Among Us is a fun social deduction indie game from 2018 that we desperately needed in 2020 – Review

As the fervour for the Among Us starts to die off, let’s look at what makes this a great game.

For those who don’t know, Among Us is a social deduction party game where a group of adorable astronauts have to complete a set of tasks while also determining which member of the crew is the impostor and elect to have them ejected from the mission.

The impostor, on the other hand, is there to kill every member of the crew or sow the seeds of distrust so that the crew eliminate themselves by incorrectly ejecting crew members into the vacuum of space.

Anyone who’s played games like Werewolf or The Resistance, for example, will be familiar with the concept. Basically, you either lie about who you are to your friends or try and convince them that you’re not deceiving them.

The social deduction gameplay mechanics are fantastic and they lead to the chaotic shouting, distrust, hilarious mistakes, and Machiavellian deception that we love these types of games for.

Among Us is also really easy to play. It isn’t the first game to include the social deduction and deception element, but the gameplay and controls are so simple that people who don’t usually play video games can don’t need to have grown up with a controller in their hands or an outrageous K/D ratio.

This means that for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each, you and a group of friends who mightn’t normally play video games can have an incredible evening over Skype, Zoom, or Discord playing a game that can go from delirious laughter to furious shouting in a matter of seconds.

It’s a cheap game and this shows in its limitations. For example, there are currently only 3 maps for you to play on and they’re very dependent on the number of players you have as they’re different sizes. I know the social interaction does most of the heavy lifting, but eventually, you can fall into a routine as every player works out the most effective strategies for a given locale.

Among Us also does something that I think is almost unforgiveable in social multiplayer games; it eliminates players from the game. While dead players can still complete tasks and work towards helping their fellow crewmates complete the mission, you’re essentially a passenger waiting for the other players to finish the game.

Fortunately, the games are usually very short so even if you’re dead, you won’t be dead for too long. There’s also a plethora of settings and options you can tailor to how you and your friends like to play.

The Verdict

Among Us is a cheap and cheerful indie game that’s great if you have a good group of friends to play with. You can also play with strangers but I wouldn’t recommend it as you lose one of the game’s most enjoyable aspects; being able to outright lie to your friends.

Among Us was developed and published by Innersloth. It’s available on PC and mobile.