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Behind the hype of ‘Among Us’

Behind+the+hype+of+Among+Us
According to steamcharts.com, “Among Us” had over 400,000 concurrent players in the month of September on Steam alone. Photo by Samuel Hilsden

“Among Us” is a game that has recently taken off in popularity and I am here to give you a review of the game before you join the trend. 

In the game “Among Us,” you join a group of 4-10 players in a space station, but one of the players is randomly selected as an imposter. While the crew mates go around the map completing different tasks, the imposter’s goal is to eliminate everyone on the map without getting discovered. This makes for a strategic and suspenseful game very different from most games available to play. 

Because the imposter is at a severe disadvantage in man power, they have a variety of different abilities that can help them win if used correctly. One of these abilities called “venting” allows the imposter to move between different rooms on the map undetected and without being seen by other players. This allows for many different strategies to win: the imposter could eliminate a player, then vent to another nearby room on the map so they are not seen anywhere near the body.

Another ability the imposter has is sabotaging. This employs another strategy the imposter can use to win as this allows them to close doors between rooms, turn off the lights, or cause an emergency task that the other crewmates need to fix in order to stay alive. “One strategy I like to use is to eliminate a player on one side of the map, then sabotage the other side. This causes all the crewmates to rush to the side of the emergency, which allows me to get away from the body so I don’t look suspicious,” said Ryan Shubert, senior.


Body reported screen, Photo by Samuel Hilsden

If you join as a crewmate, your job is to go around the map to complete your tasks while also being on alert for any suspicious activities by another player. It is also important that you report dead bodies when you come across them. This gives you and your fellow crewmates the chance to vote off someone who is suspected of being the imposter without needing to use your limited number of emergency meetings. In order for someone to get voted off or ejected from the game, they have to receive the majority vote. In order to vote effectively, it is important crewmates talk to all and agree on a single person using the chat feature. Otherwise, you risk not voting anyone off and giving the imposter a greater chance of staying alive. The imposter can also chat amongst the crewmates to try and draw attention away from themselves onto another player.

For the crewmates to win without voting the imposter off, they have to all work together to complete all of their tasks before the imposter eliminates enough people to win the game. If a crewmate is eliminated by an imposter, but still has not finished all of their tasks, they can still help the team by completing them as a ghost, which is the games version of an active spectator. This allows for players to continue and finish the match without being aggravated that they were eliminated early, a major strong point of the game.

For the imposter to win, they have to eliminate all players except for the number of players equal to the number of active imposters. This causes a split in the vote, making it impossible for the crewmates to win the game. This is why it is important for crewmates to vote effectively and not be reckless when voting players off. The imposter can also win if the crewmates fail to complete an emergency task caused by sabotaging.


Crewmate victory screen, Photo by Samuel Hilsden

Overall, many people have been finding the game enjoyable; hence, its recent take off in popularity. Owen Flack, senior, said, “It is a great game to play with friends and is much more unique than any of the bigger titles such as “Call of Duty” or “Fortnite”.” However, due to the games mechanics of trying to single someone out as the imposter, players can get annoyed when they get singled out especially if they are not the imposter. Tyler Captain, senior, said, “The game can cause a love hate relationship between friends as false accusations can start arguments.”

The game “Among Us” is currently available on Steam for $4.99 or in the Google Play and App Store on mobile devices for free. The game is also cross compatible, making it easy to connect with and play with friends on different platforms. It also has multiple maps and modes allowing you to play the game in whatever custom format you and your friends prefer preventing the game from getting boring too quickly.

Samuel Hilsden, Online Editor

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Behind the hype of ‘Among Us’