Performing menial tasks is my favourite part of Among Us

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When it comes to Among Us, I have a confession to make. No, it's not that I'm the Imposter. But while I'm on that subject, I should stress, just in case you ever play with me, I'm never the killer. Honest. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, despite myself, I'm just an extremely enthusiastic Crewmate, even though I happen to be assigned the role every time I play, I swear. Perhaps it's a bug.

Look, I understand why everybody wants to be the Imposter when a new round starts. I imagine there's something of a thrill to knowing you're the one pulling the strings, setting the pace of the game as all the oblivious little Crewmates blissfully go about their business.

Think you're about to finish your tasks? Bam! Take a sabotaged reactor. Think that room you've entered is safe? It won't be when I emerge from a vent like the alien from, well, Alien, and punish your complacency with a gun shot. There are few better feelings in Among Us than offing a Crewmate right in front of someone else, then brazenly persuading the others to kick them out of the airlock. I, err, suppose.

But despite all that, I'm perfectly happy with just being a humble ol' Crewmate. Yes, it means you're being hunted ruthlessly, your dinky astronaut's body is in mortal danger at all times from people whom you once called friends. You could finish all your allotted tasks, fix some sabotaged kit, and even bake some delicious treats with time to spare, and still get accused of murder and chucked unceremoniously into space. Sometimes being a Crewmate can be thankless work.

But what easy work it is. For the most part, all you need to do is sidle up to the busted bit of highlighted kit and click on something, or swipe something else. If I'd have known it was that easy, I'd have become an engineer, or at least been a little more proactive with DIY. Sometimes you need to do a little more, like draw a path through a miniature maze between nodes, but even that counts as a head-scratcher in Among Us.

And I love it. As I'm selected as a Crewmate, once again, I find myself filled with a mundane alacrity as I bound from objective to objective. I enjoy just working my way methodically through satisfyingly simple procedures, patting myself on the back for a series of jobs well done. For me, Among Us is less a multiplayer argue-'em-up, and more indulging in the fantasy of an eminently achievable to-do list.

I can't help but compare it with my job today, as PC Gamer's Guides Editor. Not exactly brain surgery, I accept, but if my list of tasks was anything like my interstellar avatar in Among Us, I wouldn't have the faintest hope of staying alive; If I had to head to Admin to write an email or an article and have more jobs to do, I'd be easy pickings for any chancing charlatan with a taste for blood.

So, unlike my actual job, I actually get things done in Among Us—don't tell my boss—and it feels great. And that's why, regardless of all the maniacal fun an Imposter can have, I'm happiest just being your regular Crewmate. I swear.

UK — After collecting and devouring piles of print gaming guides in his younger days, Harry has been creating 21st century versions for the past five years as Guides Writer at PCGamesN and Guides Editor at PC Gamer. He has also produced features, reviews, and even more guides for Trusted Reviews, TechRadar and Top Ten Reviews. He's been playing and picking apart PC games for over two decades, from hazy memories of what was probably a Snake knock-off on his first rig when he was seven to producing informative guides on football simulators, open-world role-playing games, and shooters today. So many by now he steadfastly refuses to convey information unless it’s in clickable online form.