‘Any last words?’ they demand.
‘RIP,’ she responds. ‘RIP me.’
Who said that? Was it Joan of Arc? Mary Antoinette beneath the guillotine? No. It was congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, shortly before she was punted into space during the first round of her Among Us livestream in September. The mainstream press was quick to praise Cortez for her media savvy, but little attention was paid to the game itself (the Guardian called it faddish). This strikes me as a serious oversight. While it looks like something spawned on the pages of Newgrounds circa 2005, Among Us is the perfect game for today – and quite possibly tomorrow, too.
Cast your mind back to March. I know it’s painful, but please, bear with me. Along with sourdough bread and Animal Crossing, there was a period of early quarantine when absolutely was doing Zoom quizzes. It was a nice enough idea. The problem is, quizzes suck. The formula runs dry pretty fast, and there’s no sense of adventure, no drama or visual flair. Quizzes died a gradual death. But the hunger for communal fun remains.