Among Us is a rare gaming success story, and there aren’t many like it. The 2018 debut of the modest indie game was met with little fanfare or considerable media coverage. This narrative shifted significantly in the year 2020 when the Covid-19 outbreak prompted individuals to seek out alternative means of communication.
The oddball (and low-cost) social deduction game was a great way to bring a group of friends together for some lighthearted online competition.
Since then, Innersloth has done all in its power to maintain the game’s buzz, including frequent updates, partnerships with other games, and more. But now, with the release of Among Us VR, a new version of the game that can only be played in virtual reality, the game is poised for its greatest moment yet.
After only one hour, I can declare that Among Us VR is the definitive edition of the game. With its added physicality, the game is completely reimagined, now requiring deception to be executed with as much finesse as with the player’s body. The drawback is that it’s not easy to round up enough people who also have VR headgear to have a good time.
Nothing Sus Here
There aren’t any major changes to how Among Us VR plays out from the original version. Within the confines of a ship, players are tasked with completing a series of easy objectives. Some of the crew members are actually impostors who have the ability to destroy ship systems by crawling into ventilation ducts and killing innocent passengers.
The original game’s fundamental loop is preserved intact, which is a good thing considering how polished it already is.
The VR adaptation differs primarily in terms of viewpoint, although this is crucial. The game forgoes an above camera in favor of a first-person perspective, elevating the overall sense of unease. The loss of my bird’s-eye view of the space has made it more surprising than ever to come around a corner and run into a fellow crew member.
As a result, players become much warier when near one another out of concern for their lives. Having to flee from an overzealous killer down a hallway takes on a whole new level of dread when you feel like you’re actually running away from a movie monster while screaming for help.
In Among Us VR, a doppelganger peers at a crew member through a ventilation duct.
The enhanced physicality generates a great deal more complexity, which is something I’ve long felt was lacking from the very stiff regular edition.
I tend to work with my back to the door of a room since it’s easier to concentrate. Since my angle of view has changed, I can now check behind me to make sure no one is sneaking up on me while I wait for my duty to finish. It’s much more unsettling than just looking down and seeing my little bean standing still.
For my money though, the most exciting variation occurs at unexpected meets. In the standard mode of play, when a gathering is called, all players are teleported to a voting menu where they can discuss the results. In this case, they’re gathered in the ship’s cafeteria, where they can mill about freely while casting their votes via a central screen.
In my game, that led to some hilarious consequences. After I leveled serious charges against the suspected imposter, everyone gathered around as they desperately tried to explain themselves.
In addition, body language plays an unexpectedly entertaining role, as you can observe people uncomfortably fumbling with their hands during a conference thanks to the VR controllers (I was on a Meta Quest 2).
During a meeting in Among Us VR, players discuss various topics.
Also evolving with the times are the tasks, which now include more hands-on work for players to complete. At various points in my run, I had to play whack-a-mole in the Medbay, Simon Says in the Reactor, and dash from room to room pushing levers.
For virtual reality, the relative ease with which each job can be completed is appropriate. Simple chores that leave your back exposed for the bare minimum of time are prioritized. For instance, in the Simon Says minigame, I have to keep my gaze fixed on the pattern that I’m supposed to copy. The moment I turn to check on the door, I could lose precious momentum.
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The catch
While I prefer Among Us VR in every way to the non-VR edition, there is one huge catch: you’ll need a group of buddies who also have VR headsets to play. This technological limitation is essentially irrelevant to the game’s meteoric ascent to fame, which was enabled by its accessibility to virtually anybody with a web connection.
Affordably priced at just a few bucks, it was the perfect game for that period of time when you needed to escape from the crowd.
A virtual reality scene in which a fake Among Us character is adjacent to a body.
Unlike elsewhere, virtual reality (VR) is experiencing the exact opposite trend here. I doubt that I have more than three friends who use virtual reality headsets. As a result, I think the social game is in a precarious position, and I can only believe that many players are in a similar predicament.
There’s always the option to get into matches with complete strangers, but friends truly bring out the game’s full potential (granted, I still had an absolute blast playing with other press members).
It’s unfortunate that such a well-designed multiplayer game is hampered by the fact that it’s a much more situational experience. I wish I could give it a higher rating, but the popularity of Among Us has always hinged more on the players than on the game itself.
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The best version of the deduction game is available in Among Us VR, but it will also be considerably more isolated. I really want this technology to become commonplace in homes everywhere, and I’m crossing my fingers that more accessible gadgets like the PlayStation VR2 will speed up this process.
