What Is “among Us” and Why Should You Care?
If your child has recently called anything he doesn’t like, “sus”, he is probably playing in ” Among Us . “ In the slang for “ among us, ” “suspicious” means “suspicious,” a word that perfectly sums up the appeal of a multiplayer social deductive game: it’s all about mistrust, misdirection, and paranoia. But in a fun way.
Released in 2018 without much recognition or interest, Among Us has suddenly become a hit over the past few months. Millions of children play it, watch other children play and remember it. It has become so popular among us that the recent Twitch stream featuring Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been watched over 4.5 million times . If AOC’s voting efforts really work, it might help us decide on the next president.
In case you’re curious, here are a few of the highlights of the AOC among us , compiled for us by theWashington Post ; if you are completely lost, keep reading and we will explain everything.
So what is this game?
If you’ve ever played flesh and blood party games in Werewolf or Mafia, you’ll be right at home with Among Us . In it, four to ten players take on the roles of black workers on a spaceship, completing routine tasks to keep things running smoothly. But one or two players are secret impostors intent on killing the team. When the killer / assassins chase them, the team meets to discuss who the traitor might be, and if enough people catch the same player, he or she is thrown out of the airlock into space … which is great if you’re not mistaken human …
The mechanics of the game are not that important. It is truly a game about interacting with other players. The impostors try to deflect suspicion from the innocent crew members, while the workers are busy trying to “suspect” the killer and hide the suspicion from themselves. It’s fun and exciting to get together with your friends virtually and try to trick them into accusing others of crimes, or try to determine which of your friends is a good enough liar to avoid being punished for space murder.
As with most online games, it is possible to slip into a session with a bunch of random games, but it’s not very fun. You really need to share voice chat and know the people involved in order to get the most out of Among Us , and this is probably why your child is addicted.
Play it a few times and you will get it. I joined in a couple of games with my child and some of his friends and immediately got into the spirit. It turns out that old people like me really know how to deceive children. It must be all this practice with all that “Santa”.
Why is it so popular?
“Among Us” took first place on the online streaming charts because several famous players started playing it in public, but it got “stuck” because it is the perfect game for social distancing. The barrier to entry is very low – it’s free on mobile and only $ 5 on PC – and doesn’t require a ton of concentration or dexterity in video games.
“ Among Us” is not ideal reflexes, like the shooter’s, but social interaction. At a time when kids (and adults) can’t hang out together, it’s the perfect stress reliever and a great way to connect with friends.
Here in our midst to stay?
Despite its immense popularity, I doubt there will be one of those ever-popular online games like Minecraft or Counter-Strike among us . According to my 13-year-old child, the popularity of the game is already falling since it was a few weeks ago. That is, parents now know about it!
And, with all due respect to AOC’s efforts to get young people to vote, when politicians get caught up in trendy kids’ stuff, it sounds a bit like the death knell. So now is the time to check it out.