I prefer top MC because I like dominant protagonists. But if a game is good enough, I'm totally down to try other stuff, partly because top MCs are pretty rare anyway.
Since I'm pretty short on time for otome games lately, I've been looking up dealbreakers beforehand. If a plot seems like it'll make me uncomfortable, I just push it way down my backlog, Kinda worried I might be missing the good stuff though.
I usually go for my favorite character's route first. If there's a character I'm really interested in, I can't wait to play their route right away,unless it would spoil too much too early.
Sometimes the little mini-games are pretty fun and help break things up a bit, but if it's the kind where you just grind stats over and over, it honestly makes me even more bored. I actually really like rpgs and puzzle games, but there just aren't many otome games like that.
I really like protagonists with strong, distinct personalities. Sometimes I also project myself onto them a bit, so for me it's kind of a mixed feeling, I can't really separate the two that clearly.
As far as I know, a lot of people who play these games are looking for long-term companionship, so they keep waiting for new content to come out. But I lose interest pretty easily, so I usually end up ignoring the story and just enjoy collecting characters.
Bunny Bond is pretty good. It's a chatroom-style game, so there isn't a lot of CG content, but it's really fun, and the love interests have different types.