I haven't played that one, Nyx, but a friend linked me to its Steam page. XD Maybe one day! Hope you enjoy the genre.
I got a used PS Vita about two weeks ago because it was a really good offer, so now I'm reaaaally looking forward to playing the Vita-exclusive Norn9: Var Commons and Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~!! *_* Hope that those are selling well and that it means more console otoges will be localized. The two games aren't available physically in Europe though (and physical > digital for me), so I'll have them sent to the US address my mother's staying at for the next few weeks. Can't wait. *-*
I recently played
The Royal Trap: The Confines Of The Crown, which isn't an otoge first and foremost (it's a visual novel that revolves around political intrigue, has a great protagonist, great relationships, and has a very strong common theme on all routes), but includes heavy otoge elements. Not all routes are romantic in nature, and they're referred to as "alliances" in the grand scheme. Some alliances lead to romance, but the person you enter a romance with may not be who the route is named after. SO GREAT. I think I'll write about this on my gaming blog later, I really loved how it handled some of the writing.
I think the fact that it focuses on delivering a story and its theme above anything, showing different sides of the political mystery and offering different solutions from route to route, is what makes it so great (including the protagonist, who is
not a stand-in for the player), as otoge stories are usually forgettable to me. (You play them for the characters.)
I tried out
Blood Code a while ago because it has pretty art and I'm accessing it via a friend's Steam library, but... stiff translation aside, the writing in the prologue alone is so awful that I've put the game aside. It keeps jumping around without saying anything about the characters.