Among Us: fairly safe, or pretty sus? 👩🚀🚀 This scenario of spaceship crew members cooperating to complete tasks and uncover murderous alien imposters has garnered a sizeable and committed following with younger gamers 🎮
Though Among Us is presented in a (mainly) sanitised visual style, any children’s game which essentially foregrounds the concepts of deceit, betrayal and killing is always likely to cause some concerns. This week’s NOS #WakeUpWednesday guide gets among it with Among Us.
Created in 2018 by a small indie studio that (at the time) had only four employees, Among Us has become one of the gaming world’s biggest breakout hits of recent years. In 2020, for example, it was the world’s most-downloaded mobile game. Its simplicity helped Among Us to resonate with younger players in particular: the game’s second largest audience slice is the 13–18 age bracket.
While the 7+ age rating, emphasis on teamwork and cartoonish, colourful graphics all suit a young fan-base, however, the game does carry more serious risks than betrayal by a team-mate or an untimely on-screen demise – with in-game purchases and possible contact from strangers on our #WakeUpWednesday guide’s list of hazards that trusted adults should bear in mind.
