Among Us

Chiara Douglas, Arts and Entertainment Editor

Join your crewmates in a space-themed and multiplayer game of laughter and deception! The very widespread and popular game Among Us created by InnerSloth, an Indie gaming company, explores the importance of teamwork and unpredictability.

Among Us allows players to work together to expose an imposter. When opening the app, players have the option to be randomly placed into a game, they can use a specific code, or they can create their own game and invite their friends. Once you join a game, a premeditated amount of imposters are automatically chosen, and the rest are made crewmates. In an average one to five minutes, a minimum of four players go head to head in a battle between exposing the imposter and finding everyone before it’s too late. Similar to the board game Clue, crewmates complete assigned tasks like uploading data and swiping cards, and the imposter(s) try to eliminate their victims without getting caught. Once a dead body is reported by the crewmates, all players, including the imposter, are brought to a different screen where they can debate and try to reveal the imposter in order to win the game, but if you leave the game early, it is virtually ruined for everyone playing… Many people leave at the start of the game, which affects the amount of players going in, and others quit in the middle of the game, because they didn’t get the position they wanted or they died. This ultimately gives false clues to other crewmates, and can even end a whole match.

Originally released in June of 2018, the well-known video game didn’t hit its peak popularity until Chance Morris, also known as “Sodapoppin” online, began streaming the game during the summer of the pandemic. As the streamer gained more views, influencers like James Charles, PewDiePie, JC Caylen, and many more began creating content on YouTube, causing more admiration. Gillian Gray, a senior at West Springfield High School, reflected on her nights spent enjoying the suspenseful game. “I can play with my friends and overall have a great time. Also, the mix between crew mates and imposters is a fun way to mess with your friends when playing.” Another senior added, “I can play for up to three hours!”

Among Us has gained so much popularity, discord servers with contributors as large as ninety-eight thousand emerged, allowing teenagers from across the world to connect and socialize in a time where in-person contact is looked down upon. Meme pages on Twitter attract fans of the game and allow them to express their creative side, and Tik Tok hashtags gaining more than thirteen billion views continue to spread the word about the addictiveness of the game. Twitch fans have watched more than two-hundred million hours of gameplay on the platform, and according to InnerSloth, the game has been downloaded over one-hundred million times since its low engagement in 2018, and has at least sixty million users playing every day. 

This unique and skillful game can be found on Windows, and is also free on IOS and Android. Get gaming, and don’t get caught!