In 2020 and carrying over to 2021, we have seen social deduction games get a huge increase in popularity. Among Us rocketed to popularity in late 2020, becoming one of the most played games in November with over half a billion users, along with others such as Project Winter. Now there will be a new imposter game coming to America after being released in Japan for almost a year, called Gnosia.
Unlike the other social deduction games mentioned above, Gnosia is single-player and has a more complex storyline than one might expect. The game is basically a replayable visual novel where players will have to figure out who is the “imposter,” very similar to a game of Werewolf. Set on a spaceship, there is one Gnosia, which is a shapeshifter that appears human whose purpose is to try to kill everyone, and it is the player’s job to deduce who it is.
Players will talk to the various characters onboard and can pick one each night that they suspect to put into a “cold sleep.” The Gnosia will kill one human every night they are left alive until either they or the humans win. Each replay takes around 15 minutes and will unlock new events and stats for the player’s character which changes how much social sway they hold. These loops will also slowly unlock the overarching story of who all these characters are and why they are on the ship.
Gnosia was first released in Japan on the PlayStation Vita in 2019 and the Nintendo Switch in April 2020 to much acclaim with IGN Japan giving it 10/10. Finally, as of March 4, American players will be able to get their hands on Gnosia for $24.99 on Switch.