Betrayal.io – a good alternative for Among Us?

Or just another imposter?

Despite having been released back in 2018, it was last Summer that Innersloth’s Among Us took the world by storm. Having skyrocketed from a niche obscurity to one of gaming’s most recognisable modern hits, we’re now starting to see a number of Among Us alternatives starting to pop up, the latest being a game called Betrayal.io from Eng Game Interactive.

Currently in alpha, you can access Betrayal.io via your web browser or as a downloadable app for iOS and Android devices, this early version being completely free to play.

Much like Among Us, Betrayal.io has appeared from nowhere, given a recent boost in visibility after being played by an increasing number of popular streamers. Peak Twitch viewership soared from the double digits to well over 100,000, but what’s so special about Betrayal.io and should you be playing?

Betrayal.io is a social deduction game that lists Among Us as one of its influences, as well as Werewolf and Town of Salem. You don’t need to have played any of these games to learn the ropes though the first few matches you play can be disorientated.

Up to 12 players will drop into a match, each assigned one of four roles. Crewmates will need to complete various tasks around the map to win whereas the Betrayer (or Betrayers) need to kill them off. When bodies are discovered or emergency meetings called, everyone is summoned to a room where they can vote to eliminate one player.

The juiciest part of Betrayal.io is attempting to oust the Betrayer or pretending to be one of the Crewmates. There’s nothing more satisfying than being able to convince players to wrongly evict the wrong person.

It’s fair to say that Betrayal.io is a bit late to the party. However, the overall experience – from the art style to the organised UI and rapid flow between matches makes it a worthy contender within the burgeoning social deduction game genre.

Although it shares the same DNA with Among Us, I found myself warming more towards Betrayal.io simply because of its cleaner 3D visuals. Being able to play in a browser and drop into a match within seconds is also a welcome boon, though it’s unclear whether the 1.0 version will be free.

In fact, there’s really not a lot of info on Betrayal.io to be found online, despite its developer End Game Interactive having launched a cluster of successful games in the past.

Other plus points for Betrayal.io include a 3D character creator already teeming with options and the choice between two maps – a spacebase and haunted mansion – with a third on the way.

Did we mention there’s also a fishing mini game? From the main lobby you can launch into Betrayal.io’s social hub where you can chat while fishing for a surprisingly vast collection of sealife, selling your catches and buying better rods. This could be a one-off for Betrayal.io though it’s fascinating to consider the number of ways End Game Interactive could expand on the base game.

Even if angling isn’t really your thing, Betrayal.io is well worth investigating. It’s more than just an Among Us imposter and a game that has the potential to blossom if it finds a big enough community.

Written by
Senior Editor bursting with lukewarm takes and useless gaming trivia. May as well surgically attach my DualSense at this point.