The latest game to bring people together by tearing them apart is Among Us, an online party game where people try to guess which person in the group is secretly murdering everyone else. The game makes connecting with friends easier by ing some cross-platform play, but only to a point.
Among Us is actually a nearly two-year-old game, first releasing in November 2018. It's popularity has exploded in recent weeks, however, as Twitch streamers began to play Among Us and exposed others to it. In fact, the game has become so popular, developer InnerSloth announced they were canceling a sequel game to Among Us so they could work on new features for the current game. The mechanics of Among Us are familiar to those who have played other party games like Mafia or Werewolf. One person is randomly assigned to be the Imposter, and must murder a fellow crewmember of a spaceship without getting caught. Once the body is discovered, the players debate who the murderer is and vote one person off the ship, hoping to stop the Imposter before they can strike again.
One reason why Among Us has become so popular is because it is fairly accessible and offers a certain degree of cross-platform play. It's available for $5 on PC, Android, and iOS. Within this collection of platforms, cross-platform play is ed, allowing any group of friends with smart phones to easily connect. Among Us has an in-game text chat system for those who wish to use it, but recommend using some kind of voice chat for maximum communication and arguing. For those willing to brave a game with random people over voice chat, Among Us also has a dedicated Discord server with lobbies to group people by game.
Is Among Us on Consoles?
As for the console platforms, cancelled Among Us 2 will end up in the original game instead.
Among Us is yet another game that has sprung into popularity due to quarantine restrictions. It's simple mechanics makes it easy for gamers and non-gamers alike to use it. The cross-platform play between PC, Android and iOS means there's no awkward moments where a friend is left out because they're the one friend with an Android or vice versa. Among Us, by design, is a game that makes it as easy as possible for a person to pick it up and start accusing their friends of space murder.
Source: Inverse
Among Us is currently available on PC, iOS and Android.
