Photo by Natalie Sirof
The game “Among Us” was released in June 2018 by a game studio called Inner Sloth and has become the latest obsession among young adults. It is an app available on platforms such as iOS, Microsoft Windows, and Android. This space themed online game involves using teamwork to figure out who the impostors are while completing tasks and risking getting sabotaged or killed by the unknown impostors. “I can’t stop playing it with my friends. The suspense of not knowing who the Impostor is and possibly getting killed is exciting,” said Lanie Johansing (11).
Many compare it to the game Mafia. You start by picking a game to join with a max of ten players. You can make a private room for you and your friends or join a public game. Once you’re in, you can pick a color for your character, find a cool accessory like a cowboy hat or a flower, or even have a little pet! One awesome addition is the Halloween themed accessories such as jack-o-lantern hats or devil ears. Once you enter the game, you are told if you are an imposter or a crewmate. The majority are crewmates and there are anywhere from one to three imposters. If you are an imposter, you have to kill as many crewmates without getting caught or before the crewmates finish their tasks. The crewmates’ tasks are quick little missions to complete in order to defeat the imposters. Crewmates can call emergency meetings or report dead bodies found. In the chat you accuse people of being imposters and then vote people off who you think was the imposter. The rounds keep going until the imposter is voted off or the crew mates complete their tasks
McKenna Parker (12) says that she first learned of the game from someone who went viral on YouTube. She plays a few times a week and has encouraged other of her friends to download the game, too. It seems that a lot of the people downloading the game were encouraged to do so by their friends or have seen videos about it online. Justin Fang (12) has a lot of friends who play “Among Us.” Now, Justin likes to play with them every other day for a few hours. McKenna and Justin both had the same answer for what their favorite part of the game was.
“You get to earn the trust of your friends and stab them in the back as soon as they turn around” said Justin. McKenna agreed.
“Playing with friends, and then being able to break all trust we ever had, just like monopoly” said Mckenna.
“Among Us” is all around a fun game to play in your leisure time. It is a great way to safely play and hang out with friends during this pandemic.
