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If your kid has been calling everything they don’t like “sus” lately, they’re probably playing Among Us. In Among Us slang, “sus” means “suspicious,” a word that sums up the appeal of the multiplayer social deduction game perfectly: It’s all about mistrust, misdirection, and paranoia. But in a fun way.
Released in 2018 to little acclaim or interest, Among Us suddenly exploded over the last few months. Millions of kids are playing it, watching other kids play it, and memeing about it. Among Us has become so popular that a recent Twitch stream of the game with congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been viewed over 4.5 million times. If AOC’s get-out-the-vote effort actually works, Among Us may help decide the next president.
If you’re interested, here are some top AOC Among Us moments, compiled for us by the Washington Post; if you’re totally lost, keep reading and we’ll explain everything.
So, what kind of game is it?
If you’ve ever played flesh-and-blood party games Werewolf or Mafia, you’ll be right at home with Among Us. In it, four to ten players take on the roles of menial workers on a spaceship, completing routine tasks to keep everything running smoothly. But one or two of the players are secret impostors, intent on murdering the crew. With a killer/killers stalking them, the crew meets to discuss who might be a traitor, and if enough people pin the same player, he or she is ejected out of the airlock and into space… which is great, unless you pick the wrong person.
The mechanics of the game are not that important. It’s really a game about interacting with the other players. The impostors try to divert suspicion onto innocent crew members, while the workers are busy trying to “sus” out the killer and keep suspicion off themselves. It’s hilarious and awesome to get together with friends virtually and try to trick them into accusing others of crimes, or try to determine which of your friends is a good enough liar to get away with space-murder.
Like most online games, it’s possible to slip into a session with a bunch of randos, but it’s not terribly fun. You really need to share voice chat and know the people involved to get the most out of Among Us, which is probably why your kid is addicted.
Play it a few times and you’ll get it. I joined a couple games with my kid and some of his friends and immediately got into the spirit. Turns out, old people like me are really good at deceiving children. Must be all that practice with the whole “Santa” thing.
Why is it so popular?
Among Us jumped to the top of online streaming charts at first because a handful of well-known gamers started playing it publicly, but it “stuck” because it’s the perfect game for social distancing. The barrier for entry is very low—it’s free for mobile and only five bucks on PC—and it doesn’t take a ton of concentration or video game dexterity.
Instead of being about perfect reflexes like a shooter, Among Us is about social interaction. In a time when kids (and grownups) can’t hang out together, it’s a perfect stress reliever and a great way to interact with pals.
Is Among Us here to stay?
In spite of its massive popularity, I doubt Among Us will be one of those perennially popular online games like Minecraft or Counter-Strike. According to my 13 year-old, the game is already slipping in popularity from a few weeks ago. I mean, parents know about it now!
And, with all due respect to AOC’s attempts to get young people to vote, when politicians start glomming onto a trendy kid thing, it sounds a little like a death knell. So now is the time to check it out.
Among Us is an online multiplayer social deduction game from developer InnerSloth, similar to Mafia or Werewolf. You can play with four to 10 people -- either people you know, or online with strangers.
In the game, you play as a crew member aboard a spaceship, sky headquarters or planet base, attempting to keep your ship together and return back to Earth. But one crew member has been replaced by a parasitic shape-shifting alien who wants to eliminate the rest of the crew before the ship reaches home. Problem is, the imposter looks just like everyone else, and will sabotage the ship, sneak through vents, deceive fellow players and try to frame others, all in an attempt to remain undetected and kill off the rest of the crew. (If you have more players, you can choose to have more than one imposter, too. Here's a guide to be the best imposter you can be.)
Meanwhile, the non-alien crew members must perform tasks to fix up the ship, and can't talk unless a death is reported. Then, the surviving crew can openly debate through chat who they think the imposter is, and make their best guess for who to vote off the ship. If the imposter is voted off, the crew wins. But if the group accidentally votes off a crew member, everyone goes back to maintaining the ship until another body is found, and they vote again.
How many people can play Among Us together?
You can play Among Us with a party of four to 10 people.
Where is the Among Us sequel?
While the developer InnerSloth had planned Among Us 2, in September, the studio decided to cancel it and instead focus on expanding the content offered in Among Us. The developers said the decision was made due to the recent spike in popularity for the game, according to a blog post.
"All of the content we had planned for Among Us 2 will instead go into Among Us 1," the post said. "This is probably the more difficult choice because it means going deep into the core code of the game and reworking several parts of it. We have lots of things planned and we're excited to bring new content to everyone as you continue to enjoy playing."
New content planned includes new servers, colorblind support, a friends/account system and a new stage, but there is no ETA for when these changes may arrive.
For more gaming, check out all the best online games to play with your friends from home this fall, the 30 best iPad games, and every Apple Arcade game now available to pay on your Apple devices.
Searching for the best Among Us wallpapers? Check out our collection of 18+ top Among Us wallpapers and backgrounds hand-picked by our commu...
