Social deduction games (or hidden role games as they are more commonly referred to) seem to be all the rage these days. But these games have been around almost as long as modern party games have existed, with examples like Mafia dating back to the 1980s.

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Over the years, such games have been replicated within popular video games, all thanks to the power of mods. In the wake of the explosive success of Among Us though, we can expect to see more and more standalone titles get made following that same basic template. But for now, here is our ranking of the most prominent and very best hidden role games.

8 Town Of Salem

A screenshot showing gameplay in Town of Salem

Based on the classic social deduction party game, Werewolf, Town of Salem is an online multiplayer strategy game developed by BlankMediaGames.

It originally started off as a free-to-play browser game, but following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it was able to make its way onto mobile phones with native apps for both Android and iOS. It is currently one of the largest social deduction games available today, with more than five million registered users.

7 Fortnite Impostors

A screenshot showing gameplay in Fortnite Impostors

It was only a matter of time before Epic Games would try to cash in on the Among Us craze, and that effort eventually came in the form of a new mode for Fortnite called Impostors.

In the mode, a maximum of ten players are split into two teams consisting of up to eight Agents and two Imposters. Agents try to maintain The Bridge by completing tasks such as calibrating Chests, repairing Battle Buses, or delivering reports about The Storm. The Impostors on the other hand are trying to take over the Bridge by eliminating Agents.

6 Space Station 13

A screenshot showing gameplay in Space Station 13

Released in 2003, Space Station 13 is one of the oldest social deduction video games. And that age definitely shows through in the form of its rudimentary visuals, clunky controls, and its cluttered user interface.

But underneath that unwelcoming exterior lies a game with plenty of depth and hidden complexities. It has you playing as one of several passengers on the titular space station, with the singular goal being to survive the round while performing your assigned tasks for your selected role.

5 Secret Neighbor

A screenshot showing gameplay in Secret Neighbor

Secret Neighbor is a spin-off of the stealth horror game, Hello Neighbor. Released in 2019, it was also developed by Hologryph and published by tinyBuild Games.

In the game, rounds are played between six players, each playing as children trying to break into the basement of a neighbor's house. One of them is actually the neighbor's kid, and it is that player's role to catch all the others and prevent them from collecting the six keys needed to unlock the basement door.

4 Trouble In Terrorist Town (Garry's Mod)

A screenshot showing gameplay in Trouble in Terrorist Town

The aptly named Garry's Mod was released by Valve in 2006 to serve as both a showcase for their Source engine, as well as a sandbox for players to experiment with.

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And in 2009, some of those players created the Trouble In Terrorist Town mod, a Mafia-style FPS where a group of terrorists must contend with traitors within their midst. The traitors have specialized equipment with which they can discretely dispatch the other terrorists, while the other terrorists, aided by the help of detectives with the ability to scan the DNA of others, must prevent the traitors from wiping them out.

3 First Class Trouble

A screenshot showing gameplay in First Class Trouble

Recently featured in the October 2021 Sony State of Play, First Class Trouble is an asymmetric multiplayer party game developed by Invisible Walls.

The game has players playing as either survivors or androids on a luxury spaceship that is stranded following a robot rebellion. Survivors must try to get the ship up and running again, while robots are out to stop them, with their most powerful tool being deception. The game is also available on Steam as well as PlayStation Plus for the month of November 2021.

2 Werewolves Within

a first-person perspective from the game Werewolves Within showing four other characters sat around a glowing purple hourglass

Werewolves Within is a multiplayer VR game developed by Red Storm Entertainment for the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR. It is set in a medieval fantasy town where its townsfolk must uncover who amongst them is the titular werewolf.

The game was recently adapted into a comedy horror film of the same name, wherein a group of people in a small town are being terrorized by an unknown werewolf in the middle of a snowstorm. The film holds the distinction of being one of the best-reviewed video-game-to-film adaptations on review aggregator, Rotten Tomatoes.

1 Among Us

A screenshot showing gameplay in Among Us

Let's face it, you probably wouldn't be here reading these words right now if it wasn't for the fact that Among Us had broken out in 2020. And its rise to the forefront of gaming's public consciousness can be attributed to several factors.

Firstly, we had its sudden adoption by several popular streamers on Twitch and YouTube. Secondly, it came at a time when we were most in need of such forms of social interaction, in light of lockdowns and other social distancing protocols. Thirdly, it was widely available to anyone willing to try it out for themselves, being a free-to-play mobile game. But most importantly, the game was able to distill the basic elements of the genre into its purest form, allowing for any type of gamer to join in on the fun.

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