On a recent stream, influential Twitch star Imane "Pokimane" Anys expressed her dislike for Airship, the latest DLC map for Among Us. While she enjoys parts of it, she argued that it's ultimately "too big, too much" for the Innersloth social deduction game, which rose to fame in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.
Among Us originally launched in June 2018, but went largely under the radar until it was picked up by various Twitch and YouTube streamers looking for an entertaining broadcast game. Innersloth scrambled to both capitalize on its popularity and keep attention running, churning out a series of new maps and cosmetics. In fact an Among Us 2 was canceled to devote more resources to the current product. Airship, the new Among Us map arrived in March 2021, marking the game's first full year as a success.
To work properly, the new map really needs support for up to 12 players, Pokimane said on a stream caught by Dexerto. The trouble, she elaborated, is that "there are too many places where you can spawn," making it difficult to keep tabs on other people and judge if they're impostors. As with any Among Us map, the core gameplay loop involves completing tasks while keeping an eye on other teammates - people who follow others or take too little time on a task may be killers in disguise.
Pokimane's views are important insofar as they may both reflect and shape what others think. If Among Us falls out of favor with streamers, it could also lose its player base to other multiplayer games. The social deduction genre is relatively niche, however, so audiences might not get similar satisfaction out of games like Fortnite and PUBG. Unlike those, Among Us demands a lot of social interaction that spawns funny incidents. Truer rivals might include Minecraft and Phasmophobia, though the most popular title on Twitch at the start of April 2021 was Grand Theft Auto V. Among Us ranked #13, keeping it ahead of games like Rocket League.
Another recent Among Us addition was a Quickchat option. This makes interactions easier for players who want to avoid sharing their voice, or who simply find regular chat options too cumbersome. This is especially true on mobile devices since players may be in a public space or not have a connected keyboard. An onscreen wheel lets Among Us players quickly select common chat topics like accusations or locations.
Sources: Dexerto, Pokimane/Youtube