Among Us

Pros

• Cross-platform gaming means that players with any system or console can play with other people.
• Players are randomly assigned as either a crewmate or imposter each round, which keeps the game fresh.
• Numerous ways to win for both imposters and crewmates.

Cons

• Limited number of actions regardless of which role you are assigned.
• Some players dislike the lack of voice communication, but this works with the game's atmosphere.

Among Us is an online multiplayer game where you are assigned as either a crewmate or imposter. Crewmates seek to fix the spaceship and get home safely. Imposters attempt to kill crewmates or sabotage the ship. The game can be quite difficult as communication is limited between players, so finding out who the imposter is takes skillful detective work.

Different Roles

Among Us randomly assigns all players with one of two roles. The majority of players will be crewmates. These are players who work together as a team to fix the ship. This can include maintenance on the reactor or communication systems, ensuring the oxygen system is good and other tasks as required. You can also hold emergency meetings to determine who the imposter is and vote them out.

The other role is that of the imposter. There are one to three imposters per game depending on how many people are playing. More people means more imposters. The imposter can't fix equipment, but they can sabotage systems to either destroy the ship or make repairs harder. They also have a fake list of tasks to make it look like their working.

Imposters have many unique skills. They can hide in vents to get around the ship faster and to escape detection. Imposters are also able to murder crewmates. This must be done in secret. If the other players discover who the imposter is, then they can vote him or her out of the ship.

How to Win

Winning the game depends on your role. If you're a crewmate, then you win by fixing the ship or getting rid of all imposters. You will be given a list of tasks to complete that will get your ship up and running again. While splitting up and try to do as many tasks as possible seems smart, this makes it easier for the imposter to kill each player without being detected.

If you're the imposter, then your objectives are a little more creative. The most direct way to win is to murder crewmates. You don't need to take out everyone. You simply need to reduce the number of crewmates until they match the number of imposters. For example, if there are two imposters, then you need to kill all but two crewmates to win.

You can also sabotage the ship. You can create enough sabotages that time runs out and the crewmates lose. It's also possible to completely destroy the ship by sabotaging the reactor or oxygen system, which leads to all crewmates dying from lack of oxygen.

Random Assignment

There is no way to choose whether you're a crewmate or imposter. The game chooses for you and it's completely random. There are currently no known factors that influence the role assignment. It doesn't matter how many games you've played, how long you've been a certain role or if you won or lost the last round.

While some players might get annoyed by this, this is a good decision as it allows each player to try both roles. Not only that, but it makes it harder to determine who the imposter is because it should be different each time. Crewmates are usually told how many imposters are on the ship, but that's the only thing they'll know.

Actions

There are various places to go on the ship, such as the medical unit, communication section, reactor and so on. At the same time, some players have shown frustration from only having a few actions. Each role has different actions that they can perform.

If you are a crewmate, then you only have two actions. You can use certain buttons, tools and equipment in your vicinity, or you can report a dead body if you find one. This places all the players in an emergency meeting where they vote on who the imposter is. If the vote is correct, then the imposter is thrown out.

Be careful during emergency meetings. This is one of the best ways to get rid of imposters if you are correct. At the same time, you can just as easily vote off a fellow crewmate. This would make things easier for the imposter as now they have one less person to kill.

You have more actions as an imposter, but even then it's not many. They are also able to use some equipment and report a dead body, which might take suspicion off them. Imposters can also crawl into vents, sabotage equipment and kill crewmates. This gives the imposter five different actions.

While the number of actions are limited, they can be used to great effect. You will discover this as you see what equipment and tools you can use around the ship.

Discovering the Imposter

Finding out who the imposter is seems impossible unless you directly witness them killing a crewmate or happen to vote them off by chance. Experienced players know that there are multiple ways to determine who the imposter is, and this makes the game far more detailed than it initially seems.

If the imposter recently killed a crewmate, then consider scanning nearby players with the Vital Signs Machine. The imposters heart rate is elevated briefly. Another way to discover who the imposter is would be to have every player scanned at the MedBay. This will immediately show that the imposter isn't human.

You might be wondering how you can determine who is another imposter if you're playing the imposter role. It's much easier in this case. You'll see the other imposter's name in red. This means that you can easily identify each other and work together or efficiently split up tasks to quickly destroy the crewmates.

Communication

Much like with the limited number of actions, some people have complained about the communication systems in Among Us. Players are only allowed to use text communication. You can't actually talk to other players in the game. While many players have found ways around this by connecting to players with a third-party service, this isn't a feature found directly in Among Us.

While some players find this annoying, it works with the game's atmosphere. It might be too easy to discover who the imposter is, especially if they start giggling when they kill a crewmate or if they vote off the wrong player. Limiting communication to only text makes it easier for them to blend in with the other players.

Connect with Multiple Devices

Most online games require player use the same console or device to connect to each other. Among Us goes against the mold and allowed players to team up even if they're using different devices. This makes it much easier for people to join the game and play with their friends without having to coordinate hardware. This will hopefully become the trend with other online multiplayer games.

Pros

• Cross-platform gaming means that players with any system or console can play with other people.
• Players are randomly assigned as either a crewmate or imposter each round, which keeps the game fresh.
• Numerous ways to win for both imposters and crewmates.

Cons

• Limited number of actions regardless of which role you are assigned.
• Some players dislike the lack of voice communication, but this works with the game's atmosphere.