Big Among Us update adds four new roles, an XP system, and multiple currencies

Among Us has received a huge new update that features new character roles, a progression system, and a new store. The Role & Cosmicube update adds four new crewmates: Scientist, Engineer, Guardian Angel, and the Imposter role of Shapeshifter.

Scientists can access vitals at any time and complete tasks to recharge their battery, while Engineers can use vents, and Guardian Angels can put a protective shield around other crewmates. The Shapeshifter lets the Imposter take on the appearance of another crewmate which sounds like an amazing way to get innocents chucked out of the airlock.

The shop update is a whole new system of cosmetics and in-game currencies. Innersloth has sweetened the pill by adding free and paid customisation options, and among the stuff it's added are visor cosmetics, name plates, plus more pets, hats and skins. The Cosmicube part of the update title refers to “special cosmetic cubes that have themed items you unlock via a branching path. These items tend to be more special or detailed.” Newly added stars are the game's premium currency, while there are also 'beans' and 'pods' earned just through playing, the latter of which are how you unlock the cosmicubes.

Innersloth's also a bit defensive about the monetisation, with the post at one point saying: “Us: Wants to give everyone more things, needs to survive and pay for server costs, and do more cool stuff.” I don't have a problem with any developer monetising its game but putting it in terms of survival when you're a small team behind a worldwide smash feels like the wrong tone.

Anyway: the new XP system rewards players with beans and pods for levelling, and players can now aggregate their Among Us accounts across different platforms barring Switch.

It's good to see Innersloth branching out a little more into the idea of roles, and these new characters seem well-judged to offer players more options without really affecting the simplicity that's key to the game's appeal. I'm not sure I care about collecting beans and stuff but I'm a grumpy old man. You can read the full notes on the update here.