I realize this wasn't a question aimed at me. But if we just take the genre itself, slap on the overarching, intended audience, and just generalize the types of tropes and plot hooks that attract the people who would play this and enjoy it—plus throw in the developer's imagination and taste to present and write the story—even leaving that out, most players will be straight males. Not a rule, tho. I dated a chick, and she is actually the reason I learned about and got into VNs and/or Itch altogether. She enjoyed these types of games specifically for the RPG/combat aspect of it, and she did find other women attractive. Now, anime seems to be an acquired taste. But that probably starts at my generation, or maybe the generation previous to me, Gen X. I know friends or have met people older than me who didn't like even the idea of looking at naked women that weren't photorealistic... though to be fair, I don't generally ask people about their porn preferences...
I digress. It feels rather obvious to me. But I am, as I have been told, reminded, and explained to... even accused of somehow... more than once??? Lmao. A straight male who has always been at least a bit of a nerd. To the biggest nerd. All depends on the location and the people around me. But my dad read The Hobbit to me when I was 6ish y/o, and I got all lucky and shit and was molded to be the kid that got in trouble for reading in reading class for the rest of my school life because I couldn't put down the 4,000 page per book+ fantasy series of the month.
Though I did find out that while me and that ex I spoke of liked these types of games and stories, when it came to the... more lewd parts of it, we both DID enjoy it, just for different reasons. And we both had gripes—some matched up, but others were similar but for different reasons.
But all in all, to answer your question—and this is just personal—role-playing games in general are meant to tell a story of rising above adversity. Most are set in the magical world of pre-gunpowder because, as we all know, the first multi-shot pistol was the great equalizer. Before that, these ideas of honor, skill, and determination, or perseverance and commitment to training, were values and aspects that most had to have to be decorated or renowned, and to be considered... a warrior. Maybe you could even conflate it with "manly," or rather those were the "manliest" of men? I'm not sure on the whole front of WHY it draws in the average man. But I don't pretend to try to be the manliest, as I grew up in the South, and without throwing a bunch of buzzwords around, that line of thinking can lead to being a very narrow-minded moron.
I think the people who would play this style of game are looking to be the hero. They want to receive that affection for being a hero, building themselves up, and overcoming adversity. It could also be that whole monkey lizard brain thing: start at the bottom, rise to the top, and get the girl.
So the graphic violence just underscores how high the stakes are. To the lizard brain, the more dangerous the world is, the bigger the achievement feels when you finally come out on top. But that's just my experience or thoughts on it. It seems natural to me, and like this game wouldnt work with out it. There maybe a way, i just dont know that i wouldve tried to play it. I know some games if they feel to...PG? I slowly lose interest. It doesnt feel...impactful. Or real...that doesnt seem like the right word though....
Eh ive also been up for like 19 hours at this point, so for all I know, i just literally wrote half formed thoughts on the internet and hit send.