Among Us 2 canceled, planned features will be added to the original

By Shubham Agarwal September 23, 2020

The developer of the viral online multiplayer game Among Us is canceling its sequel to focus all of its resources instead on improving the original. In a blog post, InnerSloth wrote that the unexpected surge in the game’s popularity has made the studio reconsider its plans and abandon Among Us 2, which was announced just over a month ago.

InnerSloth adds that it will bring all of the features it had in the works for the sequel to the original game. More importantly, since Among Us is technically more than 2 years old, its outdated codebase has been unable to keep up the soaring number of players as well as support new-gen content, and to fix that, the developer says it will be reworking several parts of the game’s core.

“The main reason we are shooting for a sequel is because the codebase of Among Us 1 is so outdated and not built to support adding so much new content,” InnerSloth wrote in the blog post. “However, seeing how many people are enjoying Among Us 1 really makes us want to be able to support the game and take it to the next level. We have decided to cancel Among Us 2 and instead put all our focus into improving Among Us 1.”

InnerSloth also shared which improvements it’s prioritizing at the moment for the next couple of updates. Among Us will soon get a new Henry Stickmin-themed stage, better and more reliable servers, support for colorblind users (which means more color options), and a friends account system.

Among Us is a social deduction game where your job is to work with a team to identify imposters — which, despite being available for over two years, only recently went viral when a series of Twitch streamers picked it up. At the time of writing, Among Us is the second-most popular game on Steam with over 325,000 active players and the leading stream channel on Twitch hosting more than 330,000 viewers. In comparison, last month when InnerSloth announced the sequel, the original game had just over 70,000 players. Among Us is available for Windows PCs, Android, iOS and can be played on Mac as well.

Topics

Shubham Agarwal

Journalist

Shubham Agarwal is a freelance technology journalist from Ahmedabad, India. His work has previously appeared in Firstpost…

Gaming

I wish I loved Alan Wake 2’s most creative gameplay feature

Saga doing a deduction in the mind place.

Among all the marketing material and features shown off leading up to Alan Wake 2's release, nothing got me more excited to return to Bright Falls than The Mind Place. More than the focus on survival horror, the mix of live-action and in-game cinematics, or simply getting to conclude a story I began over a decade ago, the idea of a metaphorical space in which I -- or rather FBI agent Saga Anderson -- could visualize and construct the clues I was collecting to piece together the darkly magical mystery presented captivated my imagination most.

What we ended up getting wasn't quite what I hoped for. Created as a clever space where players could piece together the game's driving occult case, the space doesn't leave as much room for smart deduction as I'd hoped. For as much potential for this space had to elevate Alan Wake 2 on both a narrative and gameplay level, it felt like a missed opportunity during my playthrough that only slowed the sequel's strong momentum.
Not quite a True Detective
Creating a detective game where the player is an active participant in solving a mystery sounds like a nightmare to design. On one hand, the designers need to provide all the clues to reach the correct solution, while simultaneously making it neither too obvious nor obscure to solve. Lean too far in either direction and the player will either feel unsatisfied and potentially pandered to, or frustrated and betrayed. It is a task few games attempt, and even fewer manage to pull off.

Gaming

Ghostrunner 2 is already giving me more of what I loved about the original

Jack holds a sword in Ghostrunner 2 key art.

Some games are memorable because of their intriguing themes, deep stories, or memorable worlds. Others are just damn fun to play. The original Ghostrunner, which was released by One More Level and 505 Games in 2020, is a game that embraces the latter category.
It was a frenetic first-person action game where players dashed around neon-soaked sci-fi levels, slashing through any enemies that got in their way. It wasn’t that complex of an experience, but it was a ton of fun from the moment I picked it up. That’s why I’m happy that One More Level and 505 Games are following it up with Ghostrunner 2, a direct sequel.
Ghostrunner 2 Announce Trailer (ESRB)
I recently had the chance to play some of Ghostrunner 2 ahead of its launch this October and found that it reliably carries forward the fast-paced fun of its predecessor that its PlayStation Showcase reveal hinted at. It even tries to up the cool factor with motorbike action set pieces -- although I’m not quite as sold on those segments as I am on the satisfying-as-ever combat.
Retaining the charm
My Ghostrunner 2 demo began with Jack, the ghostrunner from the first game, chasing someone named Mitra across the rooftops of the dystopian, neon-infused Dharma Tower. Within 30 seconds, Jack encountered some enemies from the Hammer gang, and the action began. As I got reacquainted with the Ghostrunner series’ now trademark combat, it felt like I was picking up the original for the first time again as I slashed through the initial couple of enemies.
Ghostrunner 2, like its predecessor, emphasizes speed and offense to create puzzle-like combat situations. Enemies only take a hit or two to defeat, but Jack also goes down similarly. As the encounters ramped up in difficulty, it was always important to keep moving, monitor whether or not the enemies near me had close- or long-range attacks, and watch for the right windows to dodge, block, or parry. If I did all that, I could always swoop in with a devastating counterblow and feel like a badass.
In-between those segments, light first-person platforming -- that incorporates sliding, swinging, wall running, air-dashing, rail-grinding, and grappling -- reinforces that feeling. These are all things the original Ghostrunner excelled at, and One More Level didn’t lose any of that magic with this sequel. In fact, it made the game’s levels more expansive from the start, so there are now multiple angles from which to approach many of the enemy encounters. If you just wanted more Ghostrunner, this sequel delivers.

New ideas
The game isn’t devoid of any new ideas, though. After fighting through the enemy forces, I came upon a warehouse. Inside, I found a motorbike, and before I knew it, Jack had hopped on to continue chasing Mitra. Driving on rooftops and walls, I could slash at certain switches to open doors, but mainly was trying to keep up my speed to stay in the range of Mitra’s signal while doing my best to dodge obstacles on the road.
Adding a high-octane vehicle segment like this is a natural evolution of the quick-kill, quick-death formula. It’s a gameplay gimmick common in many classic beat ’em ups, something that Ghostrunner 2 may be considered a modern interpretation of. But like the infamous Turbo Tunnel in Battletoads, the Ghostrunner 2 motorbike set piece in this demo wasn’t forgiving and was rougher around the edges than the slick combat.
One More Level has now had two games (and some DLC) worth of time to refine the first-person hack-and-slash combat, so it makes sense that it feels as great as ever. That’s why it’s a bit more apparent that this is its first outing with the motorbike gameplay mechanics, as it controls a bit looser than I feel like it should, which caused me to just barely not be able to dodge certain obstacles in time. Whenever I had to ride on a wall or in a circular tube, the field-of-view felt too tight to see what was ahead properly.

Gaming

Creepy new Alan Wake 2 trailer finally takes us to the Dark Place

Alan looks surprised in Alan Wake 2.

This year's Gamescom Opening Night Live concluded with a new look at Alan Wake 2, with a trailer finally showing off the Dark Place and what Alan Wake's gameplay segments look like.

Alan Wake World Premiere Trailer | gamescom Opening Night Live 2023 #ONL