Deduction games like Among us they are exciting in part because of the human element – finding those signs that someone is lying or doing what they can to hide their true identity while everyone examines them. The experience changes dramatically depending on who you are playing with and how committed they are to their role. That’s what makes Gnosia so intriguing. The central idea is the same, since you are trying to find out who the enemy is or in disguise. But there is a big difference: in Gnosia you play entirely alone.
Gnosia it is probably best described as a deduction game turned into a visual novel. You play as a crew member on a spaceship, which has been infected by an alien race known as gnosia. While everyone looks human (well, except for the talking dolphin), one or more are actually an alien who wants nothing more than to kill the rest of the crew. The gnosia only attack at night, and each day the crew will vote for who is most suspicious; the chosen person will then be put to cold sleep in the hope of preventing death. This process continues until the threat is eliminated or the gnosia takes control of the ship.
So, how do you find out if a computer-controlled character is lying? These voting strings form the heart of Gnosia, and consist of a lot of dialogue. Before voting, everyone will express their opinions and concerns. Some crew members will have specific roles – like a doctor who can tell if someone is really a gnosia – but of course they may also be lying about it. Your job is to pay close attention to what people say, as well as how often, to find out the truth. Are they constantly trying to shift the blame elsewhere? Are they suspiciously quiet? At the same time, you must be careful not to draw too much attention to yourself.
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One of the most interesting narrative twists employed by developer Petit Depotto in Gnosia is that you and the rest of the crew relive the same day indefinitely. The variables change with each loop, including your own, essentially randomizing things. Sometimes you are trying to save everyone, other times you are conspiring like a gnosia.
On the one hand, this leads to many repetitions. You will read the same lines of dialogue regularly and live essentially the same day more than 100 times. But the game does a good job of slowly introducing new elements to make things interesting. It will take a lot of loops before you can calm everyone down with small talk or form alliances with other characters. Eventually, more roles are introduced, including a second type of alien committed to destroying the universe.
Loop mechanics can be tedious, but it is also an integral part of the story the game is trying to tell. Each time you start over, you learn a little more about the characters, the gnosia and the mystery of the loop itself. At one point, I stopped trying to “win” during the polls and instead tried out new techniques in hopes of finding more clues. There is even an RPG-like progression, as you can improve your loops skills; I focused mainly on discretion and charisma, so that people wouldn’t notice me much, but would always listen to me when they did.
Gnosia it doesn’t replicate the experience of playing with real people, but it’s not really trying. Instead, the game uses the structure of social titles as Among us as a framework for your sci-fi horror story. After about 20 laps, I was hooked and went through the same routine as a detective looking for any leads I could find. What if I fail? Well, there are many other chances to try again.
Gnosia is now available on the Nintendo Switch.