Social deception game Among Us blew up recently, becoming one of the biggest games on Twitch. The resulting burst of creative energy—like cosmic rays from a supernova, except memes—has inevitably led to this: Among Us recreated in VRChat, with a full 3D version of the Skeld map, wires to connect, cards to swipe, and buttons to push. And you can actually play it like Among Us, with imposters, murders, and voting rounds.
Despite the name, you don't have to play VRChat with a VR headset, so it's possible to experience this 3D Among Us map on your monitor like any other game. First, you need VRChat, which is free-to-play on Steam. With it installed, you can launch the Among Us world here or just search for "Among Us" in the world browser.
The map was made by Jar, who builds VRChat game worlds with a bit of funding from Patreon. It isn't the entire game redesigned in 3D, but you can actually play rounds of Among Us in it. I tried it (without a headset), and as one of the two imposters, I managed to kill two crewmates. The players who were using their microphones for speaking and not just making weird noises (VRChat is a place for free expression) were speaking Russian (I think), so I don't know if they suspected me, but they didn't vote for me after either of my kills. I eventually won, even though my imposter partner left the game early and I'm not sure what triggered the victory—maybe a crewmate quit, or it was just a bug.
As amusing as Among Us in VR is, I'm not sure that a proper 3D version of the game would actually be better. The more complex (and in my opinion better) social deception game Project Winter is also 2D, and it suits the genre, since it simplifies sightlines, map awareness, and controls so that the focus can be on trickery. However, I did enjoy murdering someone in a small room and then standing in front of the door trying to discourage other players from entering, whistling innocently. Maybe there's something to it. (Regarding this particular VRChat map, however, we'll have see how Among Us creator Innersloth feels about the clear breach of copyright.)
In other Among Us news, some big streamers recently competed in a tournament, and it worked surprisingly well. I don't know how long Among Us will remain popular, but clearly it's more than a monthlong fad.
Thanks, Polygon.
