Gnosia

 Switch
User Score
8.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 51 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 44 out of 51
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 51
  3. Negative: 4 out of 51

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  1. GoldenUncle
    Mar 7, 2021
    10
    It's addicting and fun, what more is there to ask for? The art style is also beautiful so that's an added bonus.
  2. dunetiger
    Mar 18, 2021
    7
    I can't say I agree with the rest of the reviewers here. While Gnosia has a pick-up-and-play appeal, the very idea of single-player Werewolf doesn't quite work. I mean it could, but it's a tremendously ambitious undertaking and Gnosia's distinct lack of subtlety and low stock of canned responses keeps it from really shining through. For most people, this game is going to be little moreI can't say I agree with the rest of the reviewers here. While Gnosia has a pick-up-and-play appeal, the very idea of single-player Werewolf doesn't quite work. I mean it could, but it's a tremendously ambitious undertaking and Gnosia's distinct lack of subtlety and low stock of canned responses keeps it from really shining through. For most people, this game is going to be little more than a novelty that won't keep them engaged because without diving any deeper, it comes off as random.

    That said, for those who can tolerate its repetitive nature and are patient enough for the drip-feed of the game's narrative and abilities to open up, there is something just under the surface that can get you hooked if you're into it. The narrative and art are fascinating and the abilities make each go-round far more interesting as you begin to pick up on queues to see who is lying and who is not. While this provides a much deeper experience, especially when you start filling out the character profiles and learning what makes them tick, you're still sadly missing a lot of what makes social deduction games fun. The little mind games people play and the personal details they might use to lean on you just aren't here and that's the inherent nature of Werewolf-family games and without that, many will be asking "what's the point?"

    Overall, it's a fine time-waster and curious players who tug on its threads will be rewarded, but for most players, this is probably something you should pass on or wait to go on sale. It's far too repetitive and narrow in its implementation to give you the correct atmosphere of a social deduction game, but that's to be expected since this is a single-player romp against dialog boxes and pretty character art.    … Expand
  3. Tortor
    Jun 15, 2023
    7
    Great for the loners who don't have the friends that can play these Among Us or 'Werewolf' type of games.

    I admittedly had fun but it does kinda overstay it's welcome once you do enough runs. After a while I feel it's repetitive nature and lack of control. Seeing the same dialog over and over again gets a bit old too. It sorta comes down to a build up if stats and trying to zoom through    Great for the loners who don't have the friends that can play these Among Us or 'Werewolf' type of games.

    I admittedly had fun but it does kinda overstay it's welcome once you do enough runs. After a while I feel it's repetitive nature and lack of control. Seeing the same dialog over and over again gets a bit old too.

    It sorta comes down to a build up if stats and trying to zoom through runs to get Exp. Doesn't have a very satisfying loop though to make this enjoyable.

    Still glad I tried this out. Probably wouldn't realistically recommend this to a friend though because of how niche it is and the feeling that it's simplicity sorta shows through after a few hours.    … Expand
  4. ReviewHype
    Mar 11, 2021
    10
    This plot is very creative, it's way above the 8.0 given by metacritic, mechanics are really polished and the artwork is superb, period.
  5. Felipecrit
    Apr 21, 2021
    10
    I loved this game, i can say it moved me. A great adventure with multiple plot twists and intresting characters. Outstanding mechanics that make the discutions really fun and challenging, but also rewarding. Loved the last hours of the game which elevate the whole experience even more. If you're pacient and like a good story with great characters, please do yourself a favour and play this game
  6. stinkyboy
    Jan 21, 2022
    10
    The werewolf-inspired gameplay using AI combined with the beautiful story, characters and aesthetics defines Gnosia from its contemporaries in an innovative way.
  7. wesker2012
    Apr 23, 2021
    5
    I checked out this game because of the good reviews and it sounded like something I might be interested in. I thought it would be more immersive than it was. Something akin to the Dangaronpa Series or the Zero Escape games. To me, the "main game" came across as extremely shallow though. The repetitive canned responses of the AI characters ruined the immersion and didn't provide forI checked out this game because of the good reviews and it sounded like something I might be interested in. I thought it would be more immersive than it was. Something akin to the Dangaronpa Series or the Zero Escape games. To me, the "main game" came across as extremely shallow though. The repetitive canned responses of the AI characters ruined the immersion and didn't provide for much thought provoking deduction for me. I imagined it to be a lot better from the reviews. I went through at least 20 loops before giving up. Maybe it gets better later, but I didn't think I could take any more of the core game.… Expand
  8. Nintendist
    Jun 29, 2022
    0
    very boring gameplay. i really dislike this game. all the content here is not good
  9. elpsycongruent
    Aug 5, 2022
    8
    I picked this one up on sale a while ago. I played through, enjoyed it enough, got to the ending and went, "hmm, that's not super satisfying." Then I started it back up and got the secret ending, and my complaints melted away.

    Yes, it's a single-player mafia/werewolf game. Yes, that gets repetitive. Personally, I found that more soothing than boring, but your mileage may vary. Overall,    I picked this one up on sale a while ago. I played through, enjoyed it enough, got to the ending and went, "hmm, that's not super satisfying." Then I started it back up and got the secret ending, and my complaints melted away.

    Yes, it's a single-player mafia/werewolf game. Yes, that gets repetitive. Personally, I found that more soothing than boring, but your mileage may vary. Overall, I think it's well worth picking up. Teasing out the snippets of story was satisfying, and it was really fun to have my expectations for certain loops upended.    … Expand
  10. Bidoulou
    Nov 10, 2021
    9
    A good game design with some plot. It took me 30 hours + to finish, with 157 loops done. It was fun to meet and learn more about the crew. Setsu, Gina, SQ, i'll think about you as long as i remember you. I hope a very long time, because being in a team, or sometimes against you, was fun.
  11. owoKittenMitten
    Mar 9, 2021
    10
    Has a beautiful art style. The story is given to you at a slow but reasonable pace and keeps you wondering all the way through.
  12. GVB
    Dec 21, 2022
    9
    Creative, emotional, creepy, full of paranoia and logical-thinking. There is also a cat implanted in a neck.
  13. Nintenderek
    Jan 18, 2022
    8
    Gnosia is advertised as a werewolf or mafia style game and indeed that's the main aspect of the gameplay, however this game is quite a bit more than that. It's actually a scifi, time traveling adventure. It's a visual novel, disguised with slight gameplay elements to make what starts as an addictive way to play werewolf by yourself into a wonderful story that becomes difficult to putGnosia is advertised as a werewolf or mafia style game and indeed that's the main aspect of the gameplay, however this game is quite a bit more than that. It's actually a scifi, time traveling adventure. It's a visual novel, disguised with slight gameplay elements to make what starts as an addictive way to play werewolf by yourself into a wonderful story that becomes difficult to put down as you wait to find out what will happen next.

    So, the main gameplay loop is quite simple. You are with a group of people and two of those people are essentially bad guys. Your role as a group is to figure out who the bad guys is and attempt to vote them out. If you don't, they'll kill another person in the night and then it repeats the next day. At night, you get to interact with the rest of the crew and that's where a lot of the real story actually is.

    The game has an art style that reminds me a bit of an anime like art style. The sounds are fine. The music is fine. The aesthetics are good and I like the scifi theme of it all. My only real issue is the gameplay itself. Since there's relatively limited dialogue options, it gets repetitive over several loops and part of the time you'll find yourself wanting to rush through the voting and the debate to get straight to the story afterwards.

    Ultimately, this is not a game for everyone and if you are only wanting a single player mafia or werewolf like experience, you may actually be in for a disappointment, but if you are a fan of the anime art style, the scifi aesthetic, or just deep storying telling in a visual novel like experience then you'll probably want to pick this up.    … Expand
  14. shoebill
    Apr 6, 2021
    9
    I loved this. Yes, it's Werewolf with AIs. Don't play this to play Werewolf with AIs. I thought of it as a massive puzzle game where you try to understand how to optimize your combination of character stats (it's also an RPG), learned skills, and knowledge of the other characters' personalities in order to get the outcomes you want. There are a lot of data points to keep track of and aI loved this. Yes, it's Werewolf with AIs. Don't play this to play Werewolf with AIs. I thought of it as a massive puzzle game where you try to understand how to optimize your combination of character stats (it's also an RPG), learned skills, and knowledge of the other characters' personalities in order to get the outcomes you want. There are a lot of data points to keep track of and a lot to learn on how to manipulate the AIs. I also enjoyed the meta-story and the world-building a lot. I wished there was more flavor text than there was! My biggest gripe was with the soundtrack, which I abhorred. I played the whole game on mute. YMMV - it wasn't low quality, just not to my tastes - but playing a silent game definitely decreased my ability to engage emotionally with it. Unfortunately, it's pretty un-replayable once you know the cadences of the Werewolf game, but it's a great puzzle and story to crack in teh first place.… Expand
  15. lessthelonely
    Mar 14, 2021
    9
    One of the most compelling games with Werewolf gameplay - lots of roles and useful skills, amazing quirks and, most of all, a plot that'll keep you looping and looping away until you find EVERYTHING you can!
  16. RoyaltyGames
    Mar 14, 2021
    10
    My only regret is the game had to end at some point. Not only do i want a sequel, i wanted to keep playing even after reaching the end credits and seeing all there was to be seen in the game.
  17. Juggernaut0129
    May 14, 2021
    8
    The game's perfect for what it is, but might not be your cup of tea. The main gameplay is a repetitive loop of "werewolf", "mafia", "among us", and other social deception games that, while fun, doesn't last for the game's runtime.
    The true meat of the experience comes out in the quiet (and not-so-quiet) moments that happen among characters in between rounds, and it is through this that    The game's perfect for what it is, but might not be your cup of tea. The main gameplay is a repetitive loop of "werewolf", "mafia", "among us", and other social deception games that, while fun, doesn't last for the game's runtime.
    The true meat of the experience comes out in the quiet (and not-so-quiet) moments that happen among characters in between rounds, and it is through this that the story that gradually unfolds in bits and pieces. Special conditions must be fulfilled for each of these moments, which can prove rewarding or frustrating depending on your own preference.
    It's a slow burn worth your time, but a slow burn nonetheless.    … Expand
  18. KazuraCollins88
    Mar 27, 2022
    10
    This is one of THE BEST games I've played. For real, I obsessed with it for days.

Awards & Rankings

44
#44 Best Switch Game of 2021
54
#54 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 34 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 39
  3. Negative: 1 out of 39
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 19, 2021
    85
    Gnosia is a fascinating and extraordinarily engaging game. It’s based on written word and static illustrations but it engrossed me much more than any AAA title. [06/2021, p.62]
  2. Gaming Age
    Oct 7, 2021
    75
    Obviously, the big problem with Gnosia is that it seems to exist more in relation to other, better (or at least better-known) games, rather than standing out on its own. While this status is mostly deserved, compared to most visual novels I’ve played/read, there’s still lots here you’ll find interesting if you want to give it a chance.
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  3. Checkpoint Gaming
    May 29, 2021
    80
    Gnosia is an eccentric blend of visual novel, Werewolf-style social deduction and RPG mechanics that somehow manages to pull it all together to make one of the most intriguing game releases this year. While some repetitive and frustrating moments mean that the game feels a little bit longer than it should, its cast of quirky, likable characters and quite frankly addictive gameplay loop will keep you just as much on the edge of your seat in Loop 1 as it will in Loop 100. There’s a wild ride to unravel, full of crazy twists and turns, and combined with the sharp writing and clever mashup of different genres, Gnosia truly stands out as a fascinating addition to your Switch library. Just be careful who you trust.
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