Do you read reviews? What's important to you in a review?

I used to read reviews pretty often too, but at some point I realized they were influencing me way more than I thought they were haha. Sometimes I'll see a game with like a 6/10 rating and go in expecting it to be just okay, only to actually have a really good time with it. And then there are games with really high ratings where I end up wondering what everyone was seeing because I personally didn't enjoy them that much lol.

I think it's especially true with romance because that part is so subjective. One person can say the romance is slow, boring, or has no chemistry, while someone else might love the exact same thing because they enjoy slow-burn or a certain type of dynamic. Even with characters, someone's "worst LI" can easily become my favourite (´꒳`)

So nowadays I'm kind of at the point where I prefer to judge the game for myself. I'll still check reviews if I need to know something important, like route order, potential landmines, or maybe the general quality of the translation, but I try not to read too many opinions beforehand. Otherwise I feel like I'm already going into the game with someone else's opinion in my head instead of experiencing it naturally.

And honestly, sometimes it's more fun to play something and form your own opinion, even if you end up disagreeing with everyone else. One person's 6/10 can definitely be my 9/10 (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

Reviews are fun to read as an article about a game, but I don't really use it to determine what I'm going to play next.
I feel like most otome review spaces and websites don't really have tastes that align with mine. Just because a game is highly popular and widely acclaimed doesn't mean I'll actually have fun playing it (found this out the hard way with Code: Realize lol).
I'm more likely to pick up a game based on forum comments/posts and discord messages from people I know enjoy similar games to me.

For me... It's important to read review. I wanna know first and then if there's the sample audio, imma hear it first~

This doesn't just apply to otome games, but I tend to skim through reviews. With new games, I'm usually interested in the technical quality and whether there are any major bugs (so I know if I should play right away or wait for patches).
I usually try not to know too much about a game so I can be more surprised. Unless I'm really unsure about a game, or there are a lot of conflicting opinions—then I read more to help me make a decision.
It's only after I've played a bit more or reached one of the endings that I look for walkthroughs, guides, or reviews.
Sometimes—though this is really very rare—when I see that a story is starting to head toward a bad ending, I'll read about that ending ahead of time, put the game aside for a while out of frustration, and then, once I've calmed down, I'll go back and finish it ;)

It depends. While some can be useful as guidelines, many reviews are paid where people are obliged to be overly biased and sweep any issues under the rug. I am more inclined to listen and read the opinions of those who share similar tastes as me instead. Spoilers can be tricky in reviews but for me, some level of spoilers are essential to grab my interest in the first place.