This game uses a visual novelrole-playing game format mixed with an RNGsocial deduction game. It is single player and utilizes a timeloop structure to create new situations. Aboard a spaceship, the player and several NPCs must deduce who on board is a Gnosia, an alien-like creature that will kill the regular humans on board. The player works with the NPCs to suss out and nominate the potential Gnosia suspects and put them into cryo-sleep. The player can also be Gnosia, in which case they know the other Gnosia on board and will work together to try to eliminate the humans. The number of Gnosia as well as the number of NPCs on board as well as the player's role, is determined prior to each loop beginning. In addition to regular humans and Gnosia, there are other roles, including the Doctor (who can investigate the recently frozen NPCs and determine if they were human or not), the Engineer (who can investigate non-frozen characters to determine if they are human), the Guardian Angel (who can protect high-risk targets from elimination by the Gnosia), Guard Duty (who are 2 guaranteed humans who can vouch for each other), Anti-Cosmic Follower (also referred to as AC Follower; who is a human that sides with the Gnosia), and the Bug (who is essentially playing for themselves, trying to stay alive to the end of the round and seizing victory for themselves, destroying the universe).
Throughout playing these loops the player will encounter many events with the other characters, which provides additional backstory to them as well as the universe they are in. In order to get to the ending of the game, the player must encounter all of these events first, many of which are locked behind a specific set of parameters for each loop. The game allows for an "event search" function on the ruleset screen, which lets you make it more likely to run into the events triggering.
Plot
Gnosia is set in the far future, where humanity has become a massive spacefaring civilization, dealing with a threat called Gnosia, an infestation that compels people to murder other people in the name of their god, Gnos. The player character manages to get a ride on a refugee ship escaping from a planet being ravaged by the Gnosia. However, during the trip to another planet, the ship's computer LeVi detects Gnosia infection on board the ship and following protocol, instructs the passengers and crew to deduce which one of them is the Gnosia and put them into cold sleep. If they fail to do so, the ship is forced to self destruct. However, the player quickly discovers that regardless of the outcome of the investigation, time loops back to the initial discovery of the Gnosia infection. The player also discovers one of the passengers, Setsu, has also been trapped in a series of time loops, and they both agree to collaborate to figure out how to escape their loops. However, when time loops, the conditions are not always identical; the number of humans and Gnosia can change, as well as the identity of the Gnosia. The player even gains the ability to manually adjust the settings for each loop as they play through numerous different scenarios.
The cast consists of 15 different characters, with the initial loop involving the player, Setsu, Raqio, SQ, and Gina. Other characters join in future loops, including Stella, Comet, Chipie, Sha-Ming, Jonas, Kukrushka, Yuriko, Otome, Remnan, and Shigemichi. The player learns from the shrine maiden Yuriko that Gnos is actually a collective hivemind of "cyberised" humans who uploaded their minds to an electronic database and use the Gnosia as a means to add more minds to their collective. Yuriko also points out that the player themselves are an anomaly, since the ship only finds out the Gnosia infection since the player is supposed to be the Gnosia's first victim, meaning the player has been looping to timelines where they have already died. Raqio also eventually reveals that the player and Setsu's time loops are caused by an entity called the "Silver Key", which attach themselves to humans and gather data through the time loops they experience. Once the Silver Key collects enough information, it leaves to a different universe to continue its life cycle.
After enough loops and unique scenarios, the player will finally gather enough data to fill up their Silver Key, looping to a timeline where nobody on the ship was infected by the Gnosia. The player's Silver Key then opens a portal, and in order to prevent a time paradox, Setsu decides to take that loop's still hibernating version of the player character through the portal, with Setsu staying in the loop because their Silver Key has not been filled yet. The player is forced to part ways with Setsu and returns to the rest of the passengers and crew, who celebrate having escaped the Gnosia Plague but have completely forgotten Setsu's existence.
In the game's true ending, the player decides to follow Setsu to the other universe by starting a new game file. Setsu is shocked, but welcomes the player's help, as Setsu's Silver Key has now filled up thanks to the player's arrival, meaning Setsu's time loop can be closed now as well. Setsu uses knowledge gained from other time loops to discover the identity of the Gnosia, Manan, who is in SQ's body and is only conscious when SQ is the Gnosia. Wanting to avoid putting anyone in cold sleep or having anyone die, they take advantage of Manan's desire for immortality by tempting her with the Silver Key, which she could use to loop forever. They give her access to a robot body known to be Kukrushka by the player and Setsu, and have her take the Silver Key through the portal into another universe. Having broken free from their respective time loops, the player and Setsu finally take a moment to relax together without having to worry about the future.
Development
Gnosia's development first began in 2015 by four-person indie studio Petit Depotto, being their second video game released after Unholy Heights. Unholy Heights originally released in Japan on the Xbox 360 in 2012.[1] The Gnosia team was led by game designer Toru Kawakatsu, who goes by the pseudonym Mezukare.[1][2] They were inspired to make the game after playing a werewolf-style game and finding the construction of the experience lacking, which lead to them planning to make their own version they would enjoy. Development of this project began in 2015 on PlayStation Mobile, though it was initially not planned to be released. It was eventually announced for a PlayStation Vita release in 2017, and was ultimately published by Mebius in Japan on June 20, 2019, shortly after the platform was discontinued.[3][4] The music was composed early into development, without the context of the gameplay, cast, or story to develop it.[5]
Unlike typical werewolf games, which are multiplayer, Gnosia was always designed to be a single-player narrative-driven social deduction game. Mezukare noted that the kind of game they were making was unusual, so they had to take it "one step at a time" while writing the story, with the process taking a long time to do. The team received advice from Amphibian, the designer behind a similar game called Raging Loop, which helped the process along. The loops were designed in order to last anywhere from 5-15 minutes in length. The first 15 loops of the game were intended to serve as the game's tutorial. In this part, the discussions were simpler, and characters and roles were introduced gradually. Despite being exclusive to a discontinued platform and having an initially slow week, Japanese critics enjoyed the game. This, in conjunction with them being an unknown developer and it having little competition, lead to increased attention and sales.[1][2] The sudden support was a happy thing for the team, with Mezukare stating that it gave the team confidence.[2]
It was designed as a Vita experience, with the logic of being on the Vita being that it would have been "buried" on other platforms by the competition. This logic was the same for why Unholy Heights released on the Xbox 360 despite being unpopular in Japan and late in its life, adding that having a small userbase typically leads to better reviews and the ability to target would-be fans more directly. By comparison, he noted, a bigger platform may lead to people who are not their target reviewing their games negatively.[1] The popularity of Gnosia lead to people requesting they release a Nintendo Switch port of the game. They were not considering a port at first, though they were swayed when they noticed a number of commenters saying that the Vita was "dead."[2][1] They were also recognized by Nintendo, and given a 70-second spot on a Nintendo Direct presentation advertising Gnosia for the Nintendo Switch.[1] Hideki Yasuda, an Ace Research Institute analyst, believed that it would not have gotten this attention if it launched on Vita and Switch at the same time.[1]
Petit Depotto self-published the game for the Switch on December 17, 2020.[6] It ultimately released internationally on the Switch on March 4, 2021, published by Playism.[7] A Windows version was released on January 23, 2022 in English, Japanese, and Chinese,[8] following a delay from 2021.[9] A port to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S was released worldwide by Playism on December 14, 2023.[10]
Gnosia received generally positive reviews from video game critics, and was recognized as the best indie game of 2019 by Famitsu. Katsuhiko Hayashi, head of the Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards committee, awarded Gnosia due to the "level of satisfaction we heard from players [being] extremely high."[1] In 2022's Famitsu Dengeki Game Awards, Gnosia 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. The latter category was won by Setsu, though the second, third, and fourth placements were held by Raqio, Sha-Ming, and SQ, respectively.[5] It received a score of 82 on MetaCritic based on 39 reviews, ranging from a perfect 100 from Digitally Downloaded to a 40 from Switch Brasil.[11] Mollie Patterson of Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game's single-player adaptation of a typically multiplayer affair, stating: "arguing against the computer in an attempt to determine who is the human-killing alien in your group is far more dynamic and exciting than you’d ever expect this type of game to be."[13] Nintendo Life's Trent Cannon found joy in the "clever, varied game design," deeming it perfect for both short or long gaming sessions.[16]
Heidi Kemps of GameSpot offered both compliments and criticisms, lauding Gnosia's "intriguing story that slowly reveals its truths, keeping you interested in coming back for more," while lamenting the lack of character dialogue during discussions.[14] Heather Johnson Yu of HeyPoorPlayer echoed Kemps' sentiments, both negative and positive, with a glowing addition that Gnosia was "my contender for GOTY 2021."[18] The limited dialogue options were a dealbreaker for Igor Rangel of Switch Brasil, who considered the immersion "shallow" and suggested voice acting to offset the response issues.[19]
An anime television series adaptation was announced on December 1,2024.[20] It is produced by Domerica and directed by Kazuya Ichikawa,with Jukki Hanada handling series composition,Arisa Matsuura designing the characters based on Kotori's original character designs,and Hideyuki Fukasawa composing the music. The series premiered on October 12,2025,on Tokyo MX and other networks.[21][b] The opening theme song is "Bake no Kawa" (化けの皮,Bake no Kawa),performed by MAISONDes featuring Kobo Kanaeru,Kasane Teto,Giga &TeddyLoid,while the ending theme song is "Loo% Who%" performed by Ling Tosite Sigure.[22]Aniplex of America licensed the series for streaming on Crunchyroll.[23]
Yuri is woken up from a medical pod suffering from amnesia,and finds out that they are on the space cruiser DQO,which has recently escaped the planet of Liu-An,which has been destroyed by the Gnosia,people infected with a virus that compels them to kill humans. One of the other passengers,Setsu,explains that the ship's AI LeVi has detected a Gnosia on board,and the passengers must determine which of them is the Gnosia and put them into cold sleep,otherwise the ship will self destruct. However,if the Gnosia isn't put into cold sleep,they will attack and kill a passenger while the ship makes a warp jump,until the number of Gnosia equals the number of humans where they then will immediately kill the remaining humans. Setsu introduces Yuri to the other passengers:Racio,SQ,and Jina,and they undergo their first round of voting. Racio is voted to be put into cold sleep,but the Gnosia remains on the ship. After the next warp jump,Jina ends up being killed by the Gnosia. Unsure of who the Gnosia is,Yuri decides to vote Setsu,since they have the feeling Setsu has been hiding a secret from them. Before being put into cold sleep,Setsu gifts Yuri a strange disc that is absorbed into their body. With Setsu in cold sleep,SQ reveals she is the Gnosia and she immediately attacks and kills Yuri. Yuri then suddenly wakes up,and finds that they have looped back to the moment they awakened in the medical pod.
Yuri wakes up and tries to explain they are in a time loop to Setsu,who doesn't understand what Yuri is saying. At the first meeting,Racio once again tries to accuse Yuri of being the Gnosia while Yuri tries to accuse SQ. However,suspicion falls upon Setsu instead when they claim they are Yuri's lover,resulting in Setsu being voted to be put into cold sleep. Before being sealed away,Setsu warns Yuri not to draw attention to themselves during meetings and not to trust anybody. Afterwards,Jina tries to form a rapport with Yuri by taking them on a spacewalk and later a tour of the ship where she explains she is a space traffic controller from Earth. They then approach Racio to ask them to vote SQ if either Yuri or Jina are eliminated and Yuri admits they are in a time loop. Racio believes Yuri's story about a time loop since it's scientifically possible,but warns that alternate timelines are not identical,meaning SQ might not be the Gnosia in this loop. The next day,Racio is eliminated,and both Yuri and Jina vote SQ to be put into cold sleep. However,it's revealed that Jina is actually the Gnosia this time,and Yuri is killed once again. Yuri then wakes up in their third loop,and is shocked to discover there are two new passengers on the ship.
3
"New Crew Members" Transliteration:"Aratana Jōin" (Japanese:新たな乗員)
The two new crew members introduce themselves as Shigemichi and Stella,and Yuri comes to the conclusion that the loops will not only change the identity of the Gnosia,but also have different numbers of crew. In the first meeting,Yuri is shocked to learn that with the crew size being larger,there are now two Gnosia hiding among them instead of one. Once again Racio tries to accuse Yuri while Setsu and Stella come to their defense. Racio's attempt to steer the vote instead puts themself in the crosshairs and Racio is voted to be put into cold sleep. Afterwards,Yuri meets Shigemichi in the mess hall,and learns that Shigemichi's body is covered in artificial skin due to an accident,which makes him resemble an alien. Shigemichi also has a crush on Stella,and is jealous of Yuri since Yuri apparently rescued Stella during their escape from Liu-An. On Day 2,Setsu is eliminated. Remembering an odd sensation they had about Jina when she lied in the previous loop,Yuri has the crew claim they're human,and feels the same sensation from Jina. However,Yuri doesn't have enough evidence to properly accuse her. Shigemichi is voted to be put into cold sleep,and both Jina and Stella reveal they are the Gnosia before killing Yuri and SQ. In the fourth loop,Yuri discovers they have been assigned the Engineer role,who has the ability to identify if a crew member is a Gnosia during a warp jump. In the first meeting,Racio claims to be the Engineer and accuses Yuri,forcing Yuri to counterclaim. As before,Racio's attempts to steer the conversation gets themself voted out. On the second day,Jina is eliminated. Yuri deduces that Shigemichi is the second Gnosia,and he prioritized eliminating Jina rather than Yuri since Jina voted against him. Shigemichi is put into cold sleep and LeVi confirms the Gnosia threat is over. Despite the victory,Yuri finds themselves at the beginning of a new loop anyways,and encounters yet another new crew member.
4
"Silver Key" Transliteration:"Gin no Kagi" (Japanese:銀の鍵)
The new crew member is revealed to be a traveling shrine maiden named Yuriko,who has replaced Jina in the current loop. During the first meeting,Yuriko accuses Shigemichi of being the Gnosia,which is enough to get him unanimously voted to be put into cold sleep. Suspicious about Yuriko's true nature,Yuri tries to dig up any information about her. Yuriko then privately meets with Yuri and warns that eventually,Yuri will come to realize their own "distortion". However,during the warp jump,Racio is revealed to be the Gnosia and kills Yuri,causing them to loop again. In that loop,Yuri learns that the current Setsu is aware of the loops. Setsu explains they both have a "Silver Key",which are parasitic lifeforms that crave human knowledge,and will force their hosts through time loops to collect that information until they are filled,in which they will leave for a different dimension to find a new host. Since Yuri got their Silver Key at a different time than Setsu,they will likely meet each other in different loops at different points of time,especially since this Setsu has not given a Silver Key to Yuri yet. Setsu then admits to Yuri they are the Gnosia,which Stella overhears. During the meeting,Stella accuses Setsu of being the Gnosia,but Yuri lies and covers for Setsu,causing Stella to be put into cold sleep instead. Later,Setsu admits they revealed their identity as a Gnosia to Yuri to judge Yuri's reaction. Satisfied at hearing Setsu's answer,Yuri quests that Setsu eliminate them next as penance for betraying Stella. In the next loop,Yuri discovers that two new crew members have boarded the ship.
5
"Wild Intuition" Transliteration:"Yasei no Kan" (Japanese:野生の勘)
The two new crew members introduce themselves as Chipie and Comet. In the first meeting,both Yuriko and Stella claim they are the engineer. Racio advises that nobody vote for either Yuriko or Stella,since they risk eliminating the real engineer. In addition,if the real engineer is killed by the Gnosia,it will confirm the remaining engineer is a Gnosia. In the end,Jina is voted to be put into cold sleep due to her silence making her suspicious. Afterwards,Yuri spends some time with Chipie and Comet,and finds out that Chipie is undergoing a procedure to turn himself into a cat due to his love for the animals,while Comet hosts a symbiotic slime mold in her body and ran away from her home planet to become a ship captain. On the second day,Racio ends up being eliminated. Setsu reveals they are the Doctor,who can check if someone in cold sleep is a Gnosia,and confirms Jina is human. Stella accuses Chipie of being a Gnosia while Yuriko confirms Setsu is human. Yuri deduces that Yuriko is lying,since she chose the safe option of confirming Setsu is human,while Stella took the risk of accusing Chipie,thus making him her enemy in the upcoming vote. The crew votes Yuriko to be put into cold sleep,and Chipie admits defeat,voluntarily putting himself into cold sleep as well. Yuri is then sent to the next loop,where they encounter two more new crew members.
↑ Theriault, Donald (March 6, 2021). "Gnosia (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
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