Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs

About Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs

Umineko When They Cry is the second sound novel series by 07th Expansion. MangaGamer released the Question Arcs, the first four episodes, on Steam on 8 July 2016 for Windows, Mac and Linux, and later on GOG. This edition has redrawn character sprites by default, and you can switch back to the original art at any time. Text can be read in English or Japanese.

It is 4 October 1986 on Rokkenjima, an island owned by the Ushiromiya family. The old head of the family, who built a vast fortune, has little life left, and his children gather for the annual family conference with one thing on their minds: the inheritance. Rumour says he hid ten tons of gold somewhere, and a riddle carved in an epitaph is said to point to it. Then a letter arrives from someone who claims to be a witch, and the presence of a 19th person on an island that should hold only 18 begins to hang in the air.

What follows is a series of brutal murders, each leaving unsolvable riddles at the scene. The story asks how many will die, whether the culprit is one of the eighteen, and whether the culprit is a human or a witch. Each episode returns to the same island and the same weekend, but the killings play out differently each time, so different people die and survive. Over the murders sits another layer of story, where the witch Beatrice taunts the young Battler about what he has just seen.

It is a kinetic novel: you read rather than make choices, and the game invites you to solve the mystery yourself from the clues it lays out, with a character chart and tips menu to help. There is almost no voice acting; the music carries the mood, and reviewers single it out. Hardcore Gamer found that you do not need to have read Higurashi When They Cry first, as the two series are almost entirely separate.

The tone swings between family drama, comedy, mystery and real horror, with gruesome deaths and a witch whose cackling laughter becomes part of the dread. Much of the cast are middle-aged parents caught up in money and family quarrels, with their teenage children and the mansion's servants around them. It is very long and text-heavy, and suits players who enjoy reading and puzzling over mysteries rather than playing in the usual sense.

How to play Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs

1. Buy Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs on Steam or GOG for Windows, Mac or Linux.
2. Choose between the new and classic character art, and English or Japanese text, in the options if you like.
3. Read through each episode, clicking to advance the text.
4. Use the tips and character chart in the menu to keep track of people and clues.
5. Try to solve how the murders were done before the story tells you, then carry on to the Answer Arcs for episodes 5 to 8.

Tips

• Keep notes on who was where and when; the game is built for you to theorise.
• Read the tips entries after each episode to review the clues.
• Compare the episodes: the same weekend plays out differently each time, and the differences are where the clues are.
• The auto-read mode runs at one fixed speed, so expect to click through most of it; settle in for many sessions.

Questions