“There are a lot of mystery games like Among Us where people have to solve things, but I think Among Us has a really cute factor compared to other games,” says Ms Cheryl Lim, popular Singaporean gaming personality known for her online persona, ‘Cherzinga’.

 

Mr Philibert Santhanaraj, Director of Marketing Partnerships at Mana Esports Brand Consultancy, believes that the trend started due to streamers and public figures with big fan bases getting together to play the game.

 

Youthoria conducted a survey with Singaporean youths aged 15 to 35 shows that 40 per cent of those who played the game were attracted to the high social aspect of the communication-dependent game.

 

“Sometimes if I don't play with my friends and play on a public server, there’s different kinds of people, so I think it’s a good way to get people together,” says Ms Goh.

 

The pandemic arguably contributed heavily to the game’s sudden popularity boost after two years of mediocre recognition as people could be seeking for more ways to strengthen friendships with restricted larger gatherings offline.

 

“When the big streamers started playing it, [finding more players] became less of an issue because everybody started downloading it and had the game, so it was easier to find people to play the game,” says Ms Lim.

 

Meanwhile, 38 per cent of the survey respondents who played the game were attracted to the game’s “cute graphics”.

 

The 2D characters in colourful spacesuits have become memorable and iconic with memes using screenshots and photoshopped images of the game becoming increasingly popular online.

 

“The trend also led to a whole Reddit community group created for Among Us memes, which are actually pretty funny to me,” says Mr Darren Chan, 18, fresh graduate from Nanyang Junior College. He used to spend five consecutive hours a day playing Among Us after being persuaded by his friends to download the game despite initially being uninterested in mystery concept games. He says the game teaches him to be more careful of what he says and the importance of thinking before speaking.

 

Players get to train their debate skills during the voting rounds and Mr Santhanaraj comments that it could also improve their speech delivery.

 

“I think Among Us is really for everyone, it targets a whole range of audience, so I think that’s a very attractive factor,” says Ms Lim.

 

Other factors like the wide accessibility, price (free on mobile, around $5 on PC), and low specs requirement serve as more appealing features.

 

However, the game may not be for everyone, especially non-gamers unfamiliar with the difficulty level of games where players have to constantly be alert and use their cognitive skills.

 

“I think the complex rules of the game are probably why I don’t play Among Us,” says Venkatachalam Akshithaa, 17, student in Jurong Pioneer Junior College.

 

Since late November 2020, Among Us started a downtrend and 43 per cent of the survey respondents attribute it to the inconsistent updates, while 41 per cent say it’s because of new trendy game releases.

 

“The game was never meant to support the huge number of players that spiked. Hence the developers didn’t have the resources to scale to the demand,” says Mr Santhanaraj.

 

When asked about the trend’s longevity, both Ms Lim and Mr Santhanaraj predicted it lasting until March to June 2021. Both noted that more updates could make the game trend again, with Ms Lim mentioning that big streamers continuing to stream Among Us to maintain their relevance is likely.

 

Fans can anticipate the new fourth map, “The AirShip”, which is possibly the last determining factor for the future course of the trend, to be released around February or March 2021, with no confirmed date yet.