The thing I like the most about this game is the historical context. I just recently learned that it's (semi) based on real events and that made me appreciate the game a little more than before.
The artstyle is absolutely gorgeous, I personally love the look of all the characters, and the writing is fairly decent. There are some minor spelling mistakes here and there, nothing too terrible. The story lines are alright for the most part, though I personally found it kinda hard to get through the first few chapters. There is little romance until the very end and the main character is just so incompetent. I often wished that she could just learn how to fight or do anything helpful besides standing around and crying.
Is this game a must-play though? I don't think so. It's a very popular franchise and I do think that people who generally enjoy Otomes will have a fairly good time but I also think that there are better games out there.