A game of teamwork and deception
Among Us is a multiplayer video game that bands four to 10 players together against the Impostor(s), bent on killing the rest of the crew before they’re outed.
Among Us is free on iOS and Android and makes for a great party game. You can play with people online or via local Wi-Fi.
A murder mystery in space
Developed by InnerSloth, Among Us is more than just another public game for young people and kids to play. Entertaining for all ages and demographics, the game’s premise is time-tested and universally enjoyable: A group of friends are preparing a spaceship for departure, but beware; one crewmate has been replaced by a parasitic shapeshifter. Only, which of you was it?
The game begins with the crew making the rounds on the ship, repairing equipment and generally going about their normal routine. No one can talk during this phase. This helps maintain anonymity – up until someone dies. Then players can use the text chat and voice chat functions to call an emergency meeting and try to piece together who’s been lying.
The game has multiple win states: Two for the crewmates and one for the Impostor. Crewmates can win if they complete all tasks on the ship, or if they correctly guess the Impostor and vote him or her off the ship. The Impostors, on the other hand, will win if they manage to kill the rest of the crew before they can finish their tasks.
Playing as the crew boils down to a game of deduction and teamwork. You’ll have tools at your disposal like the Admin map and security cameras, both of which can be used to keep tabs on the rest of the crew and to keep track of what they’ve been up to. See anything suspicious and bring it up the next time someone calls for an emergency meeting.
The crew will also need to scramble to fix any of the impostor’s sabotages. Don’t forget that besides correctly guessing the Impostor the crew can win the game by completing all their tasks and making it to their objective. You’ll have to report any dead bodies you see, don’t believe everything you’re told, and always second guess anything remotely suspicious.
Playing as the Impostor presents a new set of challenges. Where once communication and transparency were once your best tools, as the Impostor they are now your greatest hurdles on the path to victory. The harder of the two roles, the Impostor relies on smoke and mirrors, cleverly framing other players and diverting blame towards those he seeks to eliminate.
As the Impostor your job is twofold: You need to kill enemy players and you need to grind their task completion to a halt. You can blend in like a chameleon, running tasks like a good crewmate while secretly sabotaging the ship. Frame other players for broken machinery and faulty work, or take a more direct, proactive approach, but beware; it’s risky:
The Impostor can also close doors and seal in members of the crew one by one. Doing so will undoubtedly raise suspicions (and alarms), but if you can get away with it it’s the faster approach. Have a getaway planned, using the vents to move about the ship as a means of quickly escaping or advancing toward other players from unexpected angles.
Does Among Us support cross-platform play?
Yes. Among Us is cross-platform. The game runs on PC, Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android. InnerSloth also plans to put the title on Xbox as well.
Players from any system will be able to join lobbies with friends no matter what they play the game on. With PC users, this extends to any launcher platform; Itch.io, Steam, and the Epic Games Store all share lobbies.
Among Us vs Minecraft
Though the two games are widely dissimilar and from wholly different developers, Among Us is often compared with the likes of Minecraft and Fortnite. The reason has less to do with core gameplay mechanics and more to do with how the three titles are competing for widespread popularity on social media. Which you end up playing with your friends depends on the experience they’re looking for.
While Among Us is a futuristic murder mystery, Minecraft is a massive sandbox game that focuses primarily on building, crafting, and exploration. While Among Us has elements of unpredictability and non-linearity, the objectives are always the same – root out the Impostor, or kill the crew. Minecraft does not have any direction whatsoever and leaves practically every aspect of the game to the players.
Minecraft can have some intense moments too. But, if you’re looking for a good game with high-energy, frenetic pacing and tons of players, Fortnite is still a great contender. Also incredibly popular, Fortnite is a battle royale shooter/builder where 100 players are in competition to be the last man standing. While that end goal bears resemblance to Among Us, Fortnite is a wholly different game.
Is Among Us safe for kids?
As far as content goes, Among Us has very little that parents might find dangerous for their kids. There’s cartoonish violence in a scary environment, and the game inherently centers on themes of deception. However, when compared to other popular games on the market, it’s very tame. Among Us might still be dangerous for other reasons, though; and these are reasons present in any online game.
Among Us is a social game, and while it’s great for kids and families to connect over, the game is also teeming with strangers. If your child enters an unknown lobby, there’s no way to safeguard who he or she will be playing with. Since the game does have a chat feature, they will be able to hear and communicate with whoever happens to be in the match as well.
Dress up as cute Pusheens
To spice up your next Among Us session, the Innersloth team has released its latest collaboration project. Crewmates and imposters can now dress up as a lovely Pusheen. Based on the internet phenomenon, players can now wear varying colors of Pusheen onesies as well as a couple of customization options. All these are available after purchasing the Pusheen Cosmicube at just 110 stars, although for a limited time only.
Other updates to the hit social deduction game include an overhauled main menu screen, which features a window showing the crewmates floating in space together with a sidebar for game options. Also, to celebrate its anniversary, players will be given a free Balloon Hat cosmetic. All they need to do is to log in. Similarly, new Birthday Cosmetics are added to the in-game store.
Deduction, trickery, and mayhem
Among Us is a great party game that lives up to the hype. Its intense multiplayer boasts intrigue and suspicion, with a cloak-and-dagger feel that’s both blood-pumping and oddly whimsical. The mobile app plays well, and recent additions continue to update the game with new maps and hotfixes. You can download it for free and witness the chaos unfold for yourself.
