I downloaded this game some months ago, offline, to my main desktop computer (which I usually use to play games), about time I made a proper comment. INCOMING REALLY LONG POST.
I very much enjoyed this game! I had no idea there were these kinds of Umineko forums where people focused on creating their own mysteries, then again I'm a huge hermit that prefers to lurk about so it's no surprise really. Still, shows how much influence Umineko still has when stuff like this is made : D
Yeah and you weren't kidding this game was difficult! Of course everyones mileage varies what constitutes a difficult mystery, but I think difficulty depends on what people don't notice, or what clues we dismiss as unimportant (yvxr V vavgvnyyl qvq va gur ybpxrq ebbz ybbc puncgre. V QVQ npghnyyl abgvpr gur ynpx bs qbbexabo fsk jura gur phycevg jnf ng gung bar qbbe, NAQ V QVQ abgvpr gurer jnf gur qbbe haybpxvat fsk gjvpr va n ebj evtug nsgre gung ohg V punyxrq vg hc nf lbhe zvabe reebe OHG AB. VG JNF ERYRINAG. V QVFZVFFRQ VG YVXR N SBBY. TBQ QNZZVG RIREL GVZR ZR. V QB GUVF JVGU NYZBFG RIREL ZLFGREL. JURA JVYY LBH YRNEA ZR). While I did end up using all the hints, I did appreciate the final answer wasn't just handed over and there was still stuff us the players could figure out, and your thoughts on writing mysteries that were there alongside the hints were very interesting to me. It really does boil down to trusting the author that all the clues and hints are present, which is what Umineko very much was all about really.
(V zrna qvq znantr gb svther Anawbf zheqre ba zl bja zbfgyl, vg whfg V qvqa'g guvax sne rabhtu fvapr jvgu gur 'bayl gur phycevg pna yvr jvgu checyr' ehyr, V jrag ba guvaxvat gur phycevg bayl yvrq nobhg gurve bja npgvbaf engure guna, jryy, GUNG. Ohg gung'f nabgure rknzcyr bs bhefryirf orvat gur ovttrfg bofgnpyr bs zlferl fbyivat V guvax nunununun. )
And the forum intermissions was a great story framing device and a great way to give a sort of a break in the story proper to step back and think about stuff, and also show what I assume what forum culture on Umineko style mysteries was like, and delivering a sort of a greek chorus while the protag (and us) were struggling for their metaphorical lives with all the other very troubling revelations. I guess there is something to be said about how a very, very meta story like Umineko can produce even further meta stuff about it. Meta within meta within meta. Matryoshka doll style meta?
And the ending was both terriffic and kinda haunting and don't know exactly 100% what all of it means, which is a compliment btw. One reason why I love Umineko is how mind screwy it could get. One of my favorite genres: 'I have no idea what's going on(complimentary)', which is the polar opposite of my most hated genre which is 'I have NO IDEA what the hell is going on here (derogatory)'.
tl;dr version: I really loved this, honestly it makes me want to come up with something similar. I always did want try my hand at making mystery stories, and this game experience certainly gave me ideas :)