The larger the game, the more likely it is to receive negative reviews. We have some one-star reviews on here that I don't think are particularly fair. Sometimes the product just isn't what the player is looking for and they take out their dissatisfaction by trying to hurt the dev's perception.
For pure production values, it's hard to beat City of Broken Dreamers. That intro video alone is the stuff of legends. DPC manages to turn a VN into an actual game with a tons of minigames, quicktime fistfights, and memory puzzles. Those can be disabled if I recall, if you don't like minigames getting in the way of your porn.
One of the times I talked to DPC, I complained that a lot of his sexual encounters felt gratuitous and unlikely, and that the ones that resonated with me were the ones that had some buildup. He told me that he was catering to both types of people who play his game: The quick fap crowd, and the more invested player. I remember thinking it sounded kind of sell-out at the time, but it's very clear to me now that story-rich AVNs are a niche, and the godmode smashfests are what draws a huge fanbase. He understands the market better than anyone, as over 10K patrons would attest.