Overall, I have to say that I'm liking this less than Umineko. I kind of wish I had played this first, as I might have enjoyed it a bit more by not knowing what I was missing out on, but I think I enjoyed going into Umineko with no expectations. Probably the biggest thing I dislike about Higurashi is the lack of an overarching plot thread. The start of every chapter is a clean slate. All of the characters are reset and the story begins anew each time. Of course, this can still change in the next couple chapters, but the fact that it's gone this far without that is a pretty big minus in my book. This strongly correlates with my personal tastes, for TV shows I prefer serial stories to episodic ones. I don't like that there is no real lasting character development so far, and while the game presents the story in such a way that you slowly learn more about what's really happening as you progress through the episodes, it doesn't really do it in a satisfying way. Even if this does change (and there are hints that it might) it may be too little too late. I think Umineko took the basic structure created with Higurashi (witnessing a tragedy repeat several times with different victims and perpetrators) and added some much needed components to it like an actual connective plot with strong character development among the main characters across all of the episodes, right from the start.
I'm kind of surprised Higurashi Kai has an 8.73 average VNDB rating, maybe I should expect an improvement coming up.
It might be because of your tastes.
I like Higurashi as what it is. Rather than chapters, they should've been called scenarios. They are, in a way, unrelated to each other. But all the loose ends become tied together as you advance through the chapters in Kai. Chapter 6 is going to play a big part in whatever happens in Chapter 7.
As for Chapter 8... That's for you to find out.