February 23, 2023Among Us Review (Is It Still Worth Playing in 2023?)

There are games that become popular at the right moment, and that’s exactly what happened with Among Us. Among Us, despite being originally released in 2018, captured our hearts in 2020, saved a lot of us from pandemic boredom, and became one of the best indie games in today’s market. So, continue reading our Among Us review to get a glimpse of what you’re getting into!

Among Us Review

When the COVID-19 outbreak took place in 2020, many of us were stuck at home doing anything and everything (well, except going outside because of safety and health restrictions, duh) to satiate our boredom. Because of this, Among Us finally took its long-awaited spotlight as one of the best online multiplayer games of all time. It changed how teens and adults alike get together in a time when you can’t just go out and meet anyone. Among Us saved us from all those boring Zoom and FaceTime calls.

Photo Credits to Steam

Among Us is an online multiplayer game where friends (and even strangers) can get together from all over the world to play a cute and funny 2D detective-murder game playing as funny-looking astronauts.

The mechanics of the game are quite simple enough that anyone and everyone can instantly understand them. Before, you could only play with 8 crewmates, but with the recent updates, which we’ll talk about more in a bit, you can now play with 12 crewmates. However, among those 12 crewmates, there are about one to three hidden imposters (which will depend on what settings you apply to the game). Imposters are chosen at random before the game starts. The imposters’ goal? Well, they’re out to secretly murder each and every crewmate without getting found. It’s a game of masterfully tricking your friends and making them believe that you’re innocent by pinning the blame on a different crewmate or acting coy and clueless about what’s happening. But as a crewmate, you must find out whether or not they’re lying, find holes in their alibis, and determine who’s telling the truth.

In the game, if you are assigned as a crewmate, you are tasked with finishing a set of mini-games to fill up your team’s shared progress bar to win. Every task you have to accomplish is relatively simple to perform on both your mobile device and computer. These different tasks can range from connecting different colored wires to the same color, swiping a security card, flipping switches inside the electrical room, or simply waiting for a file to be downloaded. Everyone can do these basic tasks well, except for the imposter who has to fake doing these tasks to seem “innocent.”

Now, what I enjoy about the game the most is when I get to play the imposter. Being an imposter gives you the exhilarating feeling that you must hide, kill, and lie to succeed. Murdering a crewmate is as simple as pressing a button, but acting like you’re surprised when you “find” the body is much harder than you think.

Photo Credits to Steam

As an imposter, you can fake doing tasks; you can jump through vents (but don’t let the crewmates see), turn off the lights for a chance to kill, and even sabotage the ship so that the crewmates will have a harder time finishing their mini-game tasks.

Any time a decapitated body of a 2D astronaut is found, the entire crew undergoes a meeting where they have to sniff out the imposter, and the imposters must use their brains and convincing powers to divert attention away from them. This is where it gets hard for the imposters because you have to make sure that your alibis match. If not, the crewmates will definitely catch on, and it’s game over for you.

These meetings are the only time the group can talk to each other. Dead crewmates are not allowed to talk because, duh, they’re dead already. The tone of these meetings can range from civil conversations about finding out who the murderous killer is to screaming matches as one crewmate pleads for their innocence against those who are pinning the crime on them.

Photo Credits to Steam

Among Us isn’t only about sniffing out the imposter, finishing the tasks, or murdering everyone; it’s about playing with your friends’ heads. If you’ve been playing with the same group of friends over and over, you’ll slowly start to see their patterns. Some of my friends become quite defensive when they’re imposters; some use reverse psychology to divert attention away from them, and some immediately put the blame on others. There were even times I’ve played with other groups that were stupid enough to look sus even if they were not imposters. It takes a lot of arguing and mental psychology to find out who the imposter truly is. You have to remember the right things and ask the right questions to be able to catch their lie without making it obvious. But as an imposter, you have to be (or act) smart and convincing enough to answer.

As an imposter, you have to know how to play the right cards. But as a crewmate, you have to figure out who is playing those cards. Among Us is a deep mind game that if you’re smart enough to play with your friends’ minds, you can easily win; unless your friends are also good at playing with your mind, then you can try and outbrain each other.

This game also works so well because of the layout of the game. Before the recent updates, we used to have three maps, namely: The Skeld, Polus, and Mira HQ. But now, we have a new map, which is The Airship, and another one coming soon (I hope). The default map, The Skeld, is one of my favorites as both a crewmate and an imposter because it’s quite balanced. Whereas the two other maps, Polus and Mira HQ, are much harder to play in because of how large they are. However, if you’re an imposter, these two big maps are heaven because each location is so spread out that finding a dead body is much harder, which is a big advantage for the imposter to flee the scene without getting found.

But what I find about the game to be an excellent feature is the ability to tweak the game’s settings. You can adjust how hard or easy the game is. This will help if you want to adjust the game to fit first-time players or master manipulators and killers.

Among Us also changed our perception of the word “sus.” Before the game, it was usually associated with homophobic and racist definitions. However, the players of the game made it into more of a joke, as it means that someone is acting SUSpicious, and they might be the imposter. Aside from that, Among Us also changed how gatherings were held amidst the pandemic. Because of this, in no time, Among Us rose through the ranks and became one of the most popular multiplayer games of that time.

And just recently, the developers of Among Us, Innersloth, released new updates to make the game even better.

Final Verdict

Among Us is a perfect balance of mystery-deduction and mind games that will play with both your mind and feelings. This game helped a lot of us out of boredom during the initial COVID-19 outbreak. It’s both a hilarious and frustrating game that will leave you feeling dumbfounded if you get ejected, even if you weren’t the imposter. Among Us is definitely a game that will not only enhance your deductive skills but also your manipulating skills. So, if you’re a crewmate, good luck figuring out who the imposter is. But if you’re an imposter, do your best to manipulate your way to success.

That’s a wrap! We hope you enjoyed reading our Among Us review!

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