Among Us Was Scarier In The 90s

Talented animators and artists have created "demakes," or remakes of modern games as lower resolution versions that mimic 90's console quality graphics, for many best-selling games like "Cyberpunk 2077" and "Resident Evil Village." Now, a fan who goes by Wooden Turtle has further showcased the potential of demakes by giving gamers a peek at what "Among Us" would look like as a PlayStation One horror game. 

"Among Us" has been elevated to a household name for hardcore and casual gamers across the world since the start of the pandemic. The mission, should you choose to accept it, is to identify the Imposter (essentially aliens that look like fellow players) and eject them from the ship. The Imposter's mission is to kill off all the crew members. How easy it is to pick up and play makes it a top choice for casual fun between friends.

Wooden Turtle transforms InnerSloth's popular social deduction game into a pixel-perfect demake. However, their work reimagines more than just the graphics. The "Among Us" PS1 version presents the premise in a horror game fashion befitting "Resident Evil" or "Silent Hill" type games. Crew members, who still look like bean-bodied, Teletubby screen-wearing astronauts, explore a dark and dreary spaceship with ominous music playing in the background.

"Among Us" already aligns with modern horror movie plotlines. The game has plenty of potential to creep players out, particularly if they think too long about how the game takes place in a semi-secluded spaceship where aliens eat crew members one by one. In the original game, the Imposters kill others through various means, like putting a spike through their face or casually cutting them in half.

Wooden Turtle's demake enhances the graphical quality of the bloody scenes that make the original game's body discoveries seem unthreatening and silly in comparison. Part of what ups the scare factor is the departure from InnerSloth's cartoon violence to more realistic depictions, but the overall presentation and music help too.

Of course, "Among Us" isn't actually coming to the PlayStation One. However, InnerSloth has announced that console demand for "Among Us" convinced the team to start developing ports for PlayStation and Xbox consoles to release sometime in the future. In the meantime, fans can try out another social deduction game: "Unfortunate Spacemen," which pays similarly to "Among Us" and better resembles the vibe of Wooden Turtle's demake.