I want to preface this review by stating some stuff, I've barely touched visual novels at all. I've played Steins;Gate 0 after wanting to play it for a while, and since i had just finished rewatching the og SG anime I played that, so that is basically my only experience with Visual Novels (I've also played a couple of hours of OG Steins;Gate visual Novel but I'm playing that on and off right now) so basically I haven't touched many visual novels. So when I kept hearing about Umineko and how people who's opinion I trusted and similar taste in talked about it, I got interested so when going to play I noticed Higurashi, and through some rough research understood that it would be best to play this first, so that is indeed what I did. I mostly wanted to have this here just to say I know nothing about Visual Novels or this series other than it's meant to be really good, so I'm going in 100% blind for both VNs and the series.

Now in starting the actual reveiw, I played through the game in about 4 sittings, with my first 3 being up to about chapter 4ish I'd like to say, or at least before the festival I'd say. At this point I was interested, I knew it'd take a turn at some point and it had something to do with Rena, because I mean having seen the cover art of one of the versions she's literrally holding a knife or something, which I mean gives it away alot no? anyway, the first half (which I mean I wouldn't say that was a half as after the turn I feel theres more stuff there but you get what I mean) I'll talk about first. Initally the start of the story got me intrigued and pretty soon I was 100% confident it was Rena doing the whatever was happening in the intro so that was defintley on my mind throughout this bit. Though despite my thoughts I just kinda forget because the game(book?) does a pretty excllent job at making me like these characters, they all get a focus and while Mion & Rena defintley had the focus I felt Rika and (the other one I'm bad at names it begins with a S at least, I remember her character well and design etc just names and I won't search because of spoilers so deal with this I suppose) had ample attention as well, and I'm assuming they'll get more focus down the line. Either way Rena defintely comes off as a more of a generic character initally, and the whole Kyute thing kinda got on my nerves initally and then at somepoint I just kinda accepted it. Mion is cool as well and defintely just a fun character to watch. And somehow Keichi (is that spelt right) was actually pretty interesting, especially in the second half. I really expected Keichi to be much more of a self insert, and I hate self insert protags so I was really going in to hate him, but he's just pretty likeable honestly.

So all the stuff in the first half is just super fun and I was honestly really enjoying it, despite it being more generic slice of life kinda stuff going on it was just enjoyable and pretty well written, the character dynamics are just super fun to watch so I was having a good time. The game did such a good job that in the scrap yard with Rena and reading the newspaper was just a crazy tonal shift and honestly got me super invested, the music is so good at that moment such a stark contrast to all the other music in the game, sure not exactly crazy groundbreaking unheard music but it really does the job. So I really enjoyed the first half but I didn't really see how something was going to go wrong, I new it would but I wasn't seeing it yet, though in the festival the camera guy (again sorry names) I was 99% certain that something would happen to him, and it was during that talk about the murders that I became super hooked. I mentioned i played like 4 times, my last play session of today was about 5 hours after this because I was just hooked at this point.

The second half of this disjointed baddly written review will be about after that point, I thought the talk there was done in a good way, though very much kinda a dump of information, though it made sense and I had no issue with it. The murder again felt obviouvs but even still watching the detective talk about it was just a vastly different feeling to everything else that'd happened in the game at that point, though it really didn't stop there. I adore reading all of Keichis thoughts, and especialyl from this point his arguments he has with his "other half" in his head is really interesting, it does only show up later after this but I wanted to say here because it kind surprised me all of the stuff he thinks etc, I guess I was kinda shocked the game was this well written I suppose. Either way the best part of this point is the changes with Rena and Mion, whenever they turn(?) is just so tense, honestly made me feel super tense, especially with the first scene with Rena because it's such a shift in her and everything else we see about it throughout has got me super invested it's executed really well, and I really suck at writing so I'd just be droning on about how tense and creepy it is so I'll be brief, the main thing I want to mention is just how after this point you just can't trust Rena anymore the atmosphere around everyone is just such a contrast that again just made me feel so tense and as it progressivley gets creepier I'm just getting more invested, and Keichii thoughts here are really well done, his whole debate about trying to initally just ignore everything and the whole stuff with the needle is so creepy, the stuff with Rena listeing outside the door as well, just overall the story does such a exclent job at making me feel stressed and anxious, didn't help I ended up really enjoying these characters, which I mean is the point obviously but damm. Again I adore Keichiis thoughts and such here, a surpringsly good protag from little I've seen. I'll stop my generic ramblings about the story which I'm sure 99% of people who like this game will say here, though I do have a few more thoughts just more in general.

First of all, I gotta say as someone who like I said hasn't played VN's the og sprites are horrbile and I really couldn't play the game seriously with them on, like I get that it's a style and I understand the argument that they're better than the new sprites, because they're defintely more generic anime like rather than the strange (pressumably unique? I'm not sure with my lack of VN knowledge) og sprites, but again I just could not take it seriously with those sprites. Though I did switch between the two sprites just to see the og sprites whenever a new one showed up. and the most noticble differnece is when Rena and Mion go into "evil/possesed/??? mode, because in the og sprites theres eyes just lose their colour and it defintely has a differnet feeling compared to the newer sprites, and on one hand I do prefer the subtler change it has, because the sprites defintley give of the tone the dialogue is spoken as (for me anyhow I presume thats like their main point outisde of cute anime girl on screen). The way the newer sprites have much more emotionless and extreme emotions compared to the og sprites defintley make some scenes feel different I'd imagine, and honestly as much as the subtler change might be better I really prefered the newer sprites there, if only because the og sprites are still blushing constantly which does feel kinda wrong? and not in the way it's meant to be, more like a way it's not meant to be (hope that made sense). Anyway the only other thing I really have to say about the sprites is why the the hell does Mions casual non school clothing in the og sprite work have a GUN!?? like huh? it's not there in the newer sprites, what's with that? there's plenty of scenes she could've used that in you know (though evidence I suppose? again this is stupid and clearly just a design choice but you get it right.??)

The music was actually really good and did a great job at setting atmosphere. On a similar vein the backgrounds are also amazing, I'm real interested in where they were taken honsetly, they look cool and somehow despite some of them having real humans in I never really lost imersion or anything despite the fact anime girl was next to them. Also shout out to the Higurashi, which also I gotta say the fact that they use the name their like that just feels so funny, like I know why they'd keep it japanese but like come on, they even translate Yen into dollars (or I assume they do, because like why would it be dollars) which I don't get can americans not understand Yen? but they can understand the rest of the Japanese stuff in the story? if anything that was what took me out of the immersion more than anything.

The only other thing I have to say is probabbly more to do with my lack of VN experience but, the way text is presented made is really hard to keep track of who's speaking sometimes, I'd defintely say that only happened early on in the story but I'd be lying if that even late gate sometimes I'd be like who said that?. Apart from that I have no other issues with the presentation, I like the effects used, and the colour changes, the wait in text occasionally, the way the UI shakes sometimes etc. I get this stuff might be common VN stuff but either way I really enjoyed it. Though speaking of my VN experince I am aware that VN's usaully have differnet choices to make while here there is none, I get this is a prologue and may change but just found it curious.

final thing before I finish, Tips are cools some are funny, some just make me scared (nottablly the one about Keichi being sick was terrifying, and the final one too with the store) but overall defintely a cool supliment to the rest of the story. However I gotta say as being kinda relevent to the tips, after beating the game and getting that insane ending and just feeling so down and confused and just super negative, to be hit with this new unlock from beating the game. "What could it be?" I wondered more plot I was interested, just to be hit with cast of the game going "oooh that sure was crazy huh?" I loved it but like damm what a complete 180 on my emotions.

Anyway final thoughts, as my first real & blind VN experience (SG doesn't feel like it counts honestly) this was excelent and surpassed my expectations, written super well throughout and a surpingsly likeable cast. I really had alot I wanted to say aswell which shocked me honestly. Either way thanks if you actually read this reveiw, I'm 100% playing the rest of the series (and I do own it all) though maybe a slight break before starting chapter 2, though I am super duper curious about what happens in the later chapters because I mean.. everyones kinda.. dead, and I know that the characters will all be there in the next chapters, and that Keichi is the protag again as directly said in the wrap party bit so I'm super curious for how it continues (is it gonna be like a timeloop thing? or just is this like a non canon ending or what idk). I'm just shockingly invested in this and really enjoyed my time reading(playing?) super invested now ngl, I really hope the other chapters are on the same if not higher quality than this.