Sure, you can make a game like this from zero. Imagine your game is a car. You build the chassis to look great, you customize your steering system to be just the way you want. You could buy a subaru engine and put it in your car, but maybe you don't like how much subaru engine's cost. You could instead get a used GM engine. It is not new, but it seems reliable and it is a lot cheaper, but it doesn't run very fast and uses a lot of fuel.

Or.. you custom-build your own engine. It does exactly what you need it to and has just the right fuel efficiency you need! since you're building it yourself, it is very cheap, but it takes a long time to build since you obviously don't have a huge manufacturing facility. 

Just like a game engine, there are advantages to each choice. You could go with unity. It is very powerful, but it may not be quite the style you're looking for. There's also Godot, GameMaker, and loads of others. And, as you mentioned, you can make your own. The advantage of making your own engine is that it has exactly the features you will need because you're the one deciding on the features. As with a real car, making your own engine means it takes a lot longer to build and it is a lot harder to fix when things break (and they will break. All engines will need fixing at some point) The main drawback is no one makes replacement parts nor has any experience with the problems you may encounter.

As for the language, I recommend learning C#. It is not my primary language, but it is the language I wish I had started with. Loads of helpful resources, pretty standardized across the industry, and it is already compatible with a large number of engines (in case you don't end up building your own). And if it turns out you like C++ better, you'll have basically learned C++ as well while learning C# (the reverse is not necessarily true; C++ doesn't natively support a lot of OOP features found in C#, but C# supports most of the really nifty C++ features in my opinion)

for making your own engine? C#. 

Help you with the code? Probably not. I can give you pointers on the best ways to learn and I can help with the occasional coding question here and there, but coding your own engine from scratch when you have yet to learn how to code takes literal decades. It's a little bit like saying "Can you help me get a PhD?"

I recommend starting with a high-level engine and working your way into the low-level engines. (high/low level in this case has nothing to do with quality or skill. High level means you're not doing a lot of coding, more click-and-drag. low level means you're doing a lot of coding and custom-building your controls a lot)

Start with something like RPG Maker. Make a small demo game. See what you like. 

I'd have to agree with Medicine Storm - This programmer spent two years developing an engine for Unity and he has a ton of experience.

Creating a game is difficult enough even when you have an existing engine...trying to create a new one is certainly possible, but probably not the project to start with.

Scratch is an online game engine. Its where a lot of beginners start and you can make any 2d game with it.

There are a lot of engines on the market now -- some free, some commercial.  Do a Google search and spend about an hour or so evaluating your different options.  It's really too hard for us know know your talent level, motivation, previous experience, etc.

Godot is a free option that seems to be gaining traction: https://godotengine.org/

Unity also offers a license - https://unity.com/

There are quite a few others.  It's worth the time to research 3-5 options.