I've gotten the impression from the Patreon post that I might be one of only a handful of people mourning the axing of the sandbox mode going forward =*(
I've seen the sandbox format in general get a lot of scorn before. And I know when it's done poorly that it can be a pain in the ass without a walkthrough mod. But when it is done well, I have to say that I usually enjoy it. Imo it adds an extra layer of interactivity that makes it feel more like a *game* rather than just a linear-ish novel. And as a gamer I like that.
I also enjoy things such as going to different locations and having repeatable cutscenes at my leisure. Waking up in the (in-game) morning and saying "Who should I visit/fuck first today, and how?". Maybe I want to be "creative" and fuck X in the ass, and then immediately go down to Y's room and have her unknowingly go ATM as she sucks me off. Because I'm sick in the head and I find that both fun and hot
. And then moving the story back along whenever I'm ready to. I know that kind of format isn't for everyone though, and not everyone finds it fun. But some do, and I'm one of them, for whatever it's worth in the future.
All of that aside, I played this game a while back and loved it, but never actually finished the build, or even got to the sandbox part. I think I'm going to start a new game with the VN version, since apparently that's going to be the game now going forward.
Looking forward to being able to have an informed discussion about the game without fear of spoilers!