After completing your task in electrical, you head into storage to refill a fuel tank, but instead, you are confronted with the dead body of your purple crewmate. With no one else around you, reporting the body would instantly make the other players call you suspicious or  “sus”, and claim you “self-reported”.  Hoping for the best despite having no alibi, you finally report the body, and the discussion begins over who “Among Us” is the imposter(s). 

“Among Us” is a multiplayer online deduction game where players perform tasks while simultaneously trying to determine who the imposter is on the spaceship. It is the imposter’s job to stop them from finishing their tasks and kill everyone off whilst lying to assure they are not suspected by any of the other players.

“I started playing because some of my friends wanted me to and I can lie really well when I’m the imposter,” sophomore Alex Thrash said. “I really enjoy how you actually have to be smart and think things through.”

Each game is played with four to 10 players with one to three of them being imposters. Once the game starts, a position is assigned and players must act accordingly. The crewmate role, however, is paired with the paranoia of being killed every time another player walks into the room where a task is being performed.

Free on the App Store and on Google Play, the game is available for download on mobile. However, to play on a PC, “Among Us” costs $5 on Steam. For newcomers, this is especially great as the game allows crossplay so that people on different devices can play together with friends.

“Among Us” has been around for two years but is just now gaining popularity due to influences from social media, Twitch, and Youtube.

“The game also requires no gaming background or skill, allowing anyone to pick up and play,”  senior Dominick Smith said.

In addition to the simplicity of “Among Us” gameplay, the opening screen even offers instructions for first-time players. However, when a new player chooses to skip the instructions, veteran players in the chat may explain what to do if the lobby joined is relatively nice. But on the opposite end, if a new gamer ends up in a room full of not-so-nice players, newbies are usually the first voted off the ship. 

When a dead body is found in the game, or someone calls an emergency meeting, players are allowed to discuss who they think may be the imposter and either vote someone off or skip the vote until more evidence is collected. During this time it is the imposter’s job to convince the crewmates they are safe to keep on the ship.

 The game settings are versatile as speed selection, discussion time, map, and other features can be adjusted by the host. While the in-game character design is simple, players are allowed to pick their own colors and hats. The different hats players can choose from is an opportunity to show one’s personality to all the players in the lobby with hat choices ranging from cowboy hats to toilet paper, anyone can find something suitable to them. However, further customization such as “pets” and “skins” require in-app purchases. Having a color that players mainly use in the game is enjoyable, but as the game has gained popularity, a stigma has formed with each of the colors. For example, during emergency meetings, red is almost always an imposter and one of the first voted off. Voting off players without solid evidence that they are the imposter is a common occurrence in “Among Us”

“I hate that some people use the emergency meeting button to mess around,” senior Isabella Franco said. “I immediately get the whole group to vote that person off because it’s just annoying.”

While the use of Discord is an option for those playing with friends that want to speak vocally, the mobile chat feature is difficult to use as the horizontal keyboard covers the majority of the screen for mobile players. This makes group discussions tricky but not impossible. 

“The interactions with others become extremely fun and crazy because of the games fast pace and lack of communication, making meetings a hilariously delusional nightmare,” Smith said.

With three different maps, new players each game, and the imposter’s continuous sabotaging, “Among Us” is definitely not an imposter in the ranks of great games.

“People are tired of complex games; this one is getting popular because it’s simple and fun,” junior Aaron Soto said.