Gnosia Review: Like a Single Among Us for the Switch

Subtraction games like Between us is partly exciting because of the human element – to find the signs that someone is lying, or to do your best to hide your true identity while everyone investigates you. The experience changes dramatically, depending on who you play with and how committed they are to their role. This is what G makesnosia so intrigue. The core idea is the same as you try to figure out who the enemy is or to disguise yourself as one. But there is a big difference: in Gnosia you play completely alone.

Gnosia is probably best described as a subtraction game that is transformed into a visual novel. You play as a crew member on a spaceship, one infested by an alien race known as the gnosia. Although everyone looks human (except for the talking dolphin), one or more is an alien who wants nothing more than to kill the rest of the crew. The gnosia attacks only at night, and every day the crew will vote on who is the most suspicious; the chosen person will then be placed in a cold sleep in the hope of preventing a death. This process continues until the threat is eliminated or the gnosia takes over the ship.

How can you then find out if a computer-controlled character is lying? These voice sequences form the heart of Gnosia, and they consist of much dialogue. Before everyone really votes, everyone will express their opinions and concerns. Some of the crew will have specific roles – like a doctor who can see if someone is actually a gnosis – but of course they can also lie about it. Your job is to pay close attention to what people are saying, as well as how often, to find out the truth. Are they constantly trying to divert the blame elsewhere? Are they suspiciously quiet? At the same time, you need to be careful not to focus too much on yourself.

One of the more interesting narrative twists that developer Petit Depotto uses in Gnosia is that you and the rest of the crew relive the same day over and over. The variables change every loop, including your own, and wish random things essentially. Sometimes you plan to save everyone, other times you plan as a gnosis.

On the one hand, it leads to a lot of repetition. You will regularly read the same lines of dialogue and in fact go through the same day more than 100 times. But the game does a great job of slowly introducing new elements to make things interesting. It will take a lot of loops before you have the ability to calm everyone down with a little talk or to form alliances with other characters. Eventually, more roles are introduced, including a second alien who wants to destroy the universe.

The loop mechanic can get boring, but it’s also an integral part of the story the game tries to tell. Every time you start again, you learn just a little more about the characters, the gnosia, and the secret of the loop. At one point, I stopped even trying to “win” during the votes and instead experimented with new techniques in hopes of discovering more clues. There is even an RPG-like progress as you can improve your skills over loops; I focused mainly on stealth and charisma so that people would not notice me much, but would always listen to me.

Gnosia does not repeat the experience of playing with real people, but it does not really try. Instead, the game uses the framework of social titles such as Between us as a framework for his scientific horror story. After about 20 loops I was addicted and pushed forward like a detective like a detective looking for any clue I could find. And if I fail? Well, there are many more chances to try again.

Gnosia is now available on the Nintendo Switch.