In a time where face-to-face interaction was limited, the social deduction genre of video games rose to unprecedented heights. One title in particular, Among Us​​​​​​, became not just a video game phenomenon, but a cultural one as well. It was easy to understand and play which made it very accessible for everyone. Many games have tried to capture the same magic that Among Us had, but with limited success. The latest of these, First Class Trouble, received a new trailer during Sony's October State of Play showcase. In order for First Class Trouble to stand out from Among Us and other competitors, it needs to lean into its uniqueness.
While Among Us is undoubtedly an excellent game that is a ton of fun with friends, it still feels like a video game. That is, there's no narrative beyond just finding the imposter. The story of games like Among Us so far has been the funny and surprising moments associated with playing them. This omission might not mean a lot to some fans of social deduction games, but others are craving a much more immersive experience to get them even more into their role of survivor or imposter. First Class Trouble seems to be attempting to fill this narrative-based gap in social deduction games, and that could help it find success.
First Class Trouble's Narrative
Already setting itself apart from its competitors, First Class Trouble has fairly extensive lore and world-building to set up the gameplay. The plot revolves around a luxury spaceship's AI called CAIN malfunctioning and attempting to kill all humans aboard the ship. CAIN is also in control of several androids known as Personoids who are completely obedient to the human's command. This lack of freedom and distasteful use of the Personoids by humans caused CAIN to intervene. By the time a match starts, CAIN had already eliminated all but twelve humans on the ship. Now it is up to these survivors to reset CAIN, but they will need to work together despite several compromised Personoids attempting to kill them.
Even this fairly limited introduction is plenty more than what games like Among Us have for their narratives. First Class Trouble's narrative is also vague enough to allow players to make their own stories as they could in Among Us; the difference just comes down to presentation. There is a clear purpose and antagonist in First Class Trouble whose motives are understandable, but whose actions are not. The imposters of Among Us have unknown motives for killing the crewmates, alongside being of an unknown species. This makes it much easier to step into either the role of a Personoid who just wants the freedom to live their life and a resident who wants something similar.
This narrative-based social deduction could also be implemented in the game's tasks and goals for each role. It seems likely that the standard tasks such as putting out fires and keeping the lights on will be in the game, but developer Invisible Walls could also use these to expand the world-building even more. Perhaps a resident's task would require them to attempt communication with humans outside of the ship, for example. A Personoid could similarly have a task to communicate with CAIN which would allow for an even better understanding of the character.
Just like the influx of Battle Royale games after the success of PUBG and Fortnite, any social deduction games following in the footsteps of Among Us will need to do something unique to set itself apart. Thankfully, First Class Trouble seems to be doing just that through its narrative approach to an otherwise story-free genre. If the game successfully implements its narrative into its gameplay and distinct roles, then it would make spotting the imposter even more difficult than it is in games like Among Us. This is due to it being a lot harder to argue that one role is objectively good or evil, as both teams just want freedom but have very different methods of getting it.
First Class Trouble is releasing November 2 on PS4 and PS5 through PlayStation Plus.