This game has no sex, and any time you use mind control the game makes you feel bad about it.  In other words, it's an adult mind-control fetish game with no adult content and where mind control is punished.  I'm confused about who the actual target audience of this is supposed to be.

To be clear, I've played dozens of mind control games and this one has by far the best writing. If it had sexual closure and was less judgey about my fetish, it would be the best mind control game I've ever played. But as it stands it's frustrating because it just teases me, and then makes me feel like a bad person for liking the things I like.

I mean, I think it's targeted less at people who want sexual gratification, and more at those who enjoy a well-written story with ethical questions that just happens to involve mind control.  It's definitely not your typical eroge,* and it's not to everyone's taste. 

But as someone who has that fetish, (and who got this game half-expecting a more typical mind control game) I find it kinda refreshing. So I guess I'm the target audience? But yeah, there probably aren't many like me.

*Or arguably, an eroge at all, though there are a few nude scenes.

Also, I can't speak for the author, but I certainly don't think you should feel guilty about having a mind control fetish, given that I have one too.* It's just that this story explores what someone using that would actually be like in real life, which is by nature going to be...ethically dicey.

And there are a few endings where you hypnotize people that end on an upbeat, or semi-upbeat note- they're just somewhat harder to find.

*Well, assuming you haven't tried to brainwash or trick an unconsenting victim. But I don't think mind control like this is really possible, so it's a moot point.

Honnestly, I hate mind control ... for me it's a fate worse than death. And yes, this game completely went in that direction. 

Now, is it bad to have that fetish? Well, the real question is, would you break mentally a woman so she would follow you like a dog in real life. If the answer is no, It's great. That mean you keep your fetish as what it is ... a fetish. (I mean I also have a fetish that would be inconvenient for girls irl, that's why I keep it as it is)

The game definitely fits into a unique niche. It's like weirdly porn-game adjacent but doesn't really seem interested in porn. That's not a bad thing of course, and I actually am really loving the game. But it's fun to daydream about a hornier version.

As to the other half of the question, the idea that there could be evil routes that don't end in Kyou either getting outsmarted, self-sabotaging himself out of idiocy, or otherwise having it blow up in his face is a fun one, if only to be unique. An evil route where he actually wins.

As much as I understand where you are coming from, the game is only 18+ because the creator felt some of the things shown were too heavy for a normal audience but, if the game were properly assessed, she feels it would end up being categorised as PG 15. Moreover, I don't see it as a reason to feel bad about your fetish (seeing as I also share in it) but rather as a reminder that it should be kept safe, and a show of what the consequences can be for all involved. It is, to echo some of the arguments above, a refreshing take on the genre that focuses deeply on the other side of the argument regarding hypnosis/mind control, that being the life the player will be ruining. Again, my views are completely opinion-based and I am fine with them being challenged; I feel that is, in part, a large aspect of the game; being able to see things through a different lens.

Of course, this is my disclaimer that I am by no means an impartial commentor; I am heavily into the genre, but I also adore how well-written the story is (Penlight is still my favourite VN to date), and I admire the creator greatly from the point of view of me being an amateur writer. Also, I just want to say that I didn't feel judged playing /reading through the game, but rather questioned as to whether I fully understood what I liked, and that is an invaluable contribution to my experience having realised I was into this and what it entailed.

As for the target audience, it really could be anyone who appreciates good writing or is into the genre, but will of course resonate most greatly with those that enjoy both. I've also heard good things from people to whom I recommended the VN on the basis of a morality story, rather than a hypnosis one, so there is that to consider as well.

To end the rant to a 1 year old post, I'd just like to say that consent is important, even if some people may find themselves more enticed by a lack of it, that can be left squarely within the realm of roleplay, so I am both grateful and happy about the fact that all routes that violate this sense of consent and choice are either (objectively) bad routes, or routes that require redemption to achieve a good ending.