Gnosia

Did You Know?

• The anime adaptation was produced by Domerica and directed by Kazuya Ichikawa.
• The opening theme song is 'Bake no Kawa' performed by Maisondes featuring Kobo Kanaeru, Kasane Teto, Giga & TeddyLoid.
• The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction noted that transferring the game's puzzle-solving elements to anime made the plotting seem artificial and arbitrary.

Plot

In the far future, humanity faces the Gnosia, an infestation compelling murder in the name of their god Gnos. The player character boards a refugee ship fleeing a ravaged planet, but the ship's computer LeVi detects Gnosia infection and orders the crew to identify and freeze the infected or face self-destruction. Time loops back regardless of the outcome, and the player discovers fellow passenger Setsu is also trapped in loops; they collaborate to escape. Loop conditions vary, with changing numbers of humans and Gnosia, and the player can manually adjust settings. The cast includes 15 characters, initially the player, Setsu, Raqio, SQ, and Gina, with others joining later. Yuriko reveals Gnos is a hivemind of cyberised humans using Gnosia to add minds, and that the player is an anomaly—the Gnosia's intended first victim, looping from timelines where they died. Raqio explains the loops are caused by the Silver Key, an entity that gathers data through time loops before moving to another universe.

Development

Development of Gnosia began in 2015 by four-person studio Petit Depotto, their second game after Unholy Heights. Led by game designer Toru Kawakatsu (pseudonym Mezukare), the team was inspired by a werewolf-style game they found lacking, planning their own version. Initially developed for PlayStation Mobile without a planned release, it was announced for PlayStation Vita in 2017 and published by Mebius in Japan on June 20, 2019, shortly after the platform was discontinued. Music was composed early, without context of gameplay, cast, or story. The game was always designed as a single-player narrative-driven social deduction game, an unusual approach that required taking it one step at a time. The team received advice from Amphibian, designer of Raging Loop. Loops were designed to last 5–15 minutes, with the first 15 loops serving as a tutorial introducing characters and roles gradually. Despite the discontinued platform and a slow initial week, Japanese critics enjoyed the game, leading to increased attention and sales, which gave the team confidence.

Reception

Gnosia received generally positive reviews from video game critics. Katsuhiko Hayashi of the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards committee awarded the game due to high player satisfaction. In the 2022 Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards, it was voted number one in every category, including best indie game, most unique indie game, best indie game music, best indie game scenario, and best indie game character, with Setsu winning the latter. It scored 82 on MetaCritic based on 39 reviews, ranging from a perfect 100 from Digitally Downloaded to a 40 from Switch Brasil. Mollie Patterson of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the single-player adaptation of a multiplayer format. Nintendo Life's Trent Cannon found the game design clever and varied. Heidi Kemps of GameSpot complimented the intriguing story but noted a lack of character dialogue during discussions. Heather Johnson Yu of HeyPoorPlayer echoed these sentiments, calling it a contender for Game of the Year 2021. Igor Rangel of Switch Brasil found the limited dialogue options a dealbreaker, suggesting voice acting to offset the issues.