Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs
Umineko When They Cry is the 2nd series of Sound Novel released by 07th Expansion. The steam version features renewed character sprites which is swappable from the classic art.
Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs is a great soundtrack, visual novel and mystery game
developed by 07th Expansion
and published by MangaGamer.
Released on July 08th 2016 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux
in 2 languages: English and Japanese.
It has received 2,102 reviews of which 2,010 were positive and 92 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.1 out of 10. 😍
The game is currently priced at 13.79€ on Steam and has a 40% discount.
The Steam community has classified Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Umineko When They Cry - Question Arcs through various videos and screenshots.
Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP and up
- Processor: Pentium III 800 MHz
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1280 x 960
- Storage: 3 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: Mac OS X 10.10 (Yosemite)
- Processor: 1 Ghz or faster processor
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Graphics: 1280 x 960
- Storage: 3 GB available space
Linux
- OS: Ubuntu 16.04 or equivalent
- Processor: 1 Ghz or faster processor
- Memory: 1 GB RAM
- Storage: 3 GB available space
Reviews
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Ignore the playtime, I've played the Umineko Project, and got 75 hours in there. So far, I've only finished EP1-4, so I'm only reviewing the Question Arcs. Story - is undoubtedly the best and most important aspect of this game, and even though this is only the 1st half of the game, leaving many questions unanswered, I can already say that it's incredibly well done. The story is a mystery, but it's focused more on the characters and some deeper themes and philosophies rather than the main plot of the game, and I have to say it's beautifully done. Atmosphere - is so beautiful! Even though this is a Visual Novel, where you have to read for 150+ hours, the beautiful, eerie, sad, and mysterious atmosphere of the game just keeps you in and you just need to continue reading for hours. Art is nice if you're using PS3 sprites, and the CGs and backgrounds are good too. Nothing outstanding on that part, but it fits with the atmosphere of the game, and there are also some great effects and animations if you mod the game. Music - is unreal. I've never seen a game that has SO many great soundtracks one after another in my life, and even more so a VN! There's like 200 unique soundtracks and all play perfectly in different scenes along with the themes of the game or characters. AND the sound effects and voice acting is phenomenal It's no wonder this VN is sometimes called a Sound Novel. Overall great experience, but there's not too much to say because this is only EP1-4, so I need to finish EP5-8 to make a full opinion. But even with only this, Umineko might be THE highest quality Visual Novel ever. 9/10
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This is a review on all episodes (1-8), not just the question arcs. Umineko is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing you will ever read. I don't just suggest this to visual novel lovers, but lovers of books in general. You will feel all kinds of emotions reading this visual novel. There is not a single thing bad about this visual novel, except for some pacing issues at the beginning of two or three of the eight chapters (specifically chapters 2, 3, and 4). However, the story, characters, messages, themes, music, and anything else of the such completely make up for it. Some might say that 180 hours is too long for a book or visual novel, but I'll have you know that this novel is really only a tad bit longer than the entirety of the Harry Potter books. and about two times the length in terms of word count as the lord of the rings. So trust me, it's doable. The first chapter is your standard mystery novel, taking inspiration from Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None'. It's a great first chapter, and introduction to the story, but it's completely different compared to the rest of the chapters. From the second chapter onward, the series tells the story from the 4th and 5th wall, as the events are treated almost like a game board. Don't worry, it's not meta wall breaking, as you are not in the 4th or 5th wall, you are in the 7th wall, so other than a few joke moments, plot wise, you (the reader) are not acknowledged. There is an overarching story/plot, with each chapter also getting its own little story (chapter 2 is similar to chapter 1 in terms of story, but how it's told is different). Pretty much each chapter brings in a mystery trope, that really gets you thinking along side our main character. some of these tropes being Schrodinger's cat and Hempel's Raven, being bases for our main character to whip up the most BS arguments just to prove to our opponent, Beatrice the Golden Witch, that a human could've committed the murder, thus proving that a witch didn't, and also proving that witches are not, and cannot be real. The characters all have their moments to shine, and have their own distinct attitudes and way of thinking, and the fact that there are more than 50 of them is what makes that crazy. They all feel alive, like they are people that you could meet in real life. if you know anime, and dislike it for it's over the top acting, like shouting one word continuously for a good 3 seconds, I can say that no one in this visual novel does that unless they're crazy (I think it makes more sense for a crazy character to do something like that). Battler is naive at first, he doesn't listen once his mind is made up, especially when it comes to his enemies, which pretty much carries, or is made out to be what carries, the events of the first 4 chapters. Beatrice appears maniacal, playing with our main character as if he were just a toy to her, and doesn't appear to have a shred of sympathy or empathy, which leads to the most heinous and despicable acts to occur to our main characters. I would love to talk about all the other characters, but like I said, there are over 50. Though, only about 40 of them actually play a role in the important bits of the novel. When it comes to the battles/gameplay, Umineko has a unique way of telling them, which can really only be done in visual novels, or books willing to tell it's story with more than just black ink. Most battles in Umineko are more like an exchanging of words than fists. but words cut deeper than a knife, and this novel takes that seriously. The red truth is used as a way of saying that whatever is written in red is fact, so if a character were to say that there is a hidden door, the other person can speak in red, and if they say "there are no trap doors", there is no room for dispute, that is a fact you can no longer deny. The blue truth is used almost like an accusation. Our character will use blue truth to say something is fact, and the only way to counter that attack is for the other to use red truth to prove the blue truth wrong, or else the user of the red truth is pierced with a blue stake. You can also view this as gameplay, not choosing dialogue options, but rather thinking about what our characters will say next, or maybe thinking up your own solution to the scene, hoping that it doesn't get proven wrong in the next few lines of dialogue. It may not be the kind of gameplay you'll see in other visual novels, but I think that's what makes this VN unique. The music in Umineko is some of the best music I have ever heard. Each scene has a BGM (Background Music) that fits with the scene it plays in, like with many other video games or movies. however, what makes this one even more special is the fact that this is a visual novel. Visual novels aren't down in the dumps in terms of BGM's or OST, but some visual novels just do it arguably better. Umineko has the advantage in that it started out as a sound novel, meaning they put more of a focus on the music and background sounds. it then later got voice acting, which too was amazing, but this paragraph is about the music, not the voice acting. I don't know what it is with Visual novels, or RPG's, especially the Japanese ones, but they make a piece of music for what feels like every single character, place, and item. Western related projects also do this, notably the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but something about Japanese OST's, or BGM's is so enjoyable, whereas western OST's or BGM's now tend to just be the main theme of the project, but at a different beat, or with a different instrument. In terms of the Umineko BGMs/OST, I'll put some of my favorite at the end. Lastly, not my own words, but after reading Umineko, I completely understand what almost every review on youtube means when they say that "This series changed my life" or "this series has changed my perspective on certain things in life". These quotes mostly refer to chapters 7 and 8. Chapters 1-6 are entertaining, and just awesome, Chapters 7 and 8, whilst still being those things, will make you learn something, unless of course you read this visual novel with your brain turned off. Umineko very easily became my most favorite story of all time.I already miss reading this amazing story, and I hope I've persuaded you into buying this Visual Novel. I can also easily say that Umineko is one of the visual novels you HAVE to read and experience in order for you to say that you've read visual novels (there are others of course, just saying this is one of them) . Also, if you do decide to get Umineko, download the 07th expansion mod, it adds better sprites, voice acting, scene specific art scenes, and maybe other stuff I can't think of. If you need help because you're not a computer person, there's a video by youtuber Lambdadelto that teaches you how to get the installer for the mod, for both Higurashi and Umineko (the vid is called "Higurashi 7th mod installer tutorial", It is also for Umineko, not just Higurashi) Some of my favorite BGMs/OST: Dreamenddischarger, White shadow, Fishy aroma (normal and vocal), Ride on, Hope, Goldenslaughterer, Rose, Over the sky, Far, Worldend (bp), My dear, Worldend Dominator (favorite fight scene BGM), Deep blue jeer, Resurrectedreplayer, Eternity, Thanks for all people, Thanks for being born, engage of marionette, Happiness of marionette, Alive, and Liberatedliberator. Another one is Cocoon of white dreams - ricardando il passato, but I don't suggest listening to it until you beat the game (unless you don't plan on buying the game)
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One of my favorite stories in all of fiction. An intricate tale of love, abuse, greed, loss, deeply flawed people, and the very nature of stories and storytelling. And there's also murder mysteries! I can't recommend it enough. You NEED to read this thing. But don't play this version. Look up Umineko Project. It's a port of the PS3 version to PC. Play that.
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world's most pathetic redditor argues with beautiful italian lady who has done nothing wrong for 100 hours
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One of the finest piece of literature I've ever read. I just need to read the Answer arcs next to really cement this series position among my favorite books. If you decide to get this edition, installing the 07th mod is absolutely essential. It'll give you voice acting+16:9 ratio. As for the sprites you can freely choose which version you prefer, I myself think the PS3 sprites are the best. Now how does this (with 07th mod) compare to "Umineko Project"? I prefer this because it's the only edition you can read in NVL format instead of ADV (which I prefer). Even though people say Umineko Project is the superior version, I would say there's a room for argument between the two. So is this edition worth your money? Yes if you install the 07th mod. Also it works flawlessly with the mod on the Steam Deck.
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Last Updates
| Steam data | 20 November 2024 18:16 |
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| SteamSpy data | 19 December 2024 02:47 |
| Steam price | 23 December 2024 20:46 |
| Steam reviews | 23 December 2024 06:07 |
Online players
40
Developer
07th Expansion
Publisher
MangaGamer
Release
08 Jul 2016
Platforms