great story overall but i want to draw attention to the fact that this is like the best atmosphere i've seen in any work of ficiton period, it's really hard to describe other than just saying "Higurashi atmosphere" cause of how unique its blend of horror and small town life is. Ryukishi doing this with poorly drawn sprites that clash with their stock photo backgrounds makes it even more impressive. There are so many times where I'll be doing something and I'll just think "wow this reminds me of something in Higurashi" cause of just how wide this game spreads its net and how well it manages to preserve its unique atmosphere the entire time. It definitely has some dips and peaks here and there but the entire journey of Higurashi as a whole is a masterpiece.