Among Us FAQ: Custom Skins, Cross-Play and Sus explained
Among Us has surged in popularity over the last few weeks with PC and mobile players, but just how do you create the perfect skin for your Imposter?
The premise of Among Us is both to seek out the Imposter who's taking out your comrades in space or stoatin' around as the Imposter, killing folk and hope you make it to the end without getting caught.
The aim of the game is to make everyone else look a bit sus so that you can survive, so you need to balance making some wild accusations about other players while trying not to appear too defensive and moany.
Alongside picking a unique username - or making your username blank, if you want to add an extra layer of vagueness - you can customise your character using the in-game customisation options, which are rather plentiful. You can also download custom skins if you want to risk bricking your device or create your own.
We've created this handy FAQ for new players and veterans alike, so let's take a look at some of your most burning questions.
Among Us: Are Custom Skins legit?
If you played Minecraft, you'll know that you can download and install some custom skins for your character. You can do a similar thing if you want a custom skin in Among Us but, like everything else in this game, it's a bit sus. There's no official Among Us skin site and even seemingly "reputable" ones come with the risk of downloading a trojan or other spyware that can wreck your PC.
Even worse, you'll need a mod menu or hack to access skins if you're playing on your mobile, and do you really want to risk absolutely bricking your phone for the sake of looking like a lizard?
There's another issue at play here: your friends and enemies can't see the same skins or mods as you unless they've also downloaded them, which is extremely unlikely, so why bother going through all that hassle for f**k all?
How do I download and install custom skins?
If you're hellbent on downloading some skins on your PC, you'll need to install a Unity Assets Bundle Extractor. I'm not going to tell you anymore because I don't need angry wee guys in my Twitter DMs telling me I'm an arsehole for accidentally recommending a site that wasn't safe or whatever. All I can say is avoid sites like Amongus.dev as they aren't legit.
What you can do is create your own skins in Photoshop using the existing sprite sheet, and can edit individual textures like Hats and Pets. F**k it, make your own Halloween Hat and have a ball this October.
How to make your own custom skins in Photoshop
First of all, open the aforementioned Unity Assets Bundle Extractor and select File>Open and navigate to your Among Us_Data folder in your install directory - you're looking for C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Among Us\Among Us_Data if you're not experienced at searching for these things.
You'll then be asked to choose a Type Directory, just scroll to the bottom of the list and select the most recent option and check Affected Bundles, Affected Asset Files, and the directory.
Hit Select at the bottom and go to Among Us_Data folder - C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Among Us\Among Us_Data - and click OK. You're looking for the Texture2D section you'll be able to easily find the texture you want to edit, like Hats.
Once you've decided which texture is getting a facelift, select it and choose Plugins then Export to PNG. Open up Photoshop and have a bash, but don't do anything too far outside the original sprite shape as you'll just wreck it.
Afterwards, head back to the Unity Assets Bundle Extractor choose Plugins again, then Edit. Click Load and select your new creation. You can select basic quality as you're not exactly uploading a texture for Cyberpunk 2077 or anything here.
Select File and then Save, then export your mod to the sharedassets0.assets file, then save that new file in an easy-to-find location, such as the desktop.
Close the Unity Assets Bundle Extractor then copy and paste your sharedassets0.assets file into your Among Us_Data folder. It'll ask you if you're sure you want to overwrite the old one, so click yes if you want to use your skin.
Hurray! That's it done. Hopefully, your hard work pays off and you alone enjoy looking at your skin. I'm not sure if you can use MS Paint to create unique skins, but you're welcome to try.
Among Us: Does it support cross-play?
It does! Whether you're a PC, Android or iOS player, you can play with your friends across any device. You can invite friends to join a lobby by sending the unique code that generates when you join or create a room.
Head to the main menu and select Online Play, then Private, and enter the code and join your pals.
What does "Sus" mean?
Sus means Suspicious or Suspect in the context of Among Us and wider social media use. I know we're in a pandemic, but it's late 2020 - if you haven't encountered Sus yet, I have to wonder if you've been living under a rock.
If someone calls you Sus, they're implying that you're the Imposter. You might well be, or you could just be a slightly aggro crewmate who's minding their own business, completing tasks or winding folk up. Either way, you want to avoid being called Sus so don't try and be too invisible or too prominent in the game.