Orange is Sus - Among Us and Political Play.

Initially released in 2018 to minimal attention, Among Us (InnerSloth) is a retro-style multiplayer game that employs both cooperative play and betrayal. In 2020, the game was catapulted into the popular culture spotlight thanks to a combination of pandemic play conditions, Twitch streamer attention, and political resonance. In this critical examination of the game and its reception, we consider how Among Us demonstrates both the importance of situated play and the potential for impact of minimalist indie games. The language of the game and its players (including the particularly notorious use of “sus”) has spread to play a significant role in culture more broadly. Transformed by its contextual moment into a force for memes and broader cultural conversation, the game transcends gaming and gamer identity to intertwine with how we understand the 2020 US election and American political polarization.