Picture this: You and your crew are stranded on a broken ship, in the middle of outer space, with nothing and nobody around to help. You all decide to split the repair work evenly, so that you might have a chance of making it back home. Everyone splits up and goes about their tasks. However, just when the work is getting started, one of your friends turns up dead in the storage room—murdered. There is an imposter in your crew, and if you can’t figure out who it is soon, you might never make it back home.
Among Us is an online game in which players try to distinguish crewmates from imposters on an alien ship. If you are a crewmate, your goal is to wander around the ship completing minigames, all while keeping an eye out for suspicious activity. Imposters, on the other hand, must try to quietly kill the other characters and deceive the living players into believing that they are good. When a dead body is found and reported, all living players meet up and discuss who they think to be the culprit. This person is executed, and the cycle repeats. The game is over when everyone is dead, all tasks are completed, or all imposters are exposed.
There are many features that make this game so fun and easy for its users. First, the games are relatively short. Even if I only have a few minutes in between zoom classes, I am able to play one or two before I have to go, so it’s the perfect way to fill gaps within my schedule. Second, it’s very easy to learn how to play. The controls and minigames are simple enough that anybody could pick it up and figure it out. The developers also included several different maps, as well as character customization, to keep things interesting as you continue to play. Lastly, Among Us has multiplayer capabilities. Each room comes with a code; all you have to do is share that code with your friends, and you are able to participate in the same online game. This makes it a great way to spend time with your friends during quarantine, when you may not be able to get together in person.
Among Us is rapidly growing in popularity as more and more people download the game and join the servers. What’s not to love, right? The avatars are simple and cute, the animations are funny, and it’s just challenging enough to keep you coming back for more. I enjoy being able to make alliances and interact with other crewmates, even though they occasionally stab me in the back—literally. Being an imposter is also fun because you have to carefully plan out how to isolate victims and convince the jury that you are innocent. Sometimes it’s one person’s word against another’s, and you have to take a chance and decide who you want to trust.
The social aspect of the game is my favorite feature. Even after you are killed, you are able to follow people as a ghost and talk to the other dead players. You get to watch everyone else try to find the killer—and it can be a very interesting process. People say funny stuff when they’re trying to throw others off their scent.
If you are looking for a new way to spend your time, I would suggest giving this game a try. It’s easy to jump into, and the concept is very enjoyable. I have gotten more than a few laughs from the other players. It has also been a good way to relax as the semester gets more difficult. Overall, I would recommend Among Us to any college student that is looking for a new way to pass the time.
You can get the game through your app store.