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Among Us review | Social deduction mayhem

Am ong Us is a social deduction game developed and published by InnerSloth. It was originally released on June 15, 2018, but only truly gained popularity in 2020. Since then, there have been massive updates with new maps, cosmetics, and roles.

Want to know what Among Us is all about or why you need an account? Maybe you want to understand the roles a bit better or wish to see if it’s worth downloading. Join me in this Among Us review on Windows 11 with Xbox Games Pass as I answer all these queries and more.

Among Us story

There’s no single-player campaign in Among Us like you’d see in most titles these days. As such, you won’t see any central plot but instead with a primary focus on the multiplayer aspects. However, there are a few elements to draw to your attention.

Traitor Among Us

The concept behind Among Us is that there’s a spaceship filled with these characters dressed in space suits. From the first appearance, they look like miniature Teletubbies. They’re called the Crewmates and go about their daily business keeping the ship floating through space.

One among them is an Impostor, though. Their intention is to kill everyone on the ship, like in a science fiction thriller movie. Your job will depend on which role you receive at the start of a game.

Tasks to be completed

As one of the Crewmate roles, there are several tasks for you to accomplish. You’ll need to go about the ship and complete them, which are random puzzles easy to achieve. However, they do take time, and there’s a meter at the top of the board showing you how close you are to finishing all of them.

Of course, it takes a team effort. Everyone needs to pitch in and help with assignments as much as possible. The best part is that you can continue with tasks even though you’re dead. This puts extra pressure on the Impostor to eliminate members as quickly as possible.

Evade and kill

When you’re the rotten egg in the bunch, your sole task is to kill every Crewmate. It may sound easy, but you’ll need to do so without being detected. If someone spots you, they can call a meeting and vote you off the ship. That means the end of the game for you and victory for the others.

You have some abilities to aid you. For instance, you can crawl through vents while standard Crewmates can’t. You can also pretend to be performing tasks so that no one suspects you. It’s all about finding the right time to unleash your attack. You may want to check our top 5 Impostor tips for Among Us to help you out.

How long to play Among Us

One round in Among Us takes anywhere between 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how good the players are. As a whole, you can play it infinitely without end all night long, enjoying round after round for as long as you wish. The only time you’ll stop playing it is when you finally become bored of the game.

Among Us gameplay

Let’s go into more detail with this Among Us review. It’s time to evaluate the gameplay elements to determine if it’s worth installing and playing. There are some other games that have incorporated social deduction aspects due to the rising popularity of the time. A few examples include Fortnite, Roblox, and Project Winter.

Learning how to play Among Us

When you play Among Us for the first time, you’ll enter the welcome screen. You’ll need to register an account if you want to play on your profile and customize your avatar. The game will also ask your age, and if you’re too young, your parents will need to give permission for you to chat with others using the in-game feature.

Fortunately, beginners can click on the “How to play” button to see how everything works. There’s also a Free Play section so you can get the hang of roles and abilities. It’s an excellent way to warm you up for the cold-blooded betrayal headed your way with the various multiple-player modes.

Various modes

There are two ways you can play Among Us online. The first is local multiplayer, which lets you challenge family and friends at home. Secondly, the online multiplayer mode gives you the opportunity to create or join a server where others are waiting to play.

If you choose to join one, you’ll notice a list on your screen created by other players. It’s best that you check the member count and see if there’s still space to join. Spots fill up quickly, and even if it says there are two left, you’ll be surprised how quickly it isn’t available anymore.

If you want to play with a group you already know, you can start or join a private lobby. You’ll receive an invite that you’ll need to accept. At least you know a spot for you has been secured.

Roles and abilities

When the Among Us game officially starts, you’ll receive a role. It’s in your best interest to learn the abilities attached to these positions, as they’ll greatly assist in winning the round.

Here’s the official list of roles and abilities for Among Us:

Crewmate: Most players will have this role, and you can interact with objects to complete tasks.
Impostor: Depending on the host’s settings, there can be 1 – 3 of these roles in a single match. The primary task is to eliminate other players, and you can vote and call meetings just like the Crewmates. You’re able to crawl through vents as an advantage.
Ghost: As either a dead Crewmate or ejected Impostor, you can still head around the ship and assist the others if they’re still alive. You can also view the chats in meetings, but you can’t vote. Speed is increased and you can move through walls and objects.

While the above characters are from the original game, a few more roles were added in recent Among Us updates:

Shapeshifter: This Impostor role lets you change into another player’s appearance for a short duration.
Engineer: As part of the Crewmates, you can search vents for Impostors for a limited time.
Scientist: Another Crewmate role, you can access a Vitals monitor to see how everyone is doing. The battery drains quickly, so you’ll need to pay attention.
Guardian Angel: As the Guardian, you can produce a shield around any living Crewmate to ensure they aren’t killed.

Calling a meeting

Anyone that’s still alive in the game can call a meeting. The purpose is to vote on who the Impostor is and discuss ejecting someone. There’s a chat window, and Impostors can play along and pretend they saw one player kill another.

The meeting is one of the most deceptive elements of the game. If a few players are chatting secretly in a party on Discord or a different mechanism, they can secretly hide the identity of their Impostor friend. It’s also the area where players are ejected based on voting.

When I played the game for my Among Us review, I found the meeting aspect to be the most frustrating as a Crewmate. Some players are trigger-happy and love to call meetings at the smallest flinch. It becomes annoying when you’re trying to complete tasks as quickly as possible.

Cosmetics

Two of the latest features added to Among Us are cosmetics and Cosmicubes. As you play the matches and win rounds, you’ll win in-game currencies and other rewards. You can use them to buy clothing and other items for your Avatar. This update brought new life to the game when we all thought the trend was dying down again.

Gameplay performance

There are two ways you can play Among Us, either on a computer or mobile. If you opt for Among Us on PC, you’ll need the following:

OS – Windows 7 SP1+
Memory – 1 GB RAM
Processor – SSE2 instruction set support
Storage – 250 MB available space
DirectX – Version 10

For mobile, you’ll need iOS 10.0 or Android 4.4 at least, depending on the model and operating system. While playing Among Us on Windows 11 with Xbox Games Pass, there was smooth performance, and it connected with a server rather quickly.

Among Us visual and sound

Finally, let’s look at the graphics and sound in this Among Us review. Please remember that this is based on computer visuals on Windows 11, so you may experience it differently on other platforms.

Overall graphics

The graphics have a plain design, despite all the lovely colors. There’s nothing outstanding about the visuals, and it doesn’t compare to the likes of AAA titles like Shadow Warrior 3 or Call of Duty: Vanguard. Still, it’s enjoyable enough for adults and children to play without any significant issues or gore.

Character and world designs

Most of the characters look the same, albeit with new costumes and different colors. It’s interesting how players still accuse others based on the colors and not the gamer names or outfits. There was one named Cowbow-something in one of the matches, and still, everyone said “Vote for Red”, or “I saw Red did it”. I guess it’s easier to type.

Despite the new maps, there’s nothing to write about when it comes to character designs. While we appreciate the new cosmetics, the primary focus is still on social deduction.

Animations and effects

The visual aspects I did enjoy for this Among Us review are the animations and effects. It’s always fun to see how the Impostor will kill you, as there’s an entertaining short video that accompanies it.

Sound and communication

When you’re playing Among Us, there’s almost no noise and sound in the background. The only time you’ll hear an effect is when someone calls a meeting. However, it’s great if you can connect a mic and chat to your friends in the background to fool the other players.

Final verdict of Among Us

As a casual social deduction game, Among Us is entertaining. You do level up and unlock new items, so there’s at least some sense of progression. As a hardcore gamer used to fantasy and horror titles, it was slightly lackluster for me, and I lost interest quickly. However, I’m sure many out there will gladly lose a few days of becoming addicted to it.

Pros

Entertaining with friends
New maps, roles, and abilities
Easy to play
Communication between teams
Ghost roles

Cons

Either addictive or boring, depending on your preference
Not many items to keep you interested
Plain visual design and gameplay

Developer: InnerSloth LLC, PlayEveryWare, Schell Games LLC

Publisher: InnerSloth LLC

Game Modes: Free Mode, Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer

Platform reviewed: Windows 11 – Xbox Games Pass

Is Newgrounds’ Friday Night Funkin’ worthy of the hype?

Friday Night Funkin’ is an open-source music rhythm game developed by a team from Newgrounds, a site that hit it big in the early 2000s with a series of browser games. In FNF, users play as the character Boyfriend to match keyboard directions with notes that appear on the screen.

Your task is to beat your new opponents and keep dating Girlfriend. Of course, with each level, the game gets harder with bigger bosses. A green health line at the bottom of the screen shows who is in the lead and will turn red if you’re losing against the boss.

FNF can be compared to arcade titles like Dance Dance Revolution and Stepmania. Using original beats and a battle between characters, all of the seven levels are labeled as “weeks” until the final showdown. Notable Newgrounds characters appear as bosses, who follow your progress bar as you match the musical notes against your opponent. Independent developers Ninjamuffin99, PhantomArcade, Kawai Sprite, and evilsk8r have brought this nostalgic game to life.

Singing and rapping to win Girlfriend’s heart

Though not explained in specifics with cut screens or dialogue, FNF puts the Boyfriend character in battles against bosses such as Daddy Dearest and Mommy Dearest. It is interpreted here that Boyfriend needs to beat other musicians by matching their beat to win Girlfriend’s heart. Girlfriend is featured in the center of the screen through the weeks and also guides you through the tutorial before the start of the game, which you can choose to play or skip.

The single-player game features two to three songs in each level with the controls getting faster with every round as you try to line up the arrows. Players can choose their level of difficulty from easy to hard; however, the weeks become increasingly difficult even on an easier mode and within each round. The bosses to beat are Daddy Dearest, Mommy Dearest, Monster, Senpai, Spirit, Pic, Tankman, and Skid and Pump. Senpai is one of the few characters with dialogue for the story adding an action and adventure touch.

Friday Night Funkin’ is a retro game for adults

While the gameplay echoes classic kid-friendly titles such as Rock Band and Guitar Hero, Friday Night Funkin’ features some suggestive content. For example, the Girlfriend character sits on a speaker throughout most of the levels and you must defeat gun-wielding bosses. This rhythm game sprung up out of a game jam in which the programmers created everything in a few days from scratch and left open many possibilities for modding. Newgrounds is known for creating games with an irreverent sense of humor.

Without formal cutscenes, the romantic subplot of Boyfriend and Girlfriend is very subtle when you’re playing the game. However, anyone can catch on that Friday Night Funkin’ is intended for a mature audience. Though it’s fully animated and not graphic, FNF is a program for older teens and adults due to racy graphics and some violence.

Credit: https://twitter.com/ninja_muffin99/status/1475956589098110987/photo/1

Friday Night Funkin’ is a nod to nostalgic internet games

If you grew up in the 1990s and 2000s, you will enjoy the classic graphics of Friday Night Funkin’, which are a throwback to dance arcade games. The keys to control the Boyfriend character are up, down, left, and right, and the gameplay is best served by a good set of speakers or headphones. There are other options to download a mod from additional users for a more customized game. Since the initial prototype was released in October of 2020, Friday Night Funkin’ has developed a large fan community that has shared techniques to win battles against the bosses. Start off by picking Story Mode or Freeplay to explore the game or have a seamless playthrough.

The soundtrack features original music that you’ll play along to when battling the bosses. The genres range from hip hop to opera with a nostalgic MIDI appeal in sound. The simple graphics and lightweight gameplay are a nod to the past and other games such as PaRappa the Rapper. The characters also have similar classic movements to older rhythm games. But we also get a few modern details, such as Girlfriend’s dancing and the bosses’ animation.

Friday Night Funkin’ is available on PC and mobile

Friday Night Funkin’ is free to download and can be played on a PC, laptop, or any mobile device. The open-source nature of the game has led to many modification downloads. If you know basic coding, you can create your own mods and share them with the FNF community. The simplicity of the gameplay, graphics, modding is a big reason why the game has developed such a cult following.

Since FNF is based on older programming, however, some players experience a lag in gameplay. This is forgivable as it is a free program with a lot of imagination. FNF can be played through in a few hours, but many gamers choose to go back and change the difficulty to see their progress and speed up the game themselves.

Friday Night Funkin’ graphics and sound appeal to fans of music games

With two to three songs at each level (week), players can enhance their singing skills alongside one of the NPC bosses with the exception of duo Skid and Pump. The tracks get faster with more combos at each level and the subsequent weeks following your progress. Unlike similar games such as Dance Dance Revolution, which uses established songs, Friday Night Funkin’ features original tracks. This is one of the most charming aspects of FNF, and the game’s soundtrack has generated countless plays on Spotify.

The colorful graphics change each week as well as the bosses’ appearances and movements. Girlfriend remains in the middle of the screen and provides voice commands as you battle for her affection. She appears excited, happy, and even in distress as you hit notes or miss a beat. The bosses are meant to be frightening and threatening as the weeks progress until the finale.

FNF is a unique retro game that lives up to the hype

Since the original prototype and demo were released in 2020, Friday Night Funkin’ has obtained cult status among lovers of vintage games. This popularity has single-handedly helped put Newgrounds back in the consciousness of the gaming world. It’s easy to see why as FNF is a simple yet fun game that offers an amazing musical experience. In fact, the soundtrack alone is nearly enough to recommend the game.

FNF is fun for those who want to beat the game in one go, rather than spend hours and weeks playing like adventure titles in a series. The way the game speeds up and gets harder in difficulty appeals to competitive retro gamers. Another great function is being able to choose between Story Mode and Free play mode to try to beat all the bosses.

Friday Night Funkin’ has room for personalization

This rhythm game is funded by donations, allowing the developers to accept mods and updates. There are other variations of Friday Night Funkin’, with different NPC bosses and music.

Users can even pitch ideas to developers with their own individual feedback. The Friday Night Funkin’ community shares different game lore as the official story is vague and up for interpretation. It will only take a few tries to beat the levels and unlock each week’s boss battle. However, the real charm of the game is being immersed in the FNF community and trying the mods.

Pros

Lightweight download with musical gameplay
Different NPC characters each round
Original songs with easy keyboard controls
Pre-existing community for mod downloads

Cons

Can lag and overlap scenes
No cutscenes to explain lore
Retro graphics can sometimes get old

Developer: Newgrounds

Clash Royale review | Manic tower fun

Clash Royale is a multiplayer online battle area (MOBA) developed and published by Supercell, released on March 6, 2016. While the game may seem old, it’s still incredibly popular, specifically with esports events. It takes characters and creatures from Clash of Clans and puts them in a tower defense environment.

Want to know why the game is so addictive and how you can play it for free on PC? Perhaps you’d like to know if it’s a good game and which are the best cards to use? Read more in our detailed Clash Royale review below.

Clash Royale story

While there’s no real central plot in Clash Royale, there are a few story elements and a few aspects to look at in this regard.

A king and his land

The main premise of Clash Royale is that you’re a king who needs to protect his castle. You have an assortment of creatures and minions you can summon in the form of cards. As the round evolves, you need to attack your opponent and defend your two towers and base simultaneously.

You’ll receive a crown for each tower and the enemy’s castle that you destroy. These crowns go towards points you can use later on to compete in more challenging events. It’s all about who is top of the leaderboard at the end of the day.

Army and minions

As you play each battle in Clash Royale, you’ll start amassing a huge army. There are different creature types, and you’ll need to learn the benefits and weaknesses of each one if you want to succeed. It all boils down to the most effective strategy so you can win the match.

Each card has an information panel describing details about your minions. When you play a battle, the card slots at the bottom randomly fill with your creatures, so you’ll need to make the best of it while you can. There’s also a meter with points, and you can only use cards if you have enough score to unleash them.

A King’s Journey

One other element that can be seen as part of the story for this Clash Royale review is the King’s Journey. At the top of the screen near your profile, you can access this path to see when you’ll earn your next reward. There are chests and other prizes along the way you can unlock when you meet the requirements.

How long to play Clash Royale

How long you play Clash Royale is entirely up to you. Being a MOBA game, there’s no end to it at all. Sure, there are events and competitions you can participate in, but the fun never really ends. You’ll just play for as long as you enjoy it, which can be infinitely long as it’s quite addictive.

Clash Royale Gameplay

With a better understanding of the theme behind Clash Royale, let’s look at the gameplay elements. This section is where the game really shines, and there’s plenty for you to enjoy. All that matters is how much time you have on your hands.

Learning how to play Clash Royale

When you start playing Clash Royale, the first few missions take you through a small tutorial. You’ll learn how to launch an attack, how to defend your base, and how to combine cards to make your offense stronger. Once you’re done with that, there will be a final test before you can progress further.

You’ll notice that it has a tower defense mechanism similar to League of Legends and DOTA 2, just simpler. There are different lanes to send your minions across, and each side has two towers. You can play 1v1 or 2v2 as soon as you unlock the multiplayer section. Your main task is protecting your castle at the back.

If the round ends with no clear victor, there’s extra time to see who will win. Should there still not be a winner, sudden death goes into effect, and the next player to topple a tower obtains victory. You then receive a chest and other rewards.

Cards and levels

Your minions are cards that you’ll unlock as you progress through battles. These form part of your battle deck. There are some heroes among them, and the colors donate common and rare items. The rarer they are, the more powerful their impact is against opponents.

However, it’s essential that you level the cards up as you receive enough points for them. You’ll soon learn in the tutorial that you’ll struggle to pass the final test with just the base cards. If you want to compete against others online in Clash Royale, you’ll need to make your minions stronger. It’s pretty much the same mechanic that you’ll find in mobile games like Fishing Clash.

Strategic elements

One of the most important aspects of Clash Royale is strategy. You’ll need to save enough points during a match to unleash 2 or more cards at the same time. Sometimes, the battle becomes so intense that you don’t have time to do so.

There are also environmental attack cards you can use, such as shooting arrows from your castle or throwing a bomb. These powers can save you just in the nick of time. You should also analyze which minions are best to use in every situation. A Giant may be strong, but he offers little attack when surrounded by the enemy.

Game maps and modes

Clash Royale has about 15 arena maps you can play across, each one with a different theme. Some of the more popular ones include Bone Pit, Spell Valley, and Royal Arena. As you level up and receive trophies, these will unlock so that playing the game doesn’t become stale.

There are also a few other game modes. They play out basically the same, but you can change some of the elements. You can use various elixirs or change how the cards are drafted. It makes Clash Royale more challenging and interesting to play.

Clans, competitions, and events

The main attraction of Clash Royale is the multiplayer events and battles. You can create or join clans, where you can trade cards and emotes and join in friendly matches. Each clan may have up to 50 members, and you can join one from the start.

There are also league competitions to join, while the game lists several events you can participate in. They require you to be specific levels before you can join while many have other requirements. You can expect these battles to be more intense. The only downside is that you may find the battle map grinding a bit dull after a while.

News and esports

Since CR is so popular in esports tournaments, there’s a tab holding all the latest events that you can watch. If you qualify, you can also compete in them for a chance to win epic prizes. There’s also a video section if you want to watch specific team battles.

You won’t be left wanting to know the latest Clash Royale news. You’ll find a blog in the game that gives you all the latest information and any plans for updates. It’s a great way for developers to remain in touch, which is incredible after so many years from launch.