When you spend about 1 second reading text, does the quality of render matter? I don't think so. Maybe I am the exception but I'm not investigating every render for flaws.
It's not about looking for flaws, it's just about the ability to distinguish "good enough" from "amazing" in terms of render quality. HS is in that "good enough" category because it's basic, whereas AWAM is in the "amazing" category because of the incredible real-to-life detail that goes into it.
And yes, the quality can indeed matter because I find that when a game has higher quality renders, the more engaging it is because it gives it a much more visceral feel when the renders almost real-to-life.
The story matters, so does the progression of the story and the regular updates. An example halay and Anna updates at late are too short for me content wise, so I'd be happy with a longer cycle with more content. But LP is nearly a 9 month cycle per day. Its just not good enough
Story does indeed matter, I'll agree on that, and perhaps that's where a flaw in this game lies. I don't mind a slow burn story and I do like the slow burn of seeing Sophia change from a buttoned-up, prudish Mom into a sexual beast who wants to explore her sexuality and sexual taboos because people don't change their views and proclivities that quickly, but I think that having her be so prudish at the start may have been a problem.
Sophia seems like someone who's always been a prude and not someone who was a bit wild in her younger years and fully went into 'Mom mode' when she got married and had kids. As such, it takes so much more to corrupt and change her sexual views as a result which is why she seems to require so much different stimuli from many different angles leading to all these characters being in the game. But if she had had a wild side when she was younger, the vast majority of these characters wouldn't have been needed and it could still be a good slow burn, realistic game without them.