I hope the sandbox will come back, I love the feeling of freedom, being able to go wherever I want, it gives more "life" to the environment and the characters, but of course nobody like the sandbox that you farm non stop to artificially extend the duration of the game. You see this in so many others games.
So in the interest of full disclosure, a sandbox has to be almost perfectly implemented for me to enjoy playing it. To date there are exactly two. So don't be surprised that I offer an opposing opinion.
Family affair is a story not a "game". It's about the MC's maturation as he explores the life choices he encounters. It isn't about the players "sense of freedom", and a sandbox format doesn't enhance that storyline.
VN - Visual Novel - A novel that tells you a story, in which the author offers you choices at plot points so you can explore the changes in the flow of the story that different choices produce. VNs are not a "game" in any traditional sense.
This VN didn't start as a sandbox. The developer decided to experiment with a sandbox option, but never abandoned his/her control of the flow if a player elected not to indulge in randomness. I can only imagine the additional work required to offer to opposing format for this VN. That must have impose a huge burden on content development. I'd rather one format is picked and the developer can focus on developing content than trying to cater to multiple formats. Obviously I hope the choice is NOT a sandbox, but that's up to the creator not any of us.