Whether you know it as Werewolf, Mafia, Blood On The Clocktower, or the ever-popular Among Us, the hidden-identity impostor niche is a staple at game-loving parties everywhere for a reason. What happens when you take the party staple into single-player territory, though?
While we’ve got the likes of Gnosia and Raging Loop, Among Us Story: On Guard offers a tonally different take on the social deduction genre. In my demo at Summer Game Fest 2026, I got to sit down (literally) with a Switch 2 and see how Innersloth was tackling an Among Us murder mystery.
Though the setting is still very much Among Us, the section I played felt less like a single-player version of the party game and more like a Hercule Poirot serial set within the Among Us universe. After a brief intro, framing the demo as a sort-of virtual reality excursion, I was put in the bean-sized shoes of the Guard. Every Crewmate in Among Us Story bears a role-based moniker: Captain, Doctor, Engineer, and Cook.
Guard discovers a dead Cook, just as several Crewmates enter the room. Framed as the impostor, Guard is almost sent tumbling out of the airlock, until a sudden twist of fate helps him escape through the vents. From there, Guard’s only choice is to seek clues and discover the Impostor hiding among the ranks.
Immediately, the humor of Among Us Story: On Guard felt front-and-center. It’s charming and clever, filled with plenty of in-jokes for Among Us players (including numerous card-swipe gags) and in-character bits for the different Crewmates. The hard-boiled detective Guard, grumbling to himself about how vents are a criminal’s hallway, genuinely made me laugh out loud several times. And one section, where I had to chase the Engineer around a circular room as he and Guard argued, was a delightful hit of interactive physical comedy.
Among Us Story’s actual investigation is fairly straightforward; there were always signposts to the next clue, and most of the puzzle-solving didn’t require too many steps. It didn’t seem overly simple, but more that none of the mysteries felt like they’d leave me scratching my head for too long. Little moments also included the tactility of Among Us’ tasks, ranging from scooping beans into a coffee machine and making a cup of joe to, yes, card-swiping.
As someone who grew up on detective stories, ranging from Encyclopedia Brown to Columbo, I really like where Among Us Story: On Guard is heading. It’s the type of game I could easily recommend for parents to play with their younger kids, where they might enjoy the shared deductions and cartoonish antics of the little bean-shaped Crewmates. Doctor’s streaming side-hustle, Engineer’s antics, and Guard’s noir detective internal monologue all immediately made me think that On Guard would have anyone in the family laughing and invested in the single-player Among Us story.
It turns out, Among Us works quite well as a single-player story if you put it in the right hands, and Innersloth has found a capable crew for On Guard. My interest went from pure curiosity to genuine interest, as this might be a winner for longtime Among Us fans and families alike.
