History VideoGame / AmongUs

* TheManyDeathsOfYou: Crewmates can meet their demise in a lot of ways: via a NeckSnap, multiple {{Back Stab}}s with a knife, [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice being speared through the face by an Impostor's tongue]], and being socked in the face and [[BoomHeadshot having their brains blown out while they are down]]. Additionally, both Impostors and Crewmates can also perish by being ThrownOutTheAirLock, subjected to a DisneyVillainDeath, or [[AMoltenDateWithDeath dumped into molten lava]].

''Among Us'' is a multiplayer game published by [=InnerSloth=] with production assistance by [=PuffballsUnited=], creator of the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries''. It is, in essence, the {{social deduction game}}s ''Mafia'' and ''TabletopGame/Werewolf1997'' translated into a video game. Up to fifteen players have the role of the crew of a spaceship or facility, and must finish tasks for maintenance. However, up to three of them are Impostors, whose objective is to kill enough Crewmates for victory.

The game was first released on June 15, 2018, and it slowly but steadily nurtured a small, dedicated fanbase. It exploded in popularity on Twitch and other streaming platforms in mid-2020, fueled by the worldwide desire for socialization during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic, basically becoming the new ''VideoGame/{{Fortnite}}'' in terms of popularity. In August 2020, it [[https://innersloth.itch.io/among-us/devlog/171026/among-us-2 was announced]] that a sequel, ''Among Us 2'', was in development and planned for release in 2021, before being dropped in favor of maintaining the massive fanbase the current game had and [[https://innersloth.itch.io/among-us/devlog/181107/the-future-of-among-us releasing the content planned for the sequel onto the current game]] in September 2020, promising features like better servers, player profiles, ColorblindMode, and a ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'' [[{{Crossover}} themed location]], [[https://twitter.com/AmongUsGame/status/1329154673022996481?s=09 later revealed to be the Toppat Airship]] on November 18th. A UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch port of the game was announced on December 15, 2020, and released later that same day. It also made its way to the current UsefulNotes/{{Xbox|SeriesXAndS}} and UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation|5}} consoles almost exactly a year later on December 14, 2021.

** Stack Kills. Impostors can get away with one kill with potential suspects for everyone. But it can easily out-rule everyone who wasn't in the room (especially if there's only one Imposter), and everyone in the room is a suspect, including the killer themselves. Imposters also have to sabotage or look for a common task at least three people are doing together and aren't fairly spaced out. Plus, there's the risk of Crewmates pretending to do something, the eagle-eyed spotting the movements, or killing someone just after the Crewmates finishes the task.

The game has four ThreeQuartersView maps: The Skeld (a spaceship flying through space), MIRA HQ (the top floor of a high-rise building), Polus (a research facility on a cold planet), and the Airship (a recreation of the Toppat Airship from the ''Henry Stickmin'' games). A fifth map, The Fungle (a deserted island dominated by the titular fungi jungle), is set to release in October 2023.

* Crossover: [[Crossover/AmongUs The game's included or been featured in so many crossovers, it has it's own page.]]

* Crossover: The game's explosive popularity has allowed for a slew of other properties to join in on the fun.
** In a bit of [[CompanyCrossReferences Company Cross Referencing]], the Toppats' Airship from the ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'' was added as a map in March 2021, alongside a slew of ''Stickmin''-themed cosmetics and the paid Airship Cosmetic Bundle.
** Starting in March 2022, ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClank'' are available as a costume and a pet respectively on the [=PS4=] and [=PS5=] versions of the game.
** At the same time as ''Ratchet & Clank'' cosmetics were added, cosmetics based on ''Film/{{Scream}}'''s [=Ghostface=] were made available.
** November 2023 saw the release of the limited time Indie [=Cosmicube=], which included cosmetics based on ''VideoGame/AHatInTime'', ''VideoGame/AlienHominid'', ''VideoGame/BattleblockTheater'', ''VideoGame/CastleCrashers'', ''VideoGame/{{Celeste}}'', ''VideoGame/CryptOfTheNecrodancer'', ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' and ''VideoGame/UntitledGooseGame''.

* TheColoredCross: Game developers changed the crosses on the [=MedBays=] to blue after the Red Cross took notice.

** Double kills, as mentioned in AwesomeButImpractical. They require a lot of trust in the other Impostor(s) and just the right amount of circumstances to pull off successfully, but quickly and effectively cut through the Impostors' kill requirement, or outright secure a victory, against two Crewmates who would have thought themselves safe. If one of those factors is out of place like the second Impostor being too slow or on kill cooldown, the initiating Impostor just killed a Crewmate in front of a witness who can immediately report the dead body, which can quickly become ''two'' witnesses if the other Impostor doesn't want to risk blowing their cover.

** Shapeshifting as a Shapeshifter and killing in front of other Crewmates to [[FrameUp frame the Crewmate you took the form of]]. Pulled off well, it can allow the Impostors to kill a Crewmate, and frame another into getting voted off. However, if the Shapeshifter is [[ConfrontingYourImpostor witnessed by the real Crewmate they're disguised as]], this is likely a big giveaway of the Crewmate's innocence and alerts the Crewmates to a Shapeshifter's presence as Shapeshifters are capable of turning into other imposters, but rarely do so and have no reason to unless they are trying to make the crewmates believe their teammate is a crewmate

** Two or more Impostors performing a simultaneous kill can rapidly thin out the Crewmates' numbers, but it generally needs all Impostors, each with a Crewmate victim, in the same room, and for the kills to be made within a split second of each other. React too slowly, and one of the potential victims can report the kill and start casting suspicion. Even if the multi-kill was executed flawlessly, making a clean getaway is not as easy. This is why a multi-kill is often used to quickly secure victory.

** Pulling a StealthHiBye in a room with multiple, vision-obscuring tasks (Electrical on the Skeld is a primary example) is a risky but potentially rewarding gambit. Basically, it hinges on venting into the room while multiple people are distracted with tasks, quickly killing someone, then venting out before someone notices.[[note]]Having Visual Tasks enabled ''might'' help, though a lot of these tasks give no indication of somebody performing them regardless of the Visual Tasks setting, so beware of Crewmates pretending to do tasks in order to catch you out.[[/note]] If not immediately caught and ejected, this will almost certainly get someone innocent blamed when the body is noticed and reported, and likely cast suspicion on everyone else that was present when the scapegoat turns out to not be an Impostor, all while "clearing" the actual Impostor of suspicion.

* DisposingOfABody: Meetings will clear all dead bodies from the map. Impostors can call a meeting to erase evidence the Crewmates can use to suss them out, though it can backfire since other players might suspect them of clearing out bodies on purpose.

* DoNotGoGentle: Some caught Impostors will still insist on throwing around blame, making excuses, and generally doing anything they can to avoid being voted out, even in the face of damning evidence (multiple witnesses to a kill/vent, lack of credible alibi, security/admin evidence…). This makes a degree of sense game theory-wise, since even a miniscule possibility of talking one's way out of the situation is better than giving up entirely and having zero chance.

** If an Impostor betrays a teammate to avoid suspicion, it's still in the favor of the betrayed to not sell out their teammate in retaliation, as it will mean a quick loss for their side.

* EtTuBrute: It's possible for an Impostor to accuse and vote out their fellow Impostors to sway suspicion off themselves, or for an Impostor to rat out their teammate(s) with their dying breath. The former may be forgivable depending on circumstance; the latter is often frowned upon as unsportsmanlike conduct.

* BystanderSyndrome: This can ''severely'' screw the Crew over during oxygen or reactor sabotage. Sometimes, Crewmates will ignore the crisis and continue with their tasks as they hope someone else will go and fix it — and when ''everyone'' takes that mindset, [[OhCrap they may only realize that nobody's fixing the problem]] [[YouAreAlreadyDead when there isn't enough time left]]. Actual losses via sabotage are pretty rare, but it does let the killer get away with a lot when only one or two people trickle in to fix the problem.

** One of the possible tasks on the Airship map requires a Crewmate to unclog a toilet. [[InvokedTrope Taking advantage of]] both this and the fact that the toilets are a relatively secluded part of the map, a viable strategy for the Impostor is to hide in a toilet stall and kill any Crewmates that pass by. The seclusion of the toilets on the map are also a double-edged sword in this case -- while Crewmates can hide there without getting caught for the entire round, GenreSavvy Impostors can also keep the dead bodies of the Crewmates they killed there without them being found.

* VikingFuneral: More like Viking ''Execution''. The Fungle's ejection method has the crewmates put the accused on a raft and let the wind carry them to sea while their raft is set ablaze to prevent the impostors from simply swimming back to shore.

The game has four ThreeQuartersView maps: The Skeld (a spaceship flying through space), MIRA HQ (the top floor of a high-rise building), Polus (a research facility on a cold planet), and the Airship (a recreation of the Toppat Airship from the ''Henry Stickmin'' games).

In 2023, [[https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/among-us-animated-series-cbs-studios-owen-dennis-1235655516/ an animated series adaptation]] was announced to be in the works at [[Creator/CBS CBS Studios]] with Owen Dennis (''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'') developing and executive producing.

In 2023, [[https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/among-us-animated-series-cbs-studios-owen-dennis-1235655516/ an animated series adaptation]] was announced to be in the works at Creator/CBSStudios with Owen Dennis (''WesternAnimation/InfinityTrain'') developing and executive producing.

* SocialDeductionGame: The game features a bunch of AmbiguouslyHuman creatures scurrying around a spaceship/research station/space station, with at least one traitor among them. The Crewmates run around the maps and do maintenance tasks, while the Impostor(s) blend among them and try to sabotage the facility and kill them all without anyone noticing or suspecting them during team meetings. The Impostor(s) win if Crewmates no longer outnumber them; the Crewmates win if they finish all their tasks or eliminate all the Impostors.

** The "sucker punch and headshot" kill animation is as undetectable (outside of visual range) as the other methods, even though a gunshot would instantly let anyone in earshot know where a kill had happened.

* ImposterForgotOneDetail: A common occurrence for Impostors who do not have much experience with the map they're playing on, as they may either mention tasks and locations which don't exist on that map, or provide the wrong locations for the tasks they were supposedly doing. This is the main reason that Impostors are given a list of fake tasks at the start of the game--they don't ''have'' to stick to that list when developing their alibis, but doing so helps prevent obvious slip-ups.

* AprilFoolsDay: Every April 1st, the layout of the Skeld becomes mirrored. Its name is also mirrored in the menu. The in-game map remains the same though, and your movements on it are mirrored relative to the movements on the actual Skeld.

[[caption-width-right:350:There is an Impostor [[TitleDrop among us.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:There is an Impostor among us.]]

** The [[VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries Tunisian Diamond]] can be found [[WorthlessYellowRocks in the trash]] in The Skeld.

* NothingPersonal: Something to keep in mind, especially after rounds where someone has been successfully marinated by the Impostor(s) and/or made a very bad call. Most of the time, the Impostors killed someone because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time, and if in a public game, people are playing with strangers they will most likely never meet in-person or will come across in real life without realizing it. Like ''TabletopGame/{{Diplomacy}}'', taking the game too seriously can break trusts and ruin friendships, turn people toxic, or simply make them too angry to be able to have fun playing.