I think around 4–5 love interests is the perfect number. When there are more than that, the character development and story tend to feel a bit lacking.
I'm more drawn to a character's personality and charm than their age, but if I had to choose, I prefer LIs who are around the same age as the MC. I really like that kind of relationship where they can feel like both close friends and lovers.
I prefer when the LI falls in love with the MC during the route. If they're already in love with her from the beginning, it feels more like they're in love with the character rather than with me as the player.
I also started with a mobile game, Mystic Messenger. After that, I moved on to otome games on Steam, and eventually started playing them on the Switch as well.
I really like the trope where a character who initially looks down on or dislikes the MC eventually comes to respect or fall in love with them. It feels especially satisfying when the MC's actions and efforts are finally acknowledged.
It's not just BL games—visual novels in general seem to be going through a decline. Fewer of them are being released than in the past, whether they're aimed at men or women, and as someone who loves visual novels as a whole, it makes me really sad.
I always use the default name anyway, so I don't mind if there's no option to change it. As long as the story and artwork are good, it doesn't really matter to me.
I usually look at the negative reviews first. Sometimes the things other people complain about actually turn out to be exactly the kind of elements I enjoy.
I like all kinds of games, but I care more about the story and artwork than the gameplay. So I don't mind visual novels with little to no gameplay at all.