it for me), but that’s me.
Every developer is unique and has their preferred way of making their projects, so choose what suits you. As I suggest in the article, give all the prospective options a week to build something simple, and then you will truly know.
Hope this helps.