Smash Bros. Creator Breaks His Silence On Among Us
It's tough to discuss Masahiro Sakurai without also bringing up Super Smash Bros., the delightful (and ultra competitive) Nintendo fighting game franchise. Sakurai helped create the series, and he remains intimately involved with it to this day. It may come as a surprise to some, but Sakurai doesn't spend every moment thinking of ways to leave Waluigi out of Smash Ultimate. As a game designer and director, he does have thoughts about other video games from time to time. Sometimes he even shares them, as he did recently with his opinions on the hit multiplayer game Among Us.
In the latest issue of Japan's Famitsu gaming magazine, Sakurai reportedly dedicated an entire column to Among Us. YouTube channel Source Gaming translated Sakurai's words and broke down some of what he had to say about the title. According to Source, Sakurai wrote that Among Us "isn't a game that allows you to come up with a clear strategy when you play." He was also of the mind that Among Us doesn't have much action, and his column seemed to lament the game's lack of AI opponents.
Sakurai did apparently have some nice things to say about Among Us. Per Source's translation, Sakurai "could feel his heart beating a lot while he played because of the tension." He likened the experience to that of playing a card game, and that makes sense — players have to bluff and lie while playing Among Us just as they'd have to while playing poker. If you're after that experience and you want to share it with friends, Among Us could offer you a good time.
Unfortunately, the man behind the long-running Smash series questioned how long Among Us could remain popular. "Because this kind of game is ruled by its community," Sakurai said, "the community always has to be aware of any systems in the game, or they might find that it's difficult to play it." By the sounds of it, Sakurai's column wasn't too hard on Among Us overall. Then again, Sakurai openly pondering the game's long-term viability may not be a thing that'll give the Among Us team goosebumps.
It's tough to say whether Masahiro Sakurai will end up playing Among Us again in the future. One thing does seem more certain, though: as pointed out by Game Rant, Sakurai's column does not bode well for fans seeing an Among Us character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.