I haven't gone through all NovemBear entries yet, but out of what I have read so far Face to Face has been the biggest surprise and possibly my favorite entry so far. Carried mainly by the quality of the writing (plus some excellent music choices), considering the very basic visuals. Even the premise of the story is not particularly novel, just masterfully told, and that makes even the VN's shortcomings shine. Even the most glaring issue of the VN, i.e. the mostly complete absence of backgrounds, ends up working for me: the story is set in a building dedicated to the performance arts, the rooms are just set pieces, the barely illuminated actors are what brings them to life.
I feel like I can't talk much more about this without spoiling the story, but I will say I appreciated how the title frames the thematic core of the story.
If you've skipped Face to Face because of the luckluster presentation, please give it a try.