Okay, hear me out here. What if... a social deduction game, but as a single-player RPG? To some, it must sound like complete lunacy. How can a genre of game that is fundamentally about its human aspect have that removed from it? Well, the folks at Petit Depotto took that idea and ran with it, and the result is, simply put, one of the best games I have ever played.
The starship D.Q.O. travels across the galaxy, its crew a mishmash of displaced people from different planets, all of them fleeing from an invisible, terrifying threat called Gnos. This alien presence of unknown origin aims to erase humanity from existence and, to achieve that goal, it infects those who come in contact with it, taking over their minds.
Indistinguishable from their peers, these infected, called the Gnosia, seek to deceive and eliminate their own kin, and by the time the story begins, have caused the fall of entire worlds. Within the D.Q.O., the crew's worst fear comes to pass: someone, or some people aboard have become Gnosia, and they must be unmasked before they can take over the ship.
Taking after social deduction games such as Werewolf, The Resistance, or the more recent Among Us, in Gnosia, a pool of players is split into different groups, each player's role known only to themselves, that must identify each other and defeat the opposing faction. These types of games are common at parties, and are very fun. If you have never played them before, though, don't worry, as the game will carefully walk you through the rules in the beginning loops.
Yes, loops. Gnosia takes place in a time loop that begins as the Gnosia infect a set number of crewmates and a contingency plan is put in place: on each day, the crew will vote to cryogenically freeze a person who they suspect is Gnosia, in the hopes that all of the enemies will be neutralized. So long as there's at least one Gnosia free, during the night, they'll erase one of the humans on the ship. Humans win if they can freeze every Gnosia, who in turn are victorious if they come to outnumber humans on the ship.
Like in Gnosia's inspirations, there are other character roles that are introduced as you progress, all of which change the way the game is played when they're present. What makes the game more fascinating, however, and what I think is Gnosia's greatest achievement, is how effectively they mapped the social deduction gameplay to an RPG system.
During each day in Gnosia, a debate takes place, which consists of five rounds during which you and the other characters can use different commands to steer the conversation. Don't let the initial simplicity fool you: while, at first, it's only possible to accuse or defend other characters, as the game progresses, the discussion becomes more and more complex.
Characters in Gnosia have six stats: Charisma, Intuition, Logic, Charm, Performance and Stealth, all of which allow the use of different commands and affect various aspects of gameplay. As the game progresses, both you and the NPCs increase their stats and, from them, gain access to a myriad of different commands that help steer the debate, commands that can enhance the effect of others' speech, outline logical conclusions, and put other characters in tight spots, among other things.
At the end of the debate, you and your fellow crewmates cast your votes on who to eliminate. Hopefully, you didn't talk too much so to become annoying nor too little so to become suspicious, and were able to guide the conversation to the direction you wanted. Should you avoid the fridge, during the night, you can interact with other characters and get to know them better.
These mechanics form the core loop of Gnosia, which is brilliant for many reasons. First, it's one of those "one more turn" types of games that are hard to put down. So many play sessions of mine were made a couple hours longer because I just felt for going for "one" more loop before stopping, which then became four or five. It might feel random at first, but once you get a hang of the debates, the game becomes hard to put down.
More than that, the stat system in itself is beautifully realized, both mechanically and as a storytelling device. Mechanically, when building your character, no stat is useless: while there are some parameters you might want to focus on depending on the build you like, all of them serve an important gameplay purpose and there isn't a single stat that feels safe to have low.
Stats are also a means of characterization. Much like yourself, each of the NPCs in the ship has a specific build. Some characters easily make themselves loved, while others will find themselves under crosshairs for minor missteps. Some rely on their perception to catch others lying, others use logic to tear a hole in their opponents arguments.
There are also preexisting relationships between NPCs -- and even between them and your own character -- that you'll uncover as you see more character events, but that can be perceived from how they act towards others during debates. Some characters have a predisposition to liking you, and might protect you even if it isn't in their best interest for the vote, while others are the opposite, and you will learn to fear them.
It's important to pay attention to these sorts of details because whenever a character happens to be Gnosia, their behaviour might change, and an attentive player can use this to their advantage and sniff them out. This is a game where mechanics and storytelling are deeply entwined, one feeding into the other,
The overarching narrative that surrounds the time loops is engaging and set up in a way that makes it very fun to uncover. You will laugh, you will cry, you will fall in love with many of the characters, and as the story comes to a close, you'll wish there was more to uncover. Just one more excuse to go looping again in this game of lies and deception.
From beginning to end, Gnosia was a delightful experience, one I will recommend wholeheartedly to others even if my track record of getting people to play quirky Japanese games is... less than positive. I wish I could erase it from my mind so I could do it all over again.
The starship D.Q.O. travels across the galaxy, its crew a mishmash of displaced people from different planets, all of them fleeing from an invisible, terrifying threat called Gnos. This alien presence of unknown origin aims to erase humanity from existence and, to achieve that goal, it infects those who come in contact with it, taking over their minds.
Indistinguishable from their peers, these infected, called the Gnosia, seek to deceive and eliminate their own kin, and by the time the story begins, have caused the fall of entire worlds. Within the D.Q.O., the crew's worst fear comes to pass: someone, or some people aboard have become Gnosia, and they must be unmasked before they can take over the ship.
Taking after social deduction games such as Werewolf, The Resistance, or the more recent Among Us, in Gnosia, a pool of players is split into different groups, each player's role known only to themselves, that must identify each other and defeat the opposing faction. These types of games are common at parties, and are very fun. If you have never played them before, though, don't worry, as the game will carefully walk you through the rules in the beginning loops.
Yes, loops. Gnosia takes place in a time loop that begins as the Gnosia infect a set number of crewmates and a contingency plan is put in place: on each day, the crew will vote to cryogenically freeze a person who they suspect is Gnosia, in the hopes that all of the enemies will be neutralized. So long as there's at least one Gnosia free, during the night, they'll erase one of the humans on the ship. Humans win if they can freeze every Gnosia, who in turn are victorious if they come to outnumber humans on the ship.
Like in Gnosia's inspirations, there are other character roles that are introduced as you progress, all of which change the way the game is played when they're present. What makes the game more fascinating, however, and what I think is Gnosia's greatest achievement, is how effectively they mapped the social deduction gameplay to an RPG system.
During each day in Gnosia, a debate takes place, which consists of five rounds during which you and the other characters can use different commands to steer the conversation. Don't let the initial simplicity fool you: while, at first, it's only possible to accuse or defend other characters, as the game progresses, the discussion becomes more and more complex.
Characters in Gnosia have six stats: Charisma, Intuition, Logic, Charm, Performance and Stealth, all of which allow the use of different commands and affect various aspects of gameplay. As the game progresses, both you and the NPCs increase their stats and, from them, gain access to a myriad of different commands that help steer the debate, commands that can enhance the effect of others' speech, outline logical conclusions, and put other characters in tight spots, among other things.
At the end of the debate, you and your fellow crewmates cast your votes on who to eliminate. Hopefully, you didn't talk too much so to become annoying nor too little so to become suspicious, and were able to guide the conversation to the direction you wanted. Should you avoid the fridge, during the night, you can interact with other characters and get to know them better.
These mechanics form the core loop of Gnosia, which is brilliant for many reasons. First, it's one of those "one more turn" types of games that are hard to put down. So many play sessions of mine were made a couple hours longer because I just felt for going for "one" more loop before stopping, which then became four or five. It might feel random at first, but once you get a hang of the debates, the game becomes hard to put down.
More than that, the stat system in itself is beautifully realized, both mechanically and as a storytelling device. Mechanically, when building your character, no stat is useless: while there are some parameters you might want to focus on depending on the build you like, all of them serve an important gameplay purpose and there isn't a single stat that feels safe to have low.
Stats are also a means of characterization. Much like yourself, each of the NPCs in the ship has a specific build. Some characters easily make themselves loved, while others will find themselves under crosshairs for minor missteps. Some rely on their perception to catch others lying, others use logic to tear a hole in their opponents arguments.
There are also preexisting relationships between NPCs -- and even between them and your own character -- that you'll uncover as you see more character events, but that can be perceived from how they act towards others during debates. Some characters have a predisposition to liking you, and might protect you even if it isn't in their best interest for the vote, while others are the opposite, and you will learn to fear them.
It's important to pay attention to these sorts of details because whenever a character happens to be Gnosia, their behaviour might change, and an attentive player can use this to their advantage and sniff them out. This is a game where mechanics and storytelling are deeply entwined, one feeding into the other,
The overarching narrative that surrounds the time loops is engaging and set up in a way that makes it very fun to uncover. You will laugh, you will cry, you will fall in love with many of the characters, and as the story comes to a close, you'll wish there was more to uncover. Just one more excuse to go looping again in this game of lies and deception.
From beginning to end, Gnosia was a delightful experience, one I will recommend wholeheartedly to others even if my track record of getting people to play quirky Japanese games is... less than positive. I wish I could erase it from my mind so I could do it all over again.