Among Us took the world by storm during 2020 and doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon. But just what is Among Us?
It's an online multiplayer game where you and your friends try to save your spaceship from being taken over by imposter crew members. Because of its simple premise, the game turned out to be a perfect fit during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. You can play a fun game with strangers or with friends and family who may be hundreds or thousands of miles away. Adding to the simplicity, it can be played on various different platforms. It's on PC, mobile, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. The cost is minimal ($5 on most platforms) or nonexistent if you happen to be on mobile.
The simplicity of the game makes it easy for gamers and non-gamers alike to enjoy.
Wait a Minute… So What is Among Us?
Put simply…Among Us is a silly, fun video game about killing your friends and then getting thrown out of an airlock.
It is a multiplayer online game all about deduction and covertness. Created in 2018 by a team of only three people at Innersloth, it exploded in popularity in 2020.
How to Play Among Us
The game allows for between four to ten players and is set on one of three (soon to be four) spaceships. When the match starts, each person is randomly assigned to be either an innocent crewmate or a devious Impostor.
As an Impostor, you are infiltrating the ship disguised as a crewmate and are trying to sabotage the ship and covertly murder the crewmates. Meanwhile, crewmates have simple tasks to perform at various parts of the ship while keeping their eyes peeled for signs of treachery.
Once a crewmate either finds a dead body or has proof of deception, they can call an emergency meeting. These meetings include everyone else on the ship, whether Impostor or crewmate. This meeting is the only time players can talk to each other during the game, and it can become a lively debate! (Unless, of course, you're on voice chat like Discord playing with folks, but even then you aren’t supposed to talk unless in a meeting.)
The Impostor must feign innocence while steering the suspicions to someone else. Everyone then votes, and someone may be voted off the ship to die in space. Hopefully it was the Impostor! But…that may not always be the case.
The game is generous enough to tell you if the body floating out into the galaxy was an Impostor or crewmate. Then either the game is over, or you go back to the ship to continue performing tasks or murdering.
Adding to the fun of the game, you can purchase cute hats or costumes and even pets for your little astronaut. Personalizing your character with colors and costumes is a minor thing but provides for a lot of additional enjoyment. The community has even created their own custom Among Us game modes and rules to extend the fun.
Why is Among Us Suddenly So Popular?
There are a lot of reasons for the recent popularity explosion of Among Us. Although the game is a few years old now, prominent Twitch streamers (most notably Sodapoppin) discovered it and introduced it to their followers in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
United States politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez famously played the game as part of her campaign to get people to vote in the 2020 election. Moreover, most people felt (physically and emotionally) socially isolated, which created the perfect atmosphere for an easily accessible multiplayer game. (Also like Animal Crossing: New Horizons earlier in the year.)
We mentioned the creative minds in the community coming up with mini-games and rulesets that you can play. Plus, the online modding community has been creating some great downloadable add-ons like proximity chat!
Where do I Play Among Us?
One of the great perks of Among Us is that it is cross-platform. This means that you can play with your friends, without any additional steps, even if one of you is on the PC, one on Nintendo, one on an iOS device, one on an Android phone, and one on Xbox. It doesn’t matter! This makes for an easy transition for non-gamer friends or relatives to play along with their gamer-savvy friends as well. Grandparents can play on their phones with their grandchildren miles away who might be playing on their Nintendo, for example.
Here is where to currently find Among Us for download:
Steam |Epic Games | Itch.io | Apple App Store | Google Play | Nintendo Switch | Microsoft Store
If you are looking for people to play with, Join our Discord server and chat with lots of great people. We even have Monday community game nights, and Among Us is definitely in our rotation!