About the anime adaptation...
One major issue I keep coming back to while I'm discussing GNOSIA the game vs GNOSIA the anime is that I adore GNOSIA *because* it is a videogame.
The gameplay and the story work together and enhance each other, in a way I haven't seen done before. I would argue most of the characterization in the game happens throughout the rounds of werewolf we play together with these characters. And I think it would be dismissive to discuss the characters of GNOSIA without taking into account their Player Archetypes and ingame behavior and dialogue. Something the anime is crucially missing. Their bits of backstory give more context but the majority of time, within an average playthrough, is spent on the werewolf simulation and not on story events.
GNOSIA never had my favourite story, it's not even my favourite "timeloop-vn story". (It has a lot of issues with just vaguely gesturing at a lot of themes but never actually exploring most of them for example). But when I am immersing myself in the game, the magic happens. Once you accept the rules of the simulation these characters can surprise you, make you laugh or get mad at them through their AI behaviors.
Events work well because they break the mold or add tension and attachment to certain characters through win conditions (for example surviving with someone until the end).
With all of this said adapting this werewolf-simulation game into a linear story was always a tall order. But I really wish the anime would have been able to find its own identity. I personally think a more loose adaption would have been more favorable. It's not all bad of course but as it is now it just feels like "the game but worse" to me.
GNOSIA is a flawed, but a work I hold dearly in my heart. And a lot of the flaws the anime has are actually flaws the game has too! They just end up feeling way worse in the anime because it's missing the gameplay component. (The anime attempts to recreate gameplay loops but these are 1. not the same thing as playing through a game yourself and 2. manage to constantly fall flat due to bad logic and bogus resolutions.) And I personally don't think it's doing a great job in filling in the gaps.
At the end of the day its not that serious its just a game/show. I like criticising things and taking them apart a bit. These are just my thoughts, more power to you if you like the anime!
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