I personally am fine with horror. It can make for some spicy romance. I liked blackgate and password, just not echo, because there's no happy ending with the route you choose.
But the dev clearly said:
"Im making this VN novel with the intention of creating somewhat the same experience that Echo gave me, so the vn will focus more on trauma, horror, and drama rather than romance and nsfw content,"
So I think he's going for that bitter ending romances that i really dislike.