What’s actually slowing this PC down?

Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

iTechGuides is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more

Among Us Story: On Guard turns the Among Us premise into a single-player detective adventure, while regular Among Us is a multiplayer social-deduction game. In On Guard, you play one Crewmate assigned to shipwide security, investigate a murder, complete tasks, follow clues and pursue one of three endings. In the standard game, 4–15 people play online or over local Wi‑Fi as Crewmates and hidden Impostors, with deception, meetings and voting driving every round.

The games share a space-ship setting, Crewmate terminology, tasks and a murder mystery, but they ask you to solve that mystery in completely different ways: On Guard is an authored story about interpreting evidence, whereas Among Us is an unpredictable contest built from other players’ lies, accusations and decisions.

On Guard and Among Us at a glance

Category Among Us Story: On Guard Multiplayer Among Us
Players One player 4–15 players online or through local Wi‑Fi
Role A Crewmate serving as the ship’s security investigator A Crewmate or a hidden Impostor assigned within the group
Main activity Complete tasks, inspect clues, investigate a murder and pursue an ending Complete tasks, report bodies, discuss evidence, vote, sabotage or eliminate players
Story structure Authored narrative scenario with three unique endings Emergent stories created by each group and each round
Win condition Solve the case and reach an ending Crewmates finish the task bar or eject the Impostors; Impostors eliminate the crew and create confusion
Social requirement No live group is required Conversation and social interaction are central to play
Status Officially announced for PC via Steam, with Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 listed as planned platforms; an official update announces a February 17, 2027 launch Established multiplayer game with online and local-Wi‑Fi play

What Among Us Story: On Guard actually is

A solo Crewmate security assignment

Innersloth describes On Guard as a narrative space adventure in which you live as a Crewmate responsible for shipwide security. That fixed assignment is important: you are not one participant in a lobby of interchangeable players. You are the investigator at the center of an authored scenario.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

The June 5, 2026 reveal frames the project as a way to explore more Crewmate stories and lore in a single-player format. The premise begins with a ship where everything appears fine, then a murder changes your job from routine security to an investigation. The central question is not whether another human player is bluffing in a meeting; it is whether you can assemble the available evidence and determine what happened.

#1 Best Overall
Among Us: Crewmate Edition - Nintendo Switch
  • Crewmate Edition Includes: See description below for complete details
  • Life as a Crewmate: Complete all your tasks on the ship to win but watch out for Impostors. Report dead bodies and call emergency meetings to vote the Impostors out. Hope you chose correctly
  • Play as an Impostor: Cause chaos, sneak around, and frame innocent bystanders. Winning involves killing off every Crewmate - think you’re a master of sabotage
  • Customization: Choose how you want to play. Add more impostors, tasks, decrease visibility and more. All in style as you get to choose your favorite color, outfit, and hat
  • Cross-platform: Play with your friends between PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, and iOS

Tasks and clues replace the normal round rhythm

On Guard still uses familiar Among Us language. You complete tasks and move through a ship, but those actions support a narrative investigation rather than a shared task race. The reveal says you discover clues, investigate the murder and work toward identifying the person responsible. The expected loop is therefore closer to a contained mystery: make progress, examine information, connect details and decide how to proceed.

That structure changes what “success” means. A task is not merely a contribution toward a communal bar that opponents are trying to interrupt. It is part of your route through the case. Clues matter because they advance the story and help you reach an outcome, not because they give you a stronger argument against a player who may be lying in voice chat.

There are no ordinary Impostors

On Guard’s official FAQ explicitly says there are no Impostors in the game. The murder investigation can still involve identifying who is responsible, and the setting retains the tension associated with Among Us, but the game does not use the standard hidden-role system in which one or more players secretly receive the Impostor role.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

This distinction prevents a common misunderstanding. Calling On Guard a single-player version of an ordinary Among Us round would imply hidden roles, live accusations and a voting phase. The announced design instead gives one player a defined security role inside a predetermined story.

Three endings provide the advertised replay hook

Innersloth says On Guard has three unique endings and describes the experience as short and replayable. The available information does not specify every decision that leads to each ending, so it would be inaccurate to assume that they work exactly like branching dialogue trees, difficulty tiers or alternate victory screens. What is established is that the investigation can resolve in three distinct ways, giving you a reason to revisit the scenario after your first conclusion.

Rank #2
Sale
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (PS5) - PlayStation 5
  • Crewmate Edition Includes: See description below for complete details
  • Life as a Crewmate: Complete all your tasks on the ship to win but watch out for Impostors! Report dead bodies and call emergency meetings to vote the Impostors out. Hope you chose correctly
  • Play as an Impostor: Cause chaos, sneak around, and frame innocent bystanders! Winning involves killing off every Crewmate - think you’re a master of sabotage
  • Customization: Choose how you want to play! Add more impostors, tasks, decrease visibility and more. All in style as you get to choose your favorite color, outfit, and hat
  • Cross-platform: Play with your friends between PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, and iOS

How regular multiplayer Among Us works

A 4–15-player social-deduction format

Innersloth’s official Among Us page calls the game a party game of teamwork and betrayal. Its listed format supports 4–15 players online or through local Wi‑Fi. Everyone shares the same broad objective of surviving and completing the round, but hidden roles divide the group’s interests.

Crewmates complete tasks and investigate deaths

Crewmates work through tasks while watching for signs that someone is sabotaging the ship or killing fellow players. When a body is found, or when someone calls an emergency meeting, the round shifts into discussion. Players describe movements, compare timelines, challenge alibis and decide whom to eject. A Crewmate victory can come from completing the group’s task bar or ejecting all of the Impostors.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Impostors win through elimination and deception

Impostors secretly kill, sabotage, vent, frame other players and bluff during meetings. Their objective is not to solve a murder after it has happened; it is to create enough confusion that the crew cannot identify them before the crew is eliminated. Because the role is hidden, every ordinary action can be interpreted in two ways: a player completing a task may be helping the team, or may be building an alibi.

Every round writes its own story

Multiplayer Among Us has no fixed sequence of suspects or promised set of endings. The drama emerges from who receives which role, where players travel, when a body is reported, what information people remember and how convincingly they argue. The official rules establish the mechanics, but the memorable narrative is generated by the group.

The biggest gameplay differences

Authored mystery versus human deception

On Guard gives you a designed case with clues placed within a narrative context. The challenge is observation, interpretation and decision-making inside that scenario. Multiplayer Among Us gives you incomplete information about real people. The challenge is reading behavior, spotting contradictions and persuading the group before a vote.

Rank #3
Sale
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (Nintendo Switch)
  • Life as a crewmate: complete all your tasks on the ship to win but watch out for impostors! Report Dead bodies and call emergency meetings to vote the impostors out. Hope you chose correctly!
  • play as an impostor: cause chaos, sneak around, and frame innocent bystanders! Winning involves killing off every crewmate - think you're a master of sabotage?
  • customisation: choose how you want to play! Add more impostors, tasks, decrease visibility and more. All in style as you get to choose your favourite colour, outfit, and Hat.
  • cross-platform: play with your friends between PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, and iOS!
  • retail exclusive: includes Exclusive downloadable content available at launch!

Fixed protagonist versus rotating hidden roles

On Guard always centers on the Guard, a Crewmate assigned to security. Your identity and purpose are stable because the story depends on your investigation. In multiplayer Among Us, the role structure changes from round to round: you may be a Crewmate trying to survive, or an Impostor trying to appear innocent. The uncertainty about who everyone is forms the foundation of the game.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Evidence gathering versus meetings and votes

On Guard’s announced loop emphasizes completing tasks, discovering clues and identifying the killer. Regular Among Us emphasizes reporting bodies, calling meetings, discussing allegations and voting. A player who wants a quiet, focused investigation will find those activities fundamentally different from defending an accusation while several people talk over one another.

Designed endings versus open-ended round results

On Guard advertises three unique endings, so its replayability is tied to reaching different authored outcomes. Multiplayer Among Us is replayable because no two groups produce exactly the same sequence of movement, sabotage, suspicion and votes. It does not promise a fixed number of narrative endings; each round simply ends when one side satisfies its victory condition.

Does On Guard have Impostors, voting or online multiplayer?

  • Impostors: No. The official FAQ for On Guard says there are no Impostors. The investigation can still involve finding who caused the murder, but it is not a hidden-role assignment.
  • Voting: The announced description focuses on clues, investigation and endings; it does not describe the ordinary emergency-meeting vote system. Do not expect standard Among Us voting unless a later official update adds it.
  • Online multiplayer: No multiplayer mode is established in the announcement. On Guard is presented as single-player, with one player controlling the Guard.
  • Tasks: Yes, tasks remain part of the announced investigation loop, but they serve the story rather than a shared multiplayer task bar.
  • Murder: Yes, a murder is the event that starts the investigation. That does not turn the game into a normal Impostor round, because the announced FAQ expressly says there are no Impostors.

Why the two games feel different even though they share the same vocabulary

Terms such as Crewmate, task, murder and ship can make On Guard sound like a conventional solo mode. The important difference is how information works. In multiplayer Among Us, information is distributed across players: one person saw a hallway, another heard a claim, and an Impostor may deliberately supply false evidence. In On Guard, information is presented through the authored scenario for you to inspect and interpret.

The emotional pressure also changes. A multiplayer player may fear being blamed for someone else’s action, or may need to lie convincingly while playing Impostor. A solo player instead faces the consequences of missing a clue or choosing the wrong interpretation. The tension comes from uncertainty in the case, not from negotiating with a room full of other decision-makers.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Rank #4
Xbox Among Us: Crewmate Edition - For Xbox Series X / One
  • In-game text chat.
  • Rich Discord integration.
  • Quickly find a game online from the host list.
  • Customization: Pick your color, hat, skin, and pet.
  • 4 different maps to play in: The Skeld, MIRA HQ, Polus, and the Airship.

The pacing differs as well. Multiplayer rounds alternate between free movement and short, intense meetings. On Guard is described as a narrative adventure, so its progression is expected to follow the needs of the investigation. The available announcement does not provide a minute-by-minute structure, map count or detailed timing rules, and those details should not be inferred from the multiplayer game.

Replayability: three endings versus endlessly changing rounds

What On Guard offers

Three unique endings give On Guard a clear replay target. After completing the story once, you can return to look for overlooked clues, test different decisions or pursue an outcome you did not reach previously. Because the title is described as short and replayable, its value is concentrated in revisiting the same narrative with a better understanding of the case.

What multiplayer Among Us offers

Regular Among Us changes whenever the lobby changes. A different group may notice different behavior, use different meeting strategies or create entirely new accusations. Even with the same map and rules, hidden roles and human choices produce a new social puzzle. Its replay value therefore comes from variation between rounds rather than a finite set of authored endings.

Choosing based on your preferred kind of replay

  • Choose On Guard if you prefer a contained mystery, a defined protagonist and replaying a story to uncover alternate conclusions.
  • Choose multiplayer Among Us if you prefer unpredictable rounds, live discussion, bluffing and the possibility that your friends change the outcome every time.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Support on Ko-Fi

Release, platforms and pricing status

Innersloth’s current On Guard page lists PC via Steam and includes an update announcing a February 17, 2027 launch. The June 5, 2026 reveal lists PC, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 as planned platforms. Those platform statements describe the announced plan, not proof that every version is already available.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

The June 2026 announcement says pricing had not yet been finalized. No price should be assumed from the standard Among Us game, from another platform or from a preorder listing. Wait for an official pricing update if cost is part of your purchase decision.

Best Value
Sale
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (Xbox Series X/)
  • Life as a Crewmate: Complete all your tasks on the ship to win but watch out for Impostors! Report dead bodies and call emergency meetings to vote the Impostors out. Hope you chose correctly!
  • Play as an Impostor: Cause chaos, sneak around, and frame innocent bystanders! Winning involves killing off every Crewmate - think you're a master of sabotage?
  • Customisation: Choose how you want to play! Add more impostors, tasks, decrease visibility and more. All in style as you get to choose your favourite colour, outfit, and hat.
  • Cross-platform: Play with your friends between PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC, Android, and iOS!
  • Retail Exclusive: Includes exclusive downloadable content available at launch!

Which game is the better fit?

Pick On Guard for a solo story experience

On Guard is the closer match if you want to play alone, follow an investigation at your own pace and see how a case resolves. Its fixed security role gives the game a clear narrative perspective, and the three announced endings provide a reason to replay after the first completion.

Pick multiplayer Among Us for group play

Regular Among Us is the choice for a group that wants conversation to be the main mechanic. Its 4–15-player support, online and local-Wi‑Fi options, hidden Impostors and voting phases make the experience depend on the people in the lobby. The appeal is less about uncovering a prewritten plot and more about creating a story together through suspicion and betrayal.

Do not choose based only on the shared setting

Both titles use Crewmates and a dangerous spaceship, but that shared fiction does not mean they offer the same mode. On Guard is not simply a private lobby with computer-controlled opponents, and multiplayer Among Us is not a campaign with a fixed detective ending. The role system, information flow, objectives and replay structure all change.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Common misconceptions clarified

  • “On Guard is just Among Us offline.” Not according to the announcement. It is framed as a narrative adventure with a single-player Guard role and no Impostors.
  • “The killer must be an Impostor.” The murder is central to On Guard, but the official FAQ says there are no Impostors. The terminology should not be treated as a confirmation of the multiplayer role system.
  • “Three endings means three multiplayer victory screens.” The three endings belong to On Guard’s authored story. Multiplayer Among Us has team victory conditions, not a stated fixed number of narrative endings.
  • “The announced launch platforms are all available now.” The information currently identifies PC via Steam and lists Switch and Switch 2 as planned platforms, with a February 17, 2027 launch update. Availability can differ by platform and date.

Bottom line

Among Us Story: On Guard is a solo, narrative-led murder investigation that uses the Among Us universe without reproducing its hidden-role multiplayer structure. You play a security Crewmate, complete tasks, examine clues and pursue one of three endings; there are no Impostors in the announced game. Regular Among Us remains a 4–15-player online or local-Wi‑Fi party game in which Crewmates and hidden Impostors compete through tasks, sabotage, discussion and votes. Choose On Guard for an authored detective story, and choose multiplayer Among Us for emergent social deception.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 1
Among Us: Crewmate Edition - Nintendo Switch
Among Us: Crewmate Edition - Nintendo Switch
Crewmate Edition Includes: See description below for complete details; Subscription/Internet is required for online multiplayer
SaleBestseller No. 2
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (PS5) - PlayStation 5
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (PS5) - PlayStation 5
Crewmate Edition Includes: See description below for complete details; Subscription/Internet is required for online multiplayer
$14.19
SaleBestseller No. 3
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (Nintendo Switch)
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (Nintendo Switch)
retail exclusive: includes Exclusive downloadable content available at launch!
$27.00
Bestseller No. 4
Xbox Among Us: Crewmate Edition - For Xbox Series X / One
Xbox Among Us: Crewmate Edition - For Xbox Series X / One
In-game text chat.; Rich Discord integration.; Quickly find a game online from the host list.
$16.99
SaleBestseller No. 5
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (Xbox Series X/)
Among Us: Crewmate Edition (Xbox Series X/)
Retail Exclusive: Includes exclusive downloadable content available at launch!
$12.99

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.