Square EnixIn a twist no one saw coming, Square Enix has announced Killer Inn, a bizarre but intriguing-looking impostor game in the vein of Among Us. Like any impostor game, the goal is to uncover who the real murderers are, but the twist here is that two teams will be competing against — and shooting at — each other. Killer Inn seems pretty complicated, but Inverse had the chance to see a short digital briefing that unpacked how it works. Killer Inn is published by Square Enix and developed by Tactic Studios, the team behind multiplayer strategy title Immortal Empire and first-person puzzle game Claire de Lune. Killer Inn is something new for the studio, and pretty different from other impostor games too, with the studio describing it as a “murder-mystery” game. Each match features 24 players, and each character has their own special skills. Players are grouped into two teams, the Wolves and the Lambs, and know no one’s role but their own. The narrative crux behind all this is that a shadowy organization called Astra has brought these people together for a sadistic life-or-death challenge, but what’s fascinating about Killer Inn is how different the actual flow of matches seems from your typical impostor experience. A major part of Killer Inn is deciding who to trust. | Square EnixIn most games like Among Us, the objective is to identify the murderer, and sometimes their henchmen. But in Killer Inn, the sheer player count immediately raises the stakes. Notably, Killer Inn is also an action game with combat and gunplay, but you’ll want to be careful with those tools. It seems like the key is finding a balance between taking out other players, forging alliances, lying, and improving your own stats and weapons.According to Square Enix, the general flow of matches starts with you acquiring tools, weapons, and armor to help you survive. It’s a bit like Fortnite in that regard, as the first cycle involves powering yourself up. To that end, you can explore and find items, hunt down chests with valuable goodies, or even talk to hotel staff to take on quests. The hotel’s central area is hallowed ground where no one can murder each other, kind of like the Continental from John Wick. Killer Inn’s interface looks busy, and it’ll be interesting to see how complex matches are. | Square EnixOnce the first kill is made, the deduction portion of the game kicks off, with every player notified of the body. If you’re a Lamb, you have to investigate the crime scene, track clues, and figure out who the Wolves are. If you guess wrong and murder another Lamb, you’re eliminated as well. Wolves, of course, need to focus on tricking Lambs and slowly taking them out, one by one. That’s the summary, but Killer Inn feels like the kind of game you’re going to need to get your hands on to truly understand. Luckily, Square Enix has announced that a Closed Beta will be taking place soon on Steam. It’s certainly a unique idea, but I already have concerns about its sustainability.24-player matches are a high requirement for any multiplayer game, especially one based around intrigue and deduction. Killer Inn will need an active player base to ensure these matches can even happen, but Square Enix doesn’t have the best track record with these experimental multiplayer games: just look at Babylon’s Fall and Foamstars.The Wolves need to eliminate the Lambs before they can put clues together. | Square EnixThe upside, however, is that the social deduction genre feels ripe for innovation. It’s been years since Among Us became a worldwide phenomenon, and while we’ve seen a few games try to capitalize on the imposter craze, nothing has really managed to innovate or carve out a niche. That gives Killer Inn the opportunity to do something unique, and if it can create a compelling multiplayer loop, it might just be able to stand out. Only time will tell if it’s a success or an impostor in its own right.Killer Inn is in development for PC.