The new popular online game Among Us has taken the world by storm. The game is currently holding the number one spot on the Apple Store for free games and number three on Steam’s chart for most players. The game is very popular amongst teenagers, and fans have already taken to creating memes and edits of the game on social media.

“I like Among Us because I can play with friends,” junior Isra Kertgate said. “It gives me an adrenaline rush when I’m the imposter, but I also like doing the tasks if I’m a crewmate.”

The game is a murder mystery, similar to the game Mafia, except that it takes place in space. Games are played with a maximum of 10 players, with one to three “imposters” and the rest of the players as “crewmates”.

Imposters’ goals are to destroy the ship, either by sabotaging parts of it, killing crewmates, or both. Crewmates try to complete tasks and figure out who the imposters are by discussing through the in-game chat or via Discord, a platform that utilizes voice calls and is popular with gamers.

The game can be played with friends or online with strangers. It is available for free on mobile and for $4.99 on Steam to play on the computer.

“My favorite aspect [of the game] is that you can have more than one imposter to help you out, which makes the game more fun,” junior Aniz Mirza said.

Although the game was released back in 2018, it’s only now reaping in major success and popularity. A decent portion of the game’s players is made up of Twitch streamers, a popular online streaming service, which may have contributed to the game’s recent rise to fame. Another contributing factor may have been Steam’s summer sale, which set Among Us at only $1.

Originally the creators of Among Us had planned to create a sequel but have now decided to just improve upon the original. Some speculations of what could be added are new colors and an in-game voice chat rather than having to use Discord.

In recent years, many game developers have been leaning towards the mobile game market. With good reason, since mobile games are becoming more and more popular, most likely due to easy accessibility for a larger audience.

Among Us is among many other recently popular mobile games, such as Fortnite, Mario Kart, Call of Duty, Pokemon Go, and many more. Many games, including the ones just mentioned, become immensely popular quickly but usually end up falling off just as quickly if not quicker. It leads many to wonder if Among Us will also share that same fate.

“I don’t see this game lasting at all because it may get repetitive for people,” Mirza said.

“I think the game will last a while because the creators can always add more game modes that can add variety to the game,” junior Christopher Tran said.

Regardless, the game seems to be captivating many students for the time being.