discussion Do You Like Sandbox Elements in Visual Novels?

[Unnerving3260]

I like them. If it's just sex all the time, it gets stale. Sandbox is a nice change of pace and makes the sexy times a bit more special.

 

[Robertsm1982]

It's proper tedious without any hint, and the setting is well big; it's a right help when the developer ain't got much content and wants to make the most of what they've got.

 

[leproso04]

They make the games much longer and I think that's great.

 

[Itsme]

I like freedom in games, so sandbox games are one of my favs. But the world must be "filled" with stuff to see / to do.

 

[blackstar42]

For the vast majority of the time, sandbox is used by developers as padding, a lazy way to increase playtime without actually increasing content. So I've been personally avoiding sandbox games, unless they come highly recommended.

 

[blackstar42]

They make the games much longer and I think that's great.

It really depends on how it makes the game longer.

Is it really more enjoyable to play a sandbox game where all the content is outside your house, and you have to go through 10 different rooms before you can leave the house? That's just annoying to me.

 

[piccorri]

If the sandbox is limited its fine, but if there is 20 rooms in a house that you can only go to with arrows it really sucks

 

[UnusualUsername]

Sometimes it's the most chill thing, sometimes it's the hardest because you're getting addicted.. But in general sandbox games with little story are glorious!

 

[flabbyy]

Game should lead the player, if it's not the story that is driving the gameplay, the sandbox mechanics should be very clear and obvious. e.g. minecraft. It makes it very obvious from the start what things you can do and what actions you can take. then you can explore the world and anticipate similar things everywhere. When a sandbox game is trying to be only story driven, you either end up trying to point and click to find where the story is...

 

[FoamBottle25]

grinding is ok as long as it's clear. if it's confusing with random checks that's when it pisses people off

 

[Loliholic]

I prefer even the most crappy sandbox over every single KN.
Even if it doesnt change anything besides the order of the things i can do it is still much better then reading a picture book without any choices or personal preferences.

 

[kogmerz]

So long as the illusion of choices don't break i suppose it's all great

 

[User_36484]

Sandbox games almost always have a watered down basic plot, self-contained characters (aka there's rarely anything connecting one character to another), and pointless grind. The most often touted reason people like sandbox games, "but you can choose who to progress with whenever you want" rarely applies because most of them have softlocks requiring you to advance other characters. They're pretty much universally kinetic in nature. It's the rarest thing in the world to find a sandbox game where you can actually influence the story.

These devs tend to constantly introduce new characters instead of finishing what they already have, and because there are so many characters, there isn't going to be much content for each character. Also the fact sandbox games get abandoned so often.

 

[thejuice42]

i love meaningless tasks

 

[fir3219]

I like playing these types of games with walkthroughs. This constant searching and puzzling is too much trouble for me. Even with real adventures, I'm too impatient for that.

 

[ss60455]

It's usually pretty useless, but i don't mind doing it when the rest of the game is good

 

[Beerdrinkers58]

It really becomes a slog when the grinding involves talking to a character over and over again, only to gain a small percentage of their likability each time.

 

[AlecSM]

It really becomes a slog when the grinding involves talking to a character over and over again, only to gain a small percentage of their likability each time.

Or when you have to progress with one to unlock content with another and so on.

 

[TheVampirate]

most of the time I don't like sandbox games as its just tedious and doesn't really add to the game

It's also tedious in games on rails where you just want to advance the plot or get to a different characters content but no luck Grandma's content is unskippable and the only new stuff you're getting for the update.

 

[Anon1990]

Sandbox is fine as long it doesn't end in endless grinding and low contant and interactions.