Among Us began quietly in 2018 and exploded to fame in 2020, at the peak of social distancing and pandemics. It then lost some of its cultural impact over the years. Innersloth, a renowned VR developer Schell Games, and Robot Teddy Games are working together on the new Among Us VR games for Meta Quest 2 (Steam) and.
Compared to the basic Among Us, the Among Us VR port keeps the same core gameplay mechanics: crewmates complete tasks, imposters pretend to work while sabotaging and murdering, and everyone accuses one another in emergency meetings. The virtual version cuts out a lot of the depth — there’s only one map, for instance, and no special roles — but you feel much more like a “real” crewmate in space as you complete tasks by hand and chat with your fellows. The danger feels more real because of this.
Nick Sutrich, my colleague, and I were able to experience Among Us VR in a press preview before launch. However, we couldn’t test it outside of that game because Among Us is only compatible with a small group of people. We’ll be able to reveal some of the pros and cons once we have had a chance test it more extensively. Here’s our first Among Us VR review. It focuses on what you’ll like and don’t like.
What you’ll love about Among Us VR
The embedded video below shows a few of our Among Us VR gaming systems in action. However, the video does not capture the entire field of your view so you can see your “sus” crewmates further away. You’ll be able to see that everyone is having fun and laughing, even though they are being killed.
You can play with only text chat, but proximity chat gives the spaceship the feeling of being lived in. Chatting with crewmates can help you get to know them better or establish an alibi. If someone’s voice dies out, they may have wandered out of range — or they might be dead!
When a corpse is found, players can either make accusations or prove innocence more quickly than in the original game. Make sure you have some solid ammunition. Quest 2 headphonesSo you can hear everyone clearly
The ghosts of the dead can still chat to one another, making them feel less alone.
You can also use your controllers to accuse others in meetings or to wave at people to get their attention.
Among Us displayed tasks in a pop-up window that obscured your view so Imposters couldn’t see you. Among Us VR allows you to approach a task station and be transported in front of it. This makes it possible for you to reach the tasks even if you are seated. canIf you suspect that something is amiss, turn your head so you can see behind you.
There are many control options available to you, such as joystick movement, teleporting, and head-based movement. I don’t have the best VR legs but I did play for over an hour with artificial movements and didn’t feel nauseated. You can also use this technique to run backwards and keep an eye on anyone behind you. This can be useful to avoid sneak attack.
Schell Games meticulously recreated The Skeld II from the original game. It is now known as The Skeld II. The Skeld II was converted from 2D into 3D. It creates an excellent atmosphere, mixing dark corridors with sci-fi tech.
There are a variety of tasks in the map, including classic ones from the original game as well as newer tasks. Motion controls makes it feel much more satisfying to complete these tasks. You actually feel like you are actually repairing the ship and not playing small minigames.
The security camera centre is the only feature that is missing. VR is not able to order it. Schell Games said that the feature was being developed, but no ETA is available at this time. When it finally launches, this feature will be great for monitoring other people.
Overall, Among Us VR has been a great experience. The virtual elements enhance the experience and bring back the original spirit.
VR among Us: What you might not enjoy
Polus is my favorite map from Among Us. It channels The Thing’s aesthetic and has lots of fun tasks. There are also isolated spots where you can discreetly kill people. Unfortunately, Among Us VR does not contain Polus, Mira HQ, or The Airship.
There are no special roles such as Scientist, Shapeshifter, Guardian Angel or Guardian Angel that you can play. These roles were only added recently to Among Us. They would be fun, though I haven’t tried them.
Lastly, there are a few hats in the beans, but not full outfits. I think that Among Us VR might charge you more for cooler wardrobe accessories than letting you unlock them with an XP system like the base game.
Innersloth, Schell, and others could create new maps and mechanics if the game does well. This could be either free or as paid DLC. It will be interesting to see how long it takes to get these maps up, and if there will be enough people to play the game long enough to allow for new maps.
In my brief time playing the game, I was unable to complete many tasks. I didn’t even get to play as an imposter. Once you have played the game for some time, you will notice that the tasks are mechanically straightforward. They focus mostly on timing and properly controlling your Touch controllers. The social aspect of the game is what makes it fun, not the task itself.
You were given more tasks by different maps, at least in terms of name. It becomes difficult for imposters to recall fake tasks while on the move. Deception in Among Us VR will be a bit easier.
That being said, I enjoyed the game devs and journalists that I played with. They were friendly, focused on their tasks and didn’t play around. The Imposter tricked another crewmate into talking to me, and I found his clever deception funny rather than frustrating. What kind of Among Us VR community will launch at launch? That is the question.
Standard Among Us is notorious for being a place where you can be trolled and griefed by people you don’t know. If players aren’t imposters or joke about their other imposter, they quit. They call emergency meetings to delay time and refuse voting, or they text their murdered friends to find out who the Imposter really is.
In an ideal world, Among Us VR gaming experiences will live up to the initial experience. Any jerks will be kicked off by the host. Many multiplayer Quests games are available, however. Gorilla TagThese are notorious communities and Schell Games isn’t sure how to handle players who bully each other via voice chat.
Text chat is a great option if you have concerns. You can choose from a range of predetermined prompts, such as “I saw vent X” or “Self report.” While it isn’t as natural as saying these things, it makes abuse less likely.
Most of these negatives don’t have to do with the game. The UI can sometimes be a little frustrating, which is my only complaint.
I dislike the way that the “you’re dying; complete your tasks” message or sabotage warning completely covers up your map. Imposters claimed that it was easy for someone to accidentally hit the kill key while trying to fix sabotage and fake tasks. When you move up to a task, your fingers will often cause it to be triggered by mistake. These two issues will be easier to avoid if you become more familiar with the controls.
One more point. Among Us VR currently supports five server options. These are the US East, South America Europe, Asia and Europe. Despite living in the US west coast, I had no connectivity issues. However, a British journalist experienced serious problems during the game. He noticed a disconnect between the character’s actions and his controller input.
Playing with friends from other continents may be impossible. To fully enjoy the game, you will need to have a consistent wireless connection.
Becoming an imposter
Nicholas Sutrich will be writing this section. He will focus on being the imposter two times and how it differs from being a teammate during the play session as Michael was.
Nothing is quite like being an imposter at Among Us. When I play the 2D version with my son, he often shouts “imposter”, “imposter”, and so on. He tries to get the role, hoping that he will. It’s terrible fun to be the imposter, as is the case with Clue.
VR makes this even more evident. Your voice and your body language combine to make it much harder for you convince your crew you are innocent.
To capture something worthwhile, I also recorded the gameplay video higher up in the review. It was true! You can see my treachery at the 16-minute mark as I kill Michael, my innocent co-worker.
It was exhilarating to be in the emergency room again. My heart rate raced as I lied through my teeth for my own safety.
In my defense, he was actually the only person who waited alone for a terminal for quite a while. They all gathered together and didn’t allow me to take a moment to silently kill them.
Despite this, I almost got caught by the person who was heading into the chamber that I just left. I was also seen venting right before I was alerted.
The next emergency meeting was extremely exhilarating. I felt my heart beat racing as I lied through the teeth to save myself. I think Michael was cursing me at that emergency table if I could hear him.
Aside from being a ton of fun — I felt like I was either laughing or sweating the entire time — Among Us VR seems to be thoughtfully designed at its core. Going in, I was worried that certain elements that make play safer (or those who don’t like to hear screaming or being rude) would be eliminated.
I was pleased to see privacy features, such as Quick Chat-only Games from the 2D edition, still present in Among Us VR.
This was not the case. Yes, VR is meant for people aged 13 and above. Meta may be putting the brakes on VR games. Openly encourage children to have accounts(opens in a new tabHowever, it isn’t stupid. It recognizes that VR is still a popular medium for children to use. It’s still a game. Parental controls(opens in a new tabThis can be a great way for parents to keep their kids under control.
Primarily, this is the option in Among Us where you can only play games that only use Quick Chat. This turns off the voices and allows players to only use predefined messages to communicate. This means that there is no swearing or offensive language.
The default setting is to hide real usernames. Crewmates are called simply “Blue,” “Red”, or “Green”, depending on whether they are crewmates. This can be turned off by you, adding an extra layer of privacy to your experience.
Overall, I am extremely impressed by this iteration. I hope that additional maps will be added. It’s going to be a blast playing with friends, and Clue could become one of my favorite VR games.
The VR Among Us: Should You Buy It?
The original Among Us cost $5 for four maps. It’s fair to wonder if the VR port is worth twice as much for The Skeld II. I can honestly say that Among us VR will easily be one of the best. best Quest multiplayer gamesAt launch, I was very pleased with the game and hope that it will continue to be supported after launch.
If you liked the original, the game’s proximity chat, well-designed controls and charming crewmate bean aesthetic make it a fun game to play again. This game is not for you if social multiplayer games that involve strangers appeal to you.
