Finished several VNs the last three months:
Ever17- This one is made by its fun plot twist. Definitely something you want to go into as blind as possible. Otherwise I found most of the routes sub-par. I have never liked it when you have to play
every route to get to the true ending, and that's even more true here due to all of the repeated dialogue/scenes that these routes have. If ever there was a VN that felt dated it's this one. Thankfully for fans it's
getting a remake at some point.
Last Resort- Ehhh...I liked the girls, and some of the h-scenes were pretty good, but the story was very bland and forgettable.
Love, Election, and Chocolate- I loved Aokana (see avatar), so I thought I'd try sprite's other title. Satsuki was great, her VA was very expressive (also voiced Tsugumi in Ever17, as well as several other popular characters from well-known VNs). Chisato is someone who many will undoubtedly find annoying with how much she forcibly injects herself into the other routes (almost as if the game is trying to guilt-trip you for not picking her). Despite that I did like her. Didn't find the other girls or routes that interesting, though.
Deardrops- So this one I had a hard time finding anything to like about it. The protagonist is really bland. So are all of the routes. I expected a VN about a rag-tag band getting together and working hard to rise to the top...and yeah, that's what this was, but it did it in about the most cliche way imaginable. Character motivations were in question, the pacing was all over the place, and the "true ending" (technically there isn't one, but the sequel goes off of one of the endings) was probably my least favorite. About the only positive I had with it were the girls. I liked most of them and their designs.
Full Metal Daemon Muramasa- This is one of the highest rated VNs on vndb and I can see why. Good worldbuilding, the CGs are at a high level, and there are a ton of cool character designs. The gruesome heart of this is where you are left questioning what makes a true hero...and whether being a hero is actually the right thing to do anyway, much less what you WANT to do. I did like it overall. Outside of some minor nitpicks, the biggest negative I had with it were all of the rape scenes- frankly, they were unnecessary (thankfully they were short). Also, it has best girl Chachamaru-