Higurashi: When They Cry is a Japanese murder mystery visual novel. The series is focused on a group of young friends and the strange events that occur in the rural village of Hinamizawa, where they reside. The gameplay requires relatively little player interaction as most of the game is composed of text dialogues. The original release contained no voice acting for the characters. The game utilizes intermissions where the player can obtain several Tips. These Tips allow the player to read various supplementary information that may or may not be useful in solving the mystery.