the sandbox thing isn't a extreme problem if done right.
IMO there are not a lot that do it well enough to compensate the player who just wants to be entertained and not have to work for it
there only a few games on here that i enjoyed and were sand box such as : harem hotel,Hail Dicktator & the anomalous dr vibes
then there the hybrid ones like : badik & desert stalker , its not really a sandbox game but because they have the free roam sandbox options they do get the tag
IMO this avn could be a decent one, not a top 10 kinda VN but one you'd enjoy playing
the added sandbox currently doesn't add much value but it can be expanded upon to make things work in the end.
but currently it just adds more steps to enjoy the AVN
the real issue here IMO is that after the initial release ,some development decisions were put to the new & small patreon community to vote on.(for me that means the dev does not have a idea on where to take the game,or is indecisive )
the only reason i'd think that might work is that if this some kinda learning project to gain experience for a other project
if that is not the case i'd suggest : make the large decisions yourself (such as sand box vs VN)and put smaller things to a vote when you've reached a bigger voting like 100+ subs.
You could make a F95 poll if you wanted to add more opinions but i'd should carry less weight because supporters are invested more then F95 users.
Example for small decision: you're on the fence between 2 hairstyle/outfits for a girl and are fine with ether.
My advice right now
Soft Whisper is: sit down somewhere with a drink and spend a hour or so thinking about the AVN.
What do YOU want and how will YOU do it.
Then stick to that for like 2-3 content updates before making anymore bigger decisions regardless off feedback be it positive or negative.