April Fools’ Day pranks are rarely clever, fun, or enjoyable. That is especially true nowadays, when news stories throughout the year are often indistinguishable from silly April 1 gags. But there’s another side to the holiday that is genuinely great. Companies often use the day to pull off silly ideas for real. And this year Among Us is doing just that by turning a ridiculous joke into something you can actually do. Gamers can log in and play “Horse Mode.” No fooling.
Last year Among Us asked a question. It was a simple, absurd question, but the possibilities were… equally absurd. The game wondered what would happen if you could play as a horse.
what if pic.twitter.com/iXZPdyrIyF
— Among Us (@AmongUsGame) April 16, 2021
Now you really can. Seriously, we swear! But only today, April 1, 2022. “Horse Mode” (which we first heard about at GameSpot) is live right now and entirely free to use. But if you want to cash in on this gratis bonus you have to act fast. The update disappears at 8:00 p.m. ET today.
But wait, what exactly does “Horse Mode” entail? Won’t it be easy to spot a fake if he’s the only horse in the game? Among Us has that covered. From InnerSloth’s official announcement:
- Among Us Crewmates and Impostors reimagined as a more cursed four legged version of themselves
- A new “neigh” kill sound that is voiced by our programmer Gary. This was originally a joke filler sound we used until we could find a real horse sound to use. Then we realized it was much better this way.
- A new (anticlimatic) kill animation for Impostors
- Horsemates can only wear hats and visors for this update
- This mode was made as a joke side project so there might be some janky visuals
Wow! Huge day for Gary! Also a huge day the word “janky,” a truly under-appreciated and underused word. And it’s also a good April Fools’ Day, since this is the correct way to utilize the year’s silliest holiday. That is unless we log in and learn the whole thing is one big impostor of an update.
That would be a real horse kick to the stomach.