Online game "Among Us"

Among Us is a real phenomenon, one of today's most popular multiplayer games, where hundreds of thousands of people hang out every day. What's so special about it, what's the secret of success, how to play it and win, and how the project will develop further? About all this we tell in our review.

But first, a little bit about the history of the game, which is like a happy embodiment of the classic American dream - start small, and eventually conquer the world and make millions. Among Us was developed by a small and again American studio called InnerSloth, which actually decided to make a space version of Dmitry Davydov's cult board game "Mafia" - but with its own ideas, of course.

Work on the game began in 2017, and a year later it was released on iOS and Android. And it went virtually unnoticed. But the authors were not discouraged and continued to develop, refine the project and even released a version for personal computers. And they were rewarded. About a year later Among Us became popular thanks to the streaming on Twitch and Youtube. And then there was a coronavirus pandemic, when everyone went on self-isolation and was lazing around in their homes.

The multiplayer space "Mafia" came just at the right time - Among Us also began to spread like a virus, it conquered the sales charts and broke attendance records. In the fall of 2020, it was played by about 500 million users around the world, and the simultaneous peak of players in Steam reached 447 thousand.

It remains popular even now. After the game was given away for free on the Epic Game Store this spring, up to 2 million users (!) played the PC version every day. Then the figure fell off, but it's still hovering around 300,000 players - that's pretty decent. The game was also critically acclaimed - Among Us garnered a slew of awards, including Breakthrough of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards, as well as Best Mobile Game and Best Multiplayer Game at the industry's most prestigious ceremony, The Game Awards.

What is the essence of the game? As we've already said, Among Us takes the team-based board game "Mafia". Only there players sit at a table, lay out cards and take on different roles - doctor, detective and others. And someone becomes a gangster who has to stealthily kill and destroy. Then the town falls asleep, and the players begin to figure out who the criminal is. And in Among Us the action unfolds not in a mafia-ruled city, but on a spaceship, on an airship, a research base, or at the headquarters of the MIRA HQ organization. And we catch not gangsters, but traitors, who, to all appearances, are aliens in disguise.

The most classic and popular version is when the events take place just on the spaceship, which according to the story broke down and is in distress. Accordingly, players as crew members must perform various tasks - throw away trash, repair wiring, examine the sample, clean the compartment, download data, start the reactor, supply energy, and so on. Tasks are divided into quick tasks, which are done instantly, and long tasks, which require a certain amount of time to complete. And many are various mini-games.

However, not all of the players (and there can be 4 to 15) are willing to fix the ship. Before the start of the round, the game randomly determines which of them will be a crew member and which will be a traitor (there can be from one to three of them). So, the task of the traitors is on the contrary to create sabotage (you can lock one of the rooms, turn off the lights, break the connection, and so on) and to kill the crew members, trying to do it as stealthily as possible so as not to fall suspicion on them.

And anyone can fall under suspicion. As soon as someone discovers a dead crewmember or notices that someone is behaving too suspiciously, he's free to start voting - only during this procedure can players talk among themselves to discuss and analyze what's happening and try to deductively identify a traitor in their ranks. If they suspect someone, they begin to vote on whether or not to expel him (or, in fact, to destroy him by throwing him into outer space, into lava, off a cliff, or from an airship). And then find out if the exiled person was really a traitor. Although you can set up the game so that it is not known until the end of the round - it's even more interesting.

Naturally, players killed by a traitor and upgraded to "ghost" status cannot vote - they are free to continue performing tasks or sabotage, depending on their role, but they cannot communicate with other living crew members - only the same victims are allowed to talk. However, the vote may not be - if the players do not agree and more than half refused to vote, then so far no one will be banished. In this case, the game continues.

In the end, the crew members win if they complete all their tasks or get rid of all the traitors. And those - if they secretly kill a sufficient number of astronauts and their number is equal to the number of traitors, or destroy the ship / airship / station / base by arranging global sabotage - you can, for example, cut off the oxygen or melt the reactor of the starship. In the latter case, the crew members can try to eliminate the sabotage within the allotted time - usually 30 or 50 seconds.

As you can see, the rules are simple enough. And considering that Among Us has no special progression system and it doesn't flaunt fancy graphics (on the contrary, it looks quite simple), a reasonable question may arise - well, what's so fascinating about it all? Well, first of all, the picture here is still not simple, but stylish and funny - especially cool look animations associated with murders, missions and sabotage.

Second, the very atmosphere of tension and general suspicion is catchy. No one knows who the game will choose as a crew member or a traitor. Therefore, no one can be trusted here and you have to act with caution - it both turns you on and frightens you. In any case, the game generates strong emotions. There are often funny situations and dramatic ones. It's hard to see how a man who was voted into the lava turns out to be innocent. Or how his pets react to the death of their owner. The thing is, before the round starts, everyone can choose the pet they're going to run with. And there are a lot of podcasts online of how a dog, cat, or other pet, looks sadly, almost in tears in their eyes at the void at the scene of their owner's death. It's a real must-see.

In addition, Among Us is a very accessible game. It has democratic system requirements, general rules that are clear to everyone, no global timer, no progress system and other role-playing elements that need to be studied, no other restrictions that tie your hands - you can basically do whatever you want. Therefore, all users are roughly on an equal footing, which is especially important for multiplayer entertainment.

And also Among Us allows you to flexibly customize it to your own needs. You can, for example, change the viewing range, the player's speed, reduce or increase the time after which traitors can make the next kill (initially the pause is 50 seconds), turn off the light on the level so that the crew members do not see too well through half of the map. You can even make your own rules and come up with separate entertainment like hide-and-seek or sleigh games - in this sense, Among Us is very similar to Fortnite in its creative freedom.

Finally, you can customize your appearance here as well. We've already said that players choose their own pet before the start of a match. But you can also try on all sorts of hats and costumes - Christmas, Halloween, timed for something else or just funny and bright. Some are free, others you have to buy. There are no benefits, but you can make your character unique and recognizable.

But perhaps the most important thing that appeals to Among Us is that despite the general accessibility and clarity of the rules, there are many nuances that must be taken into account when playing as traitors, and when playing as a crew member. For example, it is important for traitors to fake and mimic missions so that they will not be suspected. Therefore, at the beginning of the game, it is important to pay attention to the general tasks (either everyone has them, or no one has them) and the counter of their performance. It fills up gradually as the crew members successfully repair the ship's compartments and do other quests. So, if the counter is not always updated, you can safely fake common quests, and if, on the contrary, it is always filled, it is better to imitate them together with a large number of people, to get lost, so to speak, in the crowd. When there are no such quests in your list of errands, however, it is by no means possible to fake them.

And the crew members, in turn, should pay attention to whether the progress counter fills up after one of the characters sort of passes the quest - if it does not update, then it was imitation. The same if someone suspiciously long to do a sort of quick task - there is also something wrong. In general, when playing for the crew members it is important to be paranoid - that is, to watch, observe and suspect everyone. For example, pay attention to the way the other players move: often, impostors, who can only imitate the tasks, chaotically change course, rushing and abruptly close to the others. In this case, it is important to follow such a player and the one he is chasing, or better yet, find someone else to witness.

In addition, it is better to try to stay close to those who have already proven their innocence. And if he himself doubts you, you can prove that you're not a traitor by performing so-called visible tasks - it can be scanning, dumping garbage, shooting at asteroids and others. The animation of their performance is visible to everyone, which means that everyone understands that you are really doing quests, rather than imitating them.

It is true that traitors can go for tricks and sabotage first, and then actually fix it in front of everyone - and everyone will also seem to think that it's peaceful crew members who want to fix all the malfunctions. And then at the vote, they'll remember that we saw him fixing the reactor. That's why they say you can't trust anybody.

If the person, on the contrary, actively accused you, then do not hurry to fix it - everyone will think first of all on you. On the other hand, if you are not the one who has been accused (and you are the traitor!), then you know that that person is innocent. You can calmly kill the accuser - then the peaceful crew member will be kicked out.

Traitors are also important to properly use the vents to quickly move around the map. This allows for ambushes - for example, in a room with common tasks, where there will be many players and therefore you can quickly kill someone and blend in with the crowd. Or you can kill near the hatch to immediately escape from the scene. True, only traitors know how to use the vent, so if someone noticed you jumping into the vent, you will be immediately accused.

But even if someone saw you kill another, if you know all the subtleties of the game, if you act brazenly and decisively, and if you take care of your alibi in advance, then professional experienced traitors can convince others even in this situation that the witness is lying. There's even such a clever but risky tactic as "self-reporting" - you first kill a crew member and then report it yourself. No one in their right mind would denounce their own crime, would they? - The rest of the crew will think, and they'll clear you of all suspicions. But if you abuse such tactics, the paranoid crew members will start to squint in your direction with unkind glances. So it's important to prepare an alibi and make sure no one saw you hanging around the victim just before the body was found.

As you can see, Among Us is a game that, on the one hand, is understandable and accessible, and on the other hand, there are many interesting nuances, which together ensure such mass popularity. In this case, importantly, the authors continue to develop it, taking into account, among other things, and feedback, the wishes of the public. At first they wanted to make a second part, but then decided to implement new ideas and ideas in the current version. It is already known that they will update the graphics, add achievements, linking accounts, an achievement system, introduce a new, fifth map, "Hide and Seek" mode and new roles - the sheriff and the scientist. In addition, the game is planned to be released on PlayStation and Xbox.

October 2021