Destructoid’s Indie Gems – Edition 4: Break the time loop with social deduction

You awake to a friendly face, yet you cannot remember a thing. It’s a moment of peace before your strange Hell begins. Thrown into the deep end like Groundhog Day set in space, you’re forced to relive the same day on a loop. But why? Your crew on the surface seems normal, but there’s something just slightly off about them that you can’t put your finger on.

An infection puts the entire crew and humanity at risk, and the only way to stop it is to find out who is carrying the Gnosia on board. The person the infected once was is now long gone, replaced by a masquerading parasite as them. Wearing their face, speaking their voice, it’s down to you and your crewmates to figure out which one of you has a dark side.

You send those you suspect to be Gnosia to cold sleep after arguing moments prior and holding a vote. Reach the end of the day alive and with the Gnosia correctly identified to continue pushing towards the truth and a means to end the time loop. While you awake to the same alarm every day, you’re comforted by the fact that you’re not alone. Crewmate Setsu knows they’re looping too. But why only us two, and why can’t I remember a single thing about how I got here?

A game of Mafia with a sci-fi twist

This is GNOSIA, a social deduction game inspired by Mafia/Werewolf. With anime aesthetics in a beautifully unpolished watercolor scheme that gives it charm, GNOSIA behaves much like Among Us, Town of Salem, and Danganronpa. The goal on paper is simple: Find the Gnosia and put them in cold sleep before they kill us all. You have a set of classic RPG-like abilities like Charisma, Charm, and Logic. These are important for holding conversations in and outside the cold sleep discussion and voting system. Five rounds make up the discussion before you make your final verdict, where you either doubt or cover one of your crewmates.

It’s a terrifying thought, being the only person who cannot remember how they got here or who they are. You’re comforted by the faces around you, but the paranoia that resembles The Thing warns you that not everyone can be trusted. Don’t be distracted by the pretty visuals, wholesome moments, and cute dialogue. Pay close attention because if you get too complicit, you won’t ever figure out a way out of the time loop.

There’s beauty in its repetition

While GNOSIA has a simple design in its gameplay, its repetition means you will quickly catch onto what’s happening around you, much like your amnesiac protagonist will do as well. It could be seen as a flaw that you repeat the same day, but there’s so much variety in the dialogue and paths you can go down by modifying your loop. It’s a really interesting take on the Among Us formula, as it’s down not only to your social deduction skills, but also that you need to piece everything together based on what you’ve seen so far. I had a genuine eureka moment when I got stuck for a while with no new information, which gave me one of the most satisfying gaming experiences I’ve had in a long time. You can clearly see what has influenced GNOSIA, yet there’s nothing quite like it. Its art, memorable characters, cutscene variety, and great pacing retain the mystery at all times.

GNOSIA reminds me of that super underrated sci-fi film, Coherence. I’m not much of a visual novel fan and found this premise in games like Raging Loop very repetitive, yet GNOSIA managed to retain my attention at all times. It was addictive and fun to hang out with such quirky characters. Visual novels are known for their dialogue and narrative, and this is where GNOSIA rises above the rest. The sci-fi mystery is near flawless, with full circle and the occasional scary moment, paired with a beautiful, glitchy score that perfectly fits the setting. I badly wanted to see how this game ended, and I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

Available on Steam, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch, GNOSIA is a must-play for sci-fi and visual novel fans alike.