A new game has become the latest craze on social-media. Among Us is a multiplayer game created by InnerSloth game studio. It was released back in June 15, 2018, so why is it that now it’s gaining all this attention andpopularity?
To understand this, we first have to look at the game itself. Among Us is a game that resembles many similar party games such as Assassin and Mafia, but instead it is online and easily downloadable either on a smartphone for free or on Steam for the price of $5. In a group of 4 to 10, the players are separated to be either a crewmate or an imposter. There can be 1 to 3 designated “imposter(s)” whose goal is to sabotage and kill off the other players. The “crewmates” job is to finish all their tasks without getting killed and to figure out who the imposter is. Whenever a dead body is reported by a player, the crewmates and imposter must then discuss among themselves to determine who is the imposter. At the end of the discussion, each player can choose to vote someone out or skip voting that round and whoever gets the most votes is ejected from the game.
This game is one of deception and betrayal, but a whole lot of fun as players start pointing fingers at each other. Part of its appeal is how players can play with others. Everyone knows that it’s much more fun to play with others than by yourself. You have the option to play with strangers by looking for open public games, or you can make a private room and share your code to play with friends and/or family. This multiplayer function of the game is a huge part of Among Us’ massive popularity because a community of people can come together and play.
Another aspect contributing to the popularity of Among Us is the gaming community. It first started gaining popularity when Twitch streamer Chance “Sodapoppin” Morris began to stream himself playing it in July. From there other gamers on platforms like Twitch and Youtube have joined in on streaming their games. Soon thousands of viewers tuned in to watch and then began to play themselves. Even Congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) got into the action and streamed herself playing the game on Twitch to about 435 thousand viewers. This game has reached stardom in the meme community as well with many jokes being about the betrayal and discussions that go on throughout the game.
This game could not have chosen a better time to gain popularity now in 2020. I think it is no coincidence either. During our time in quarantine and our continued social-distancing policies, Among Us is the best way to bond with friends and family even if we can’t be with them physically. All players need is a smartphone or tablet and a stable internet connection. Interestingly enough, before the game started gaining popularity, the creators were already thinking of working on Among Us 2. However, once it started to gain more attention, the creators decided to work on improving the original instead. Fans can look forward to new updates to the game such as new maps, a friend feature, an account system, and colorblind support. Also new features to be added will the ability to report other players who might be hackers or inappropriate accounts. This will be a helpful feature because Among Us has suffered from hacker attacks once they started becoming popular.
This game may have had a slow beginning, but now it has chosen the best time to come out into the spotlight during this social-distancing era and has found its target audience.