A LINE chatbot that will let you interact with characters from Higurashi: When They Cry will come out on April 17, 2026, however this is an AI service and costs money to use. It will start from the Onikakushi-hen, and it will have a total of eight chapters based off the arcs from the game, lasting from 2026 to 2028. As such, people who prefer to avoid AI and support human work should check in with the full games, which MangaGamer released PCs on its official storefront and Steam. [Thanks, Denfaminico!]
This will be a roleplay chatbot. You can customize your character and interact with versions of the people found within the Higurashi: When They Cry. As you complete quests in your conversations, you’ll advance the story towards an ending. Each character follows their own schedule based on the original work. So if you message them while they’re supposed to be asleep or busy, a response will be delayed.
There are three passes for the Higurashi: When They Cry SoulChat:
- Hinamizawa Tour Pass: 300 JPY – This provides access for 2 days and allows a user to chat with Rena, Mion, and Keiichi.
- Hinamizawa Visitor Pass: 1,100 JPY – This provides access for 10 days and allows someone to chat with Rena, Mion, and Keiichi.
- Rena Interaction Pass: 550 JPY – This provides access for 10 days, but you can only chat with Rena.
Note that those prices and sets may change when SoulStudio releases Watanagashi-hen.
Higurashi: When They Cry is a murder mystery doujin sound novel that first came out in 2002. Arcs have various POV characters and dissect different parts of the mystery and lore. But for the most part, it follows newcomer Keiichi in the small village of Hinamizawa. Hinamizawa celebrates an annual Watanagashi Festival, but Keiichi learns that mysterious deaths and disappearances have been happening on the day of the festival for the past four years. The franchise since spawned several new games, ports, manga, and anime series. The creator, Ryukishi07, also went on to write Silent Hill f.
The Higurashi: When They Cry SoulChat bot will come out on LINE on April 17, 2026. The games are available via MangaGamer on PCs. The manga is handled by YenPress outside Japan.