Overall I enjoyed the game. The unique art style was what originally drew me to this game and it adds a lot to the lonely sci-fi atmosphere. The game systems gives each character a distinct personality that influences the direction of the story. The story itself is a lot more interesting than it seems as you progress deeper. However, the path to reaching the ending is a long, repetitive, and often frustrating one, which makes it hard to recommend to anyone who isn't willing to play Werewolf/Mafia more than 100 times to see the ending. I bought it on Vita but I suggest the newer Switch version as it adds some missing quality of life features.
It's definitely not for everyone - it's a visual novel and single player werewolf simulator where your success somewhat depends on RPG-lite stats (in fact, some obvious logical deductions like "x must be friendly/an enemy" are locked behind stat gates) - but Gnosia clicked with me immediately and kept delighting me through countless loops.
The artwork is gorgeous, the (sadly short) soundtrack is effectively moody, and the scenarios and dialogue run the gamut from goofy to creepy to tragic. There is an overarching story that unfolds gradually, with more and more lore piling up until various pieces begin to fall into place during the ending (and subsequent true ending). And while this is all happening, the core werewolf simulation is continually satisfying, offering opportunities for deception and sleuthing, alliances and vendettas, and even metatextual lightbulb moments.
If there's one flaw, it's some unfortunate fumbling of one of the non-binary characters during one scene, though that two non-binary characters are even included in the game and presented as complex individuals who drive the story is rare and something I was happy to see.
Petit Depotto are a very small dev team but I will absolutely be playing whatever they put out next.
The artwork is gorgeous, the (sadly short) soundtrack is effectively moody, and the scenarios and dialogue run the gamut from goofy to creepy to tragic. There is an overarching story that unfolds gradually, with more and more lore piling up until various pieces begin to fall into place during the ending (and subsequent true ending). And while this is all happening, the core werewolf simulation is continually satisfying, offering opportunities for deception and sleuthing, alliances and vendettas, and even metatextual lightbulb moments.
If there's one flaw, it's some unfortunate fumbling of one of the non-binary characters during one scene, though that two non-binary characters are even included in the game and presented as complex individuals who drive the story is rare and something I was happy to see.
Petit Depotto are a very small dev team but I will absolutely be playing whatever they put out next.
If you want a social deduction killing game singleplayer only, featuring a cast of characters with interesting, distinct personalities and identities, this game does exactly that.
Couple all that with amazing character art, a very experimental but atmospheric soundtrack, and a pretty cute story overall, and I think this is pretty worth it.
I'd say the biggest problem is that you just wish this game had just more and more narrative and world building, because what's there is good already.
Couple all that with amazing character art, a very experimental but atmospheric soundtrack, and a pretty cute story overall, and I think this is pretty worth it.
I'd say the biggest problem is that you just wish this game had just more and more narrative and world building, because what's there is good already.
I'm not saying transphobia is a trend in Murder Mystery VNs, but it's weird that it happened twice.
There's really nothing else like this. Getting to know each of the characters as the game advances was a very special experience.
I was caught off guard by how engaging the story and characters were in this game.
I thought it was going to be a simple little deduction game but with each loop you do, you slowly uncover more about the story and the characters and it becomes an addictive cycle as you try to work out how to further advance things.
The only real flaw I had with the game was struggling to unlock new things when I was nearing the end and trial and error was only going so far but the ending made up for it, managing to tug on my heartstrings.
Highly recommend this if you want something addictive and simple to play through!
I thought it was going to be a simple little deduction game but with each loop you do, you slowly uncover more about the story and the characters and it becomes an addictive cycle as you try to work out how to further advance things.
The only real flaw I had with the game was struggling to unlock new things when I was nearing the end and trial and error was only going so far but the ending made up for it, managing to tug on my heartstrings.
Highly recommend this if you want something addictive and simple to play through!
I really liked this game! It loses a few points based on the simplistic and repetitive nature of the gameplay, but the limitless number of variations and the story beats that get breadcrumbed throughout keep things interesting. Any fan of social deduction games like Werewolf will definitely enjoy this, but I think Gnosia hits on a superior version of that style of game that is far more engaging and endearing.
Fun characters, top tier designs and a gameplay loop that scratches deeper than you'd expect all supplementing a simple yet sweet story that's part science fiction theatre stage and part love(?) story
Good game.
Good game.
as much as i'd love to crack a few among us jokes i'll refrain from acting sussy for the time being because what's here is a really solid and well-crafted experience wrapped up in a time-looping murder mystery that while exhausting at times triumphs in spite of its shortcomings. it's one of the few exceptions where i'd excuse giving it a lower score because the payoff is pretty darn worth it all things considered! well not like it's insanely long to begin with considering it took me a total of exactly 150 loops to finish over the course of 25 hours which i spread across several smaller bite-sized sections late at night which made my experience all the more enjoyable. i do think the game is best enjoyed doing a few loops a day but your own mileage might vary and i'm just suggesting what i think leads to less burnout in the long run.
anyways, onto the gameplay! one of the biggest reasons i love what the team at petit depotto have put out here is how well integrated the gameplay aspects are considering the medium gnosia actually is. although there are a few other notable visual novels that utilize the functions of the medium to better enhance the experience gnosia's left me, a rpg and visual novel enthusiast, rather pleased! i do think the stat system here is a bit tacked on seemingly in the beginning as it isn't until later loops where you'll really feel the significance of these numbers help in discussions. the real meat of the experience however is how gnosia takes the normal conventions of most visual novels and integrates it pretty seamlessly into the core mechanics of its social deduction style gameplay that fits snugly into its visual novel trappings.
now for the story, i'd like to acknowledge that due to the spoiler-heavy nature of it i'll refrain from saying too much as always but i'll just say that it's a typical sci-fi mystery in structure supplemented by plentiful twists with ideas touching upon existentialism, the human desire to connect with one another, and of course the dichotomy of humans and gnosia, all presented in a intricate blend of genres culminating in a compelling narrative that knows just when to let you breathe and when to land its more emotional gut punches.
as for the dialogue itself, i do appreciate the fact that these characters all have some very strong introductions as well as pretty well-contained mini-story arcs given the progression being tied to triggering these flags that leads to these character-specific events. HOWEVER, due to the time loop structure of this narrative, this also means a lot of repetition and i found myself at the end often skipping through the dialogue often only pausing to either to help guide the vote or actually read new lines in the flags i was looking for. contextually it makes sense but it's not something i wouldn't say makes some of the later loops a slog. the triggers are also pretty well handled with a designated event search that personally curates loops that will guarantee flags but as you fill out more and more of these flags the non-linear structure of progression wears thin with some requirements for specific flags being obtuse and also incredibly difficult at times to determine what exactly was the cause. i'll reiterate here though that the new events, ESPECIALLY the later ones, are really darn compelling given how they revolve around solving the mysteries of the narrative and also serve to add more characterization to gnosia's cast. (setsu? she's just like me frfr!)
with all that aside, the real icing on the intricate multilayered cake that is gnosia is the art and music! firstly, the art direction here is pretty incredible given how despite the somewhat typical sci-fi environments, the character designs really breathe life into the setting and overall look pretty great with each design being reflective of a character's personality. the music here too is pretty solid but the one gripe i'd have with it is that some really good tracks barely play for their total length. there's definitely stuff here that's pretty great to listen to and compliments the atmosphere of gnosia exceptionally.
all in all, gnosia isn't a perfect experience but it's still an enjoyable one! your mileage might vary depending on how much you love the time loop structure and its cast but i think most who played it will be willing to agree that this is a pretty darn solid first attempt at a vn and for the four-person team at petit depotto to have such a solid grasp and understanding on how to utilize the visual novel medium, i'm honestly really excited to see what's next in store from them! despite my exhaustion near the end given the repetitive dialogue and constant restarting of loops to trigger flags, the story still remained tantalizing as ever and by the end of it all i might as well have been emotionally exhausted too given how the true ending of it resonated with me. gnosia also got me to use my switch for once too, something i can hardly say given my general reluctance to use my nintendo certified drifting lap warmer for anything other than youtube so that's saying something about how compelling i found the overall experience to be! "ryukishi could never"/10 .
additional notes:
if you've finished gnosia and are looking for a game that also utilizes the vn structure pretty well i recommend "13 sentinels aegis rim"!
anyways, onto the gameplay! one of the biggest reasons i love what the team at petit depotto have put out here is how well integrated the gameplay aspects are considering the medium gnosia actually is. although there are a few other notable visual novels that utilize the functions of the medium to better enhance the experience gnosia's left me, a rpg and visual novel enthusiast, rather pleased! i do think the stat system here is a bit tacked on seemingly in the beginning as it isn't until later loops where you'll really feel the significance of these numbers help in discussions. the real meat of the experience however is how gnosia takes the normal conventions of most visual novels and integrates it pretty seamlessly into the core mechanics of its social deduction style gameplay that fits snugly into its visual novel trappings.
now for the story, i'd like to acknowledge that due to the spoiler-heavy nature of it i'll refrain from saying too much as always but i'll just say that it's a typical sci-fi mystery in structure supplemented by plentiful twists with ideas touching upon existentialism, the human desire to connect with one another, and of course the dichotomy of humans and gnosia, all presented in a intricate blend of genres culminating in a compelling narrative that knows just when to let you breathe and when to land its more emotional gut punches.
as for the dialogue itself, i do appreciate the fact that these characters all have some very strong introductions as well as pretty well-contained mini-story arcs given the progression being tied to triggering these flags that leads to these character-specific events. HOWEVER, due to the time loop structure of this narrative, this also means a lot of repetition and i found myself at the end often skipping through the dialogue often only pausing to either to help guide the vote or actually read new lines in the flags i was looking for. contextually it makes sense but it's not something i wouldn't say makes some of the later loops a slog. the triggers are also pretty well handled with a designated event search that personally curates loops that will guarantee flags but as you fill out more and more of these flags the non-linear structure of progression wears thin with some requirements for specific flags being obtuse and also incredibly difficult at times to determine what exactly was the cause. i'll reiterate here though that the new events, ESPECIALLY the later ones, are really darn compelling given how they revolve around solving the mysteries of the narrative and also serve to add more characterization to gnosia's cast. (setsu? she's just like me frfr!)
with all that aside, the real icing on the intricate multilayered cake that is gnosia is the art and music! firstly, the art direction here is pretty incredible given how despite the somewhat typical sci-fi environments, the character designs really breathe life into the setting and overall look pretty great with each design being reflective of a character's personality. the music here too is pretty solid but the one gripe i'd have with it is that some really good tracks barely play for their total length. there's definitely stuff here that's pretty great to listen to and compliments the atmosphere of gnosia exceptionally.
all in all, gnosia isn't a perfect experience but it's still an enjoyable one! your mileage might vary depending on how much you love the time loop structure and its cast but i think most who played it will be willing to agree that this is a pretty darn solid first attempt at a vn and for the four-person team at petit depotto to have such a solid grasp and understanding on how to utilize the visual novel medium, i'm honestly really excited to see what's next in store from them! despite my exhaustion near the end given the repetitive dialogue and constant restarting of loops to trigger flags, the story still remained tantalizing as ever and by the end of it all i might as well have been emotionally exhausted too given how the true ending of it resonated with me. gnosia also got me to use my switch for once too, something i can hardly say given my general reluctance to use my nintendo certified drifting lap warmer for anything other than youtube so that's saying something about how compelling i found the overall experience to be! "ryukishi could never"/10 .
additional notes:
if you've finished gnosia and are looking for a game that also utilizes the vn structure pretty well i recommend "13 sentinels aegis rim"!
gnosia is very, VERY repetitive at times, but it helps build up the overall story and it definitely works in its favor. finally getting that experience of getting a brand new event is honestly super rewarding and highly addicting, making you want to do another loop for more content. also cried at the end lol good game do recommend
Absolute gem, easy to tell that a lot of care and love went into it, every part of it oozes weird but really cool and unique, a little experimental and the gameplay loop can get a little repetitive but it's worth it, enjoyed my time with it, great game.
I mostly had a good time with this, but I think its design leads to an unavoidable dip around the 70% mark where you're just doing run after run without really getting much progress, even using the "give me settings with events" button. A fascinating concept with a fun true ending, but just a little too constrained by its design for its own good.
What's the point of this? When a Gnosia and I both claimed to be engineers and my information was proven correct, people still didn't vote her off! Is this designed to emulate the infuriating experience of playing werewolf with people who don't understand how the game works and just make every decision based on gut feeling?
Evertime I play this game, my heart instanly melts.
los primeros 80-100 loops de gnosia son una experiencia sin igual. reconfiguran las bases construidas por juegos como ace attorney o danganronpa para orientarlo en el contexto mismo que recoge virtue's last reward, e incluso de death games previos de Uchikoshi y co. para apelar constantemente a preocupaciones habituales del género que tan fácilmente dialogan con el sci-fi y el transhumanismo. es interesante, se deja leer con gusto, y el formato crea una constante sensación de deriva en la que descubrimos cómo juega cada une de les personajes a la vez que la asignación aleatoria de roles obliga a siempre estar alerta y relacionarte de formas dinámicas con el resto del elenco
lastimosamente, la teoría acaba cayendo por su propio peso. el sistema de stats que en un inicio otorga opciones para afrontar los encuentros pronto se revela como el factor que los trivializa. llegado un punto ni es necesario jugar, el propio loop te reclama que por favor termines ya con la historia y no lo dejes, que ya has avanzado bastante así que aquí vienen una seguidilla de regalos, de anclajes arbitrarios donde los personajes uno tras otro se encadenan (fruto del event search) para contarte a las prisas qué pasa con ellxs, qué necesitas saber para desbloquear el true ending. esta derrota de su propia capacidad para mantener el interés en lo mecánico para volverse en una urgencia por apurar variables a ver si con esta combinación no nos extendemos otros 10 loops de nada son lo que para mí acabó manchando el trato
no es realista esperar un cast de tantos personajes donde todes aporten lo mismo o estén siquiera desarrollados, y aunque autores como Kodaka pecan aún más fuertemente de esto, Uchikoshi al menos sabe que debe centrarse individualmente en estos si quiere llevar sus arcos dramáticos hasta el final. Gnosia acaba cayendo en el mismo sinsentido de tener a cinco personajes cruciales para su propuesta central, y luego un montón de secundarios a modo de excusas para elevar la sensación de conflictos secundarios insertos en el tronco. pero resulta que difícilmente lo están, y si bien ninguno de estos acaba siendo realmente un cascarón vacío, como buena obra sci-fi hambrienta por demostrar que es capaz de tratar todos los temas existenciales posibles, acaba sintiéndose en la necesidad de que cada dupla de personajes sea el símbolo de un tema, que ni siquiera busca proponer ideas nuevas sino que ya pareciesen exigidos como mínimos del género, asuntos que tienen que siempre estar ahí. si le sumamos un final que en lo personal ha parecido bastante insatisfactorio y una serie de directrices que mueven a los personajes pecando de solo moverse por el parafraseo o la escena pretendidamente icónica, como si aquello fuese suficiente. me quedan a deber, y la sensación final es de que el título no supo medir bien cuánto realmente quería que te comprometieras con su propuesta
como ejercicio de trasladar los hombres lobo a un entorno numérico encerrado en las paredes de una novela visual resulta brillante, tanto es así que para su correcto funcionamiento necesita sacrificar lo que con tanto ahínco busca esbozar como su sustancia (no vaya a ser que pensemos que es otro 'simple' juego sus) al grado en que reduce mucho a mero envoltorio
SQ did nothing wrong tho
lastimosamente, la teoría acaba cayendo por su propio peso. el sistema de stats que en un inicio otorga opciones para afrontar los encuentros pronto se revela como el factor que los trivializa. llegado un punto ni es necesario jugar, el propio loop te reclama que por favor termines ya con la historia y no lo dejes, que ya has avanzado bastante así que aquí vienen una seguidilla de regalos, de anclajes arbitrarios donde los personajes uno tras otro se encadenan (fruto del event search) para contarte a las prisas qué pasa con ellxs, qué necesitas saber para desbloquear el true ending. esta derrota de su propia capacidad para mantener el interés en lo mecánico para volverse en una urgencia por apurar variables a ver si con esta combinación no nos extendemos otros 10 loops de nada son lo que para mí acabó manchando el trato
no es realista esperar un cast de tantos personajes donde todes aporten lo mismo o estén siquiera desarrollados, y aunque autores como Kodaka pecan aún más fuertemente de esto, Uchikoshi al menos sabe que debe centrarse individualmente en estos si quiere llevar sus arcos dramáticos hasta el final. Gnosia acaba cayendo en el mismo sinsentido de tener a cinco personajes cruciales para su propuesta central, y luego un montón de secundarios a modo de excusas para elevar la sensación de conflictos secundarios insertos en el tronco. pero resulta que difícilmente lo están, y si bien ninguno de estos acaba siendo realmente un cascarón vacío, como buena obra sci-fi hambrienta por demostrar que es capaz de tratar todos los temas existenciales posibles, acaba sintiéndose en la necesidad de que cada dupla de personajes sea el símbolo de un tema, que ni siquiera busca proponer ideas nuevas sino que ya pareciesen exigidos como mínimos del género, asuntos que tienen que siempre estar ahí. si le sumamos un final que en lo personal ha parecido bastante insatisfactorio y una serie de directrices que mueven a los personajes pecando de solo moverse por el parafraseo o la escena pretendidamente icónica, como si aquello fuese suficiente. me quedan a deber, y la sensación final es de que el título no supo medir bien cuánto realmente quería que te comprometieras con su propuesta
como ejercicio de trasladar los hombres lobo a un entorno numérico encerrado en las paredes de una novela visual resulta brillante, tanto es así que para su correcto funcionamiento necesita sacrificar lo que con tanto ahínco busca esbozar como su sustancia (no vaya a ser que pensemos que es otro 'simple' juego sus) al grado en que reduce mucho a mero envoltorio
SQ did nothing wrong tho
GNOSIA is a must-have title for any players interested in a thrilling, plot-heavy RPG. The art is beautiful, the music is wonderful, and the plot is thrilling. The gameplay is smooth, dropping players into the next loop seemlessly with plenty of options to tweak. This only gets better once the skills and roles open up a few loops in. Additionally, the cast is incredibly creative, including best girl SQ. Like I said, even the weakest characters are still likable. I’m 100 percent sure that there’s a character for every kind of player.
I ultimately found very little that I disliked about GNOSIA. If anything, I can’t recommend it enough, and honestly, I can’t wait to get back to playing it. In fact, I’m ready to loop through another fight against the Gnosia again.
Read my full review here: https://butwhythopodcast.com/2021/03/04/review-gnosia-is-thrilling-creative-and-beautiful-nintendo-switch/
I ultimately found very little that I disliked about GNOSIA. If anything, I can’t recommend it enough, and honestly, I can’t wait to get back to playing it. In fact, I’m ready to loop through another fight against the Gnosia again.
Read my full review here: https://butwhythopodcast.com/2021/03/04/review-gnosia-is-thrilling-creative-and-beautiful-nintendo-switch/
A pretty much perfect game from start to finish that commits to a completely original vision and pulls off just about everything it goes for incredibly well. I cannot recommend this enough if you're even vaguely interested in the idea behind it.
Offers up one of the wildest sci-fi settings in recent memory, too! The way they pace every little reveal and twist in both the story and mechanics is genuinely stunning.
Offers up one of the wildest sci-fi settings in recent memory, too! The way they pace every little reveal and twist in both the story and mechanics is genuinely stunning.
This review contains spoilers
This game is going to easily become a cult classic. It’s extremely experimental and suffers from some issues but the ride is worth it.
SETSUUUUUUUUUUU MY LOVE
SETSUUUUUUUUUUU MY LOVE
It's not just weeb among us for otakus with no friends, it's a fantastic visual novel as well. The dynamics of the social play wouldn't be as interesting if not for the colorful and rich cast.
Truly unique and perfect and would've been enough just to be a weird single player roguelike social deduction game even without the amount of personality it has.
I didn't think it was possible to simulate this kind of thing in single player much less have a round where a sequence of bonkers events occurred layering on top of eachother until I spent like two hours in pepe silvia mode trying to figure out several logic chains and gave myself a headache.
I love it. Great if you miss werewolf type stuff but can't be bothered with all the organisation anymore too.
I didn't think it was possible to simulate this kind of thing in single player much less have a round where a sequence of bonkers events occurred layering on top of eachother until I spent like two hours in pepe silvia mode trying to figure out several logic chains and gave myself a headache.
I love it. Great if you miss werewolf type stuff but can't be bothered with all the organisation anymore too.
For Setsu
i've 100%ed this game five times. i think it did something to my brain.
I wish I could have a very long pair of arms so I could hug all these people at once
The best thing about this game is that, the more you play it, the more you get to actually know each of the characters. You'll understand who they are when they are humans, and what they are when they are gnosia, given that each of those characters become something else when being gnosia. By the end of it, you'll feel like being the best werewolf player ever and will constantly win, it feels great.
Also, the story is great and the true ending is soooo satisfying !!!
Also, the story is great and the true ending is soooo satisfying !!!
This is a really strong game with a compelling narrative that can be compared to something in the Zero Escape series.
The gameplay is fun to begin with -- if you've ever played mafia or werewolf, you know the setup. It's classic and it works better than you'd think with AI -- you get to set and build up stats like Intuition that let you figure out when others are lying, or Performance to hide your own lies easier. Different characters have different mixes of these stats, too, so you get interesting games with an ensemble of characters that each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
The gameplay is fun on its own, but over the course of the full game sometimes frustrating and repetitive -- I've run through the game multiple times and it took me each time about 100 loops to reach the ending. A lot of these loops end up being spent quickly running through dialogue because I'm very familiar with how the gameplay plays out, and so much is repeated between games.
This is balanced out because the gameplay is at its core fun -- it's classic werewolf gameplay, and even though it's exclusively against AI, I could see myself going back to this to play rounds and bask in how much I love the characters -- as well as how fun it feels to either find out the traitors or deceive the town.
Another complaint is that the events that drive the story forward can sometimes be frustrating -- for instance, one event might require that you keep a specific character alive over the course of a game -- sometimes, fate seems to conspire against you. The Gnosia might eliminate the target -- if you have the ability to defend them, the Gnosia might instead get you, or the AI might randomly latch onto your protective target as a suspect. Sometimes, you have to attempt an event repeatedly just to get the resolution you want.
All this being said, the events drive forward a really beautiful story. As many little problems as I have with little frustrations of the game's execution, the story itself is amazing. Whatever issues I have with the gameplay are well worth getting over to see the story that this game tells.
The gameplay is fun to begin with -- if you've ever played mafia or werewolf, you know the setup. It's classic and it works better than you'd think with AI -- you get to set and build up stats like Intuition that let you figure out when others are lying, or Performance to hide your own lies easier. Different characters have different mixes of these stats, too, so you get interesting games with an ensemble of characters that each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
The gameplay is fun on its own, but over the course of the full game sometimes frustrating and repetitive -- I've run through the game multiple times and it took me each time about 100 loops to reach the ending. A lot of these loops end up being spent quickly running through dialogue because I'm very familiar with how the gameplay plays out, and so much is repeated between games.
This is balanced out because the gameplay is at its core fun -- it's classic werewolf gameplay, and even though it's exclusively against AI, I could see myself going back to this to play rounds and bask in how much I love the characters -- as well as how fun it feels to either find out the traitors or deceive the town.
Another complaint is that the events that drive the story forward can sometimes be frustrating -- for instance, one event might require that you keep a specific character alive over the course of a game -- sometimes, fate seems to conspire against you. The Gnosia might eliminate the target -- if you have the ability to defend them, the Gnosia might instead get you, or the AI might randomly latch onto your protective target as a suspect. Sometimes, you have to attempt an event repeatedly just to get the resolution you want.
All this being said, the events drive forward a really beautiful story. As many little problems as I have with little frustrations of the game's execution, the story itself is amazing. Whatever issues I have with the gameplay are well worth getting over to see the story that this game tells.
Um jogo bem interessante e que me prendeu bem, apesar de umas pequenas frustrações aqui e ali. Pode ser um pouco difícil progredir chegando no final, as vezes da a sensação de que você não encontra o trigger pra avançar. Mas eventualmente você tropeça nele. Sai bem satisfeito.
kill KKill
One of my favourite ADV's/VN's despite its repetitive nature. A bunch of fun. I would trust Setsu with my life even if I know they're on the opposite team.
My #1 of 2021. I'm agog it's made by a 4 person studio - the studio Petit Depotto - this game is exemplary. You play through randomized confrontations out of The Thing or Werewolf, trying to identify and freeze those corrupted by an alien entity. The game does a lot with little, enabling brutal confrontations and betrayals while still building affinity with every character.
Betrayals are ephemeral but still brutal, and you easily slip into and out of love/hate with every character on a loop-by-loop basis. It gestures at existentialism while still being relatable, sweet, and overtly weird. It indulges in the right amount of meta, keeping you moored while still engaging some wtf/"existence is collapsing" subroutes. It lightly undermines the VN gamefeel, asking you to modulate your engagement and only pay about 70% attention (for your sanity). After all, if you were trapped in a time loop with prickly YA's, you'd space out regularly. The game thrives in unexpected trials, the NPC AI just complex enough to keep things propulsive, and the relatively simple core loop still padded out with a shocking # of unique outcomes.
Over time you unravel the exceedingly strange conditions of everyone's circumstance- it's all some very crunchy and mesmerizing lore. The soundtrack and aesthetics are perfect, with stunning character designs and CG's, and the sfxs never falter despite a lot of repetition. Some of the best gamefeel in any VN. It moves lightning quick. It has like, a nearly meditative pace of trial and error. Overall it succeeds not only as an incredibly rapid and engaging 1P social deduction game (the best in an uncrowded field) but as a very specific sim. Absolutely adore this game.
Betrayals are ephemeral but still brutal, and you easily slip into and out of love/hate with every character on a loop-by-loop basis. It gestures at existentialism while still being relatable, sweet, and overtly weird. It indulges in the right amount of meta, keeping you moored while still engaging some wtf/"existence is collapsing" subroutes. It lightly undermines the VN gamefeel, asking you to modulate your engagement and only pay about 70% attention (for your sanity). After all, if you were trapped in a time loop with prickly YA's, you'd space out regularly. The game thrives in unexpected trials, the NPC AI just complex enough to keep things propulsive, and the relatively simple core loop still padded out with a shocking # of unique outcomes.
Over time you unravel the exceedingly strange conditions of everyone's circumstance- it's all some very crunchy and mesmerizing lore. The soundtrack and aesthetics are perfect, with stunning character designs and CG's, and the sfxs never falter despite a lot of repetition. Some of the best gamefeel in any VN. It moves lightning quick. It has like, a nearly meditative pace of trial and error. Overall it succeeds not only as an incredibly rapid and engaging 1P social deduction game (the best in an uncrowded field) but as a very specific sim. Absolutely adore this game.
sus