“Among Us” is a mystery game that involves one, two or three secret murderers, otherwise known as imposters, among a group of crewmates on a spaceship. It is up to the imposters to sabotage and kill everyone on the ship, while the crewmates’ goal is to discover the imposter or complete all of their tasks before the imposter kills everyone. While the game seems to have a simple and stereotypical plot for any movie, book or video game, “Among Us” has gained incredible popularity within the last few months.
The game can be bought on any online streaming platform on any PC, but the most popular form of the game is downloaded as a mobile app, and players can choose to join a local/private game, a public online game, or just simply create their own as a host. People that choose to buy the game on the computer have the ability to play with mobile players because “Among Us” stretches across both platforms. The players join as space characters, and they can choose a variety of hats and colors (only one color per character in a game), and players have the option to purchase more diverse skins and pets in the game to customize their character. The game settings can also be adjusted to having one to three imposters, and the more imposters there are, the more difficult it is for the crew to win. Each game has a maximum of ten players, but it can also be played with under ten. The imposter has some advantages over the crewmates, like the ability to vent (teleport to a different room through the air vents) easily, since there are less of them. Players have the opportunity to hold an emergency meeting if they believe they can convince the other crewmates who the imposter is, and crewmates can also report a dead body, which will also ignite a discussion of who did it.
Each crewmate has a set of tasks that they need to complete before the imposter kills everyone. The tasks are generally simple and are there to give the crewmates something to do while not getting killed. The imposter needs to try to fit in like a crewmate, while also trying to kill the other players, so the imposter will do their best by doing fake tasks and only venting when there is nobody around. The imposter also has to be able to defend themselves when the other crewmates find them to be suspicious, or “sus”, in an emergency meeting or after a body has been discovered.
If you are killed as a crewmate, you become a ghost, and you still need to complete all of your tasks in order for the remaining crew members to win.
The game’s recent rise in popularity is generally unknown, but there is no doubt it has become a staple in 2020 through its influence in online memes, Halloween decorations, and merchandise. Back in August, it was announced that there would be an “Among Us 2” to be released shortly, but this announcement was canceled in September after the Innersloth creators decided to focus on improving the original game rather than creating a new one.
“I like ‘Among Us’ because you get to talk with actual people all over the world without it being awkward because you all want the same thing: to win,” junior Sanaa Wright said.
Overall, I would call “Among Us” a great success and a game worth playing or buying. It is short, so you can play it anywhere, anytime. It allows you to connect with other people all over the world in a fun and thrilling way. Its variety in game options allow you to play it with just a few select friends or a bunch of strangers. Either way, it unites people under one goal.