Social deduction games experienced a surge of popularity in 2020, when titles like Among Us allowed friends locked down in separate homes to still meet up for hijinks and fun. Innersloth’s game, which originally released in 2018, became a phenomenon on streaming sites like YouTube and Twitch, and will soon be getting ported to consoles with three Among Us collector’s editions. It was only a matter of time before the success of Among Us incited a flurry of clones of the game’s winning formula, like the upcoming Dubium by Mumo Studio that was announced just last week.
Based in Seoul, Korea, the founders of Mumo Studio have notable credentials, having worked on games like Black Desert Online by Pearl Abyss and Dead to Rights. The five-player social deduction game Dubium will be the studio’s first indie title. Set in a sci-fi universe of the near future, players will take on the role of either a Frontier or Traitor, all attempting to escape from an abandoned space station. Frontiers are the equivalent of crewmates in Among Us, working together to repair solar panels to power the escape pod, while the Traitor sabotages their work and takes them out one by one.
Mumo Studio has revealed that a Kickstarter campaign for Dubium will be launching sometime later this month for those who wish to support the development of the project, and there will also be a closed beta test that players can sign up for on the game’s official website. Dubium will also be coming to Steam Early Access sometime in 2022, though it’s unknown at this time if there will eventually be console versions of the game.
While on the surface Among Us and Dubium have much in common, Mumo Studio’s game features a 3D, exaggerated art style with fleshed out animations. The gadgets used by each Frontier or Traitor can be upgraded using rewards earned through gameplay, allowing players to customize their character to suit their play style. The game is also being developed with streaming in mind and will include a Twitch extension that lets viewers suggest actions or even make decisions for the streamer. And even if the space station’s crew hails from different locations around the world, Dubium’s built-in voice lines and expressions will make it easy for players to communicate.
For gamers eager to jump into a new experience similar to Among Us before 2022, First Class Trouble is another social deduction game that released on November 1 for PC and PlayStation, where it launched as a PlayStation Plus title for PS4 and PS5. Developer Invisible Walls also went a different route with the game’s graphics, creating an atmosphere extremely reminiscent of the BioShock series.
Dubium will release in Early Access on PC in 2022.