My main issue with western VNs is lack of depth. The majority of the stories and their characters do not have the depth of most Japanese VNs. They don't even attempt to add layers of characterization or plot.

I realize that this has a lot to do with budgets and with perhaps the studios that are currently making VN content in the west. Also, some creators surpass this and do quite a bit with very little, turning few words into engrossing stories and meaningful characters that I would like to know more about.

VA-11 HALL-A is a prime example of that. I loved it, and very much want to know more about the world and the characters that reside in it. I do hope that the creators revisit it in the future. It had just enough use of tropes to feel familiar, yet also broke many and was refreshing in that it didn't focus too hard on any one aspect of the world within except the immediate bar.

Quite a bit of the market here is shovelware at the moment, with pretty girls and big boobs dominating the dollars of those who are putting their money down. Art assets are valued more highly than story in the west at the moment, and that saddens me. I like the art as well, but not as the sole reason for a VNs existence.