I always try to complete all of the routes the game has to offer. If the game or the route gets boring after a while, I try to play a small part of it each time so I get to finish it without exhausting myself, or skim through it, or sometimes both.
Good endings, preferably. I like bad endings too, but they kind of make me feel down, and because of that, I do the bad endings before the good endings so I can finish a game on a positive note.
Also, when it comes to good endings, the ones I like the most are ones where the game gut punches...
Both of them are important, and ideally a good balance between both of them, though I prefer the plot of an otome a bit more. It doesn't have to be a groundbreaking story either; even with a simple story, as long as it's consistent and presents it well, I'm good.
Stoic-looking LIs that are actually blushy behind the facade they put on is what I adore the most, though since there's only two separate options, I'd go with blushy, since the end result is the same ahaha.
I'm more gravitated to stories where there's at least some drama and stakes at play (doesn't necessarily have to be heavy), light-hearted or not. Even better when the game has a happy/bittersweet ending after all the suffering everyone went through.
Pure fluff and pure angst are good, too; but...
LIs that are either around the same age or are older than the MC, preferably.
With the ones around the MC's age, they have shared/relatable struggles and are more or less on the "same page", if that makes sense.
Older LIs have that mentor/father/older brother/someone-you-can-look-up-to vibe...
Normally I find the game's BGM to be perfectly fine to listen to. If the game has some really bad tracks, I'll just turn off the BGM for a moment. That, and the fact that my music playlist is a messy hodgepodge of all kinds of genres that can completely ruin the game's intended atmosphere lol.
I always use the MC's canon name. No matter how relatable their personality or their situation might be, I always view them as a separate individual from me. Doesn't matter if the game is voiced or not.
Ideally I prefer both of them, though I'm not strict about it when picking which otome to play. Sometimes I'm in for some nice character interactions and banters, and how the relationship develops between the MC and the LIs. In which case, I pick a romance-focused otome. Other times, I might...
Yeah. Both as adding more variations to CGs and sprites (though it puts more work on the production side) and a way to make the characters feel more expressive and natural.
I do! I oftentimes also look at what other otome games they reviewed so I can have a good idea what they really like or dislike, and in turn know whether I would like that certain game or not. Sometimes, the author might dislike certain themes that I like, and vice versa.
They can also be a good...