Okay look. I'm not always gonna be the guy who is just going to make posts about how you HAVE to consume [x] media. I think that's not really my bag by and large. I understand that a lot of people have different consumption styles and preferences and maybe you don't want to read a hundred hour visual novel.

But.

But. I am going to make an exception in this case.

You should read Umineko.

What is Umineko?

Umineko is a visual novel series by writer Ryukishi07. It is about a hundred hours long, which is about the same length as playing all the Mass Effect games, which I know some of you nerds have already done.

It has very very few branching or choice elements, and is played primarily linearly. The puzzles of the game are not mechanical, they are internal, and you will find that you are solving them even if you don't consciously think you are.

I recommend talking about it as you read with a friend who has already read it, if possible. You will be tested on your knowledge at the end of the game, though likely not exactly in the way that you think.

What is Umineko about? No spoilers please.

Umineko is a mystery novel. It is set on the fictional island of Rokkenjima, in 1986, and follows a character named Battler Ushiromiya, the heir presumptive to the Ushiromiya family. The Ushiromiya family is led by a man named Kinzo Ushiromiya, whose legendary story of returning the Ushiromiya family to power principally involves the story of a witch granting him untold riches of gold.

In the foyer of the family mansion, there is a haunting portrait of a woman, whom Kinzo claims is the Golden Witch, Beatrice. Under the portrait is a golden tablet known as the Witch's Epitaph. Rumor has it that the Witch's Epitaph is a riddle that leads to the location of the Witch's gold that Kinzo hid away on the island.

However, the riddle is extremely difficult and strangely violent. It speaks of "gouging" and "killing" in a series of ten "twilights", at the end of which the "golden witch shall revive, and none shall be left alive."

You solve that riddle, and you're set for life, and probably for many lifetimes afterward.

Battler Ushiromiya is a skeptic, and he's a dork, and he's incredibly stubborn. So when he's coming back to the reunion, for the first time in a number of years after leaving the family (under mysterious circumstances, of course), he is primed to not believe in any of this. Because witches aren't real.

Later, of course, the murders begin. And it really starts to look like a witch is involved.

Battler has to explain why she couldn't be, because she couldn't be real. Because if the things that we tell stories about to frighten each other are real, then that would upset the entire concept of logic, of reasoning, of understanding. The world would break apart. But if that's the case, how did these murders occur?

And can he stop them before it's too late?

Okay, sure. So it's just a good mystery novel?

Yes, and no. Sorry. I don't want to spoil it entirely. So here's what I'll tell you I got out of Umineko. What the lessons were that I took away from it, that I'm still thinking about almost on a weekly basis.

• Mystery novels are inherently ludic. They are games between the writer and the reader, and they communicate messages and emotions just as any other artistic medium does.
• Understanding the entirety of any other person's individual circumstances is both impossible to do and part of the unending task of being a good person. To do right by others requires practicing empathy, which can be incredibly exhausting and incredibly rewarding.
• When you don't have all the facts about a situation and are attempting to draw a conclusion from it, you are performing an act of storytelling. This can be useful, but it is not the same thing as "knowing the truth".
• There is nothing more important in this world than love for others.

Those are the big takeaways. There are a lot of smaller takeaways, often things that help you solve puzzles or mystery novels or mysteries in general. The game is (among other things) a painstakingly careful, frustratingly step-by-step breakdown and tutorial of how to read and solve mysteries.

It displays a care for the reader at a level that I think is nearly untouched by any other work of human writing, certainly none that I've read. It is a game that wants you to understand it, and will do its absolute best to help you get there. You need to understand it, or the whole ordeal will be pointless.

Okay, how do I get into this thing?

You can get it on Steam (part 1 and part 2) and then you can play it with the 07th Mod to get the best version of the game (original sprites, updated background) and also it includes japanese voiceover for the entire game done by professional VAs. You will likely recognize a lot of them if you've watched any anime made in the past like, twenty years.

What I'm about to say will sound insane to the person who hasn't read the game, but: after you read the game, you should read the entire manga, which adds additional context and information to the story told in the game. All the things that the game does uniquely well because it's a game are remade expertly in a different medium for the same effect, if that makes sense.

Also the art in it is gorgeous, just mindblowingly good, and I adore it to pieces. You should probably read the game first though.

Alright you've convinced me. Anything else to add?

Yes! You've made a wonderful choice. Please spread the word if you like it. I think it's probably one of the most important works of any medium I've ever consumed. And hopefully soon you will too.

Also, don't watch the anime, it's not good. It's really bad. The voice actors in it all are the same as in the game though, and they're great! Still not worth watching.

This is a mirror of a post on my blog. Feel free to read it there too!