Teamwork, betrayal, murder, colorful suits, spaceship maintenance and being “sus”. All of these words relate to the recently popular video game, “Among Us.”
“Among Us” is an online game with a similar concept to the well-known party game “Mafia” (also known as “Werewolf”). Like “Mafia,” the majority of players in “Among Us” are innocent. Meanwhile, one or more players attempt to discreetly kill off everyone else.
In “Among Us,” the innocent crew members complete tasks around the spaceship, while the secret alien impostor tries to kill as many crew members as possible, before getting caught. When a crew member suspects someone of being suspicious or “sus,” they call an emergency meeting and everyone votes someone off the ship.
During the Halloween season, “Among Us” is a great way to hang out with friends while being socially distant.
Jaeger Christensen, president of the Thunderbird Esports club at Southern Utah University, said the club enjoys playing Among Us together.
“It really brings us together as a club and lets us meet new people,” said Christensen.
But clubs and friends aren’t the only ones being brought together through Among Us. Celebrities and popular YouTubers have been connecting with each other through the game, even inviting their fans to through social media.
K-Pop rapper BamBam tweeted a series of random letters with no context as an invitation to join his spaceship. Only a few lucky fans got to play, however, as a room has a maximum capacity of 10 players.
PWKTQQ
you know what it is😏
— BamBam (@BamBam1A) October 7, 2020
Among Us was originally created in 2018 by the indie game company InnerSloth. Now two years later, credit can be given to Twitch streamers for allowing Among Us to find its current fame.
Christensen finds it interesting how quickly Twitch streamers can affect the popularity of a game.
“I think it’s good inspiration for small game companies to try to make a game that gets popular,” said Christensen. “Because with Twitch, it only takes one popular streamer to get noticed as a game company.”
Twitch is a live streaming platform where viewers can watch gamers in real-time. In the past seven days, there have been over 24 million Twitch views for Among Us, according to TwitchTracker.
“I think we will start to see a lot more games rise in popularity and drop very quickly because of Twitch streamers,” Christensen continued. “I won’t be surprised when a new game takes the place of Among Us.”
Although the hype for Among Us will eventually die down, it is still the perfect way to safely hang out with friends during the coronavirus-filled Halloween season. The game is free on mobile or only $4.99 to be able to play on PC through Steam.
Story by: Tori Jensen
reporter@suunews.net
Photo courtesy of InnerSloth
