Hello,
I know the tittle isn't very indicative, but I couldn't decide on it, since my preferences for a visual novel are very vague, as I have so far only played through three visual novels (G-senjou no Maou, Katawa Shoujo, Fate/stay night).
To get to the topic at hand - I am looking for a visual novel with realistic, mature characters (I don't mind a high school setting, or the characters being teenagers, but I don't want them to be "dense"), who are able to objectively judge the situation at hand and act according to what they are capable of.
Examples of characteristics I did not like:
Fate -> Emiya being awfully pretentious and wanting to do everything alone, which is often idiotic when viewed objectively
Key works -> Comedy portrayed through exceedingly childish characters
Characeristics I liked:
G-senjou -> Kyousuke being someone who can objectively judge both what's happening and his own abilities
Katawa Shoujo -> I liked Hisao since he was portrayed as a normal human with whom I could relate, due to his decissions being those of a "real person"
So to summarize, I don't like characters with exaggerated traits (eg. childishness, overconfidence, valour, being a pervert etc.). It's not that I don't like really powerful characters or characters with extraordinary abilities, but I would still like to see them portrayed as persons with "realistic" mindsets.
For the story - I like stories in which romance plays an important role (however I came to see that romance is present in almost all visual novels) and the relationship between the couple is developed beyond just awkward talk and a kiss. Otherwise I have no preferences regarding the genre, as long as the story is interesting.
I hope that you will be able to decipher what I like from these examples and am looking forward to hearing some recommendations.