For a long time now, change has been the name of the game inAmong Us. Ever since Innersloth’s social deduction game made it big on Twitch and YouTube, it’s jumped back on development for the title, introducing large improvements and drastic changes in order to keep fans engaged. The diversified player roles once only available through mods are now core features inAmong Us,and the Airship map that joined the game this year pushesAmong Us' boundaries in a lot of ways. Perhaps the biggest change to the IP comes from Innersloth’s latest announcement at The Game Awards 2021: its work on a VR version ofAmong Us.
So far,not much is known aboutAmong Us VR.Innersloth has indicated that the game will only use the Skeld map at the beginning and thatAmong Us VRwill use the original game’s old player cap of 10, but exactly what tasks, emergency meetings, and Imposter sabotages look like are all mysterious. VR hardware could shed some light, however, especially the fact that many VR headsets come equipped with microphones. For a long time, communication has been a limiting factor inAmong Usthat players have to work around. If every player has a mic inAmong Us VR,then its communication could be a major step up over the base game.
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Among Us VR’s Potential Chat Changes
In normalAmong Us,there are no means for players to hear one another.Twitch streamers and otherAmong Usfanshave worked around this when playing with friends by getting into a Discord call together, but this doesn’t solve the lack of audio for anyone who wants to play with strangers. Multiplayer without a premade party means relying on the text chat during meetings and game setup inAmong Usor alternatively using the Quickchat wheel introduced in early 2021. These systems work fine, but in a social deduction game likeAmong Uswhere players are pressed for time and communication needs to be quick, clear, and concise, audio is far better than text.
NormalAmong Usmay not have been built on in-game audio, but it’s possible thatAmong Us VRwill be different. PlayStation VR, Steam VR, andthe Oculus Quest 2have microphones built into the headsets, meaning everyAmong Us VRplayer is equipped to use voice chat by default. In other words, Innersloth can work with Schell Games and Robot Teddy to makeAmong Us VRbuilt on audio communication by default, rather than relying on text again. If audio is a core part of the game, then discussing potential Impostors and exchanging information with other Crewmates will be far simpler and more practical inAmong Us VR.
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It should be noted that building audio into this version of the game opens up lots of other gameplay possibilities. For instance,one of the most popularAmong Usmodsis proximity chat, which allows players to hear each other in-game, but only when they’re standing close to one another. Proximity chat makes stealth much more complicated inAmong Ussince players have to manage their audio much more carefully.Among Us VRcould introduce proximity chat as a default setting and potentially explore other audio-based ways to modify the game.
Improving Core Tenets of Among Us
Admittedly, putting voice chat inAmong Us VRwould mean Innersloth has to consider a potential new set of chat safety measures, but it’d be worth the effort. If young players can still use Quickchat inAmong Us VRinstead of voice chat, then they still have a reliable tool for engaging with the game. Voice chat would go a long way to distinguishAmong Us VRfrom the originalAmong Us,greatly encouraging players to try diving into games with people whose tactics they don’t know. The immersion of VR already does a lot toenhance theAmong Usexperience, but voice chat through VR headsets could be what really sells the game.
Among Us VRis in development for PC and PSVR.
