I knew about Otome because of Amnesia. I watched the anime first tho but around 2018 I played the game and didn't finish then I picked it up again around 2022 and finished the game. My first love was Ukyo and until now its still Ukyo :))
I search the game first if there's a recommended playing order.
For games like Birushana where a there's a recommended playing route, I followed it even if it breaks my heart to play Tomomori as the last one. But for Hakuouki, I didn't follow any route-order and played depending on my favorite...