1000xRESIST [Review]
Narrative adventure 1000xResist is one of the best games so far this year.
1000xResist. Credit: Sunset Visor / Fellow Traveller.
Indie studio Sunset Visor’s 1000xResist is a story-driven adventure game that captivated me with its emotionally resonant sci-fi narrative. I was glued to my screen during its 10+ hour runtime. 1000xResist has the strongest writing and performances in a game so far this year. I had no idea what to expect and I’m so glad I played it.
Nearly all humans are gone, eliminated in the near future by a disease brought by wordless visiting aliens, the Occupants. Most of 1000xResist is set 1,000 years after, where we find that the only survivor, immune and immortal, has populated a hidden, elaborate bunker known as the Orchard with a small nation of her own clones, the Sisters. Unlike Iris, the survivor, the Sisters are forced to wear breathing masks because they didn’t inherit their progenitor’s immunity. The Sisters worship Iris as “The Allmother” and they all hope to leave the Orchard behind to help her fight the Occupants.
1000xResist. Credit: Sunset Visor / Fellow Traveller.
Six sisters run the Orchard, each with a “function”: Principal administrates; Fixer engineers and maintains; Bang Bang Fire runs security; Knower is the keeper of the data library; Healer is a doctor and creates new clones; and finally the character you control, Watcher. Watcher is tasked with observing, and is uniquely capable of reliving and sharing with others the memories of Iris through an immersive VR process called Communion. If a Sister dies or is called to serve the Allmother, another clone in training takes her place and inherits her name.
After Fixer is called to join the Allmother on the front lines, Watcher performs her first Communion. Fixer appears unexpectedly in Watcher’s Communion and warns her things outside the Orchard aren’t like they’ve been led to believe. Watcher reports Fixer for treason. Haunted by doubt and remorse after Fixer is executed, Watcher sets out to find the truth.
1000xResist. Credit: Sunset Visor / Fellow Traveller.
That’s a lot of setup, and reading the premise would make me skeptical, but the story really takes off. The game does a great job of filling you in on that backstory organically, and then peeling back the layers to reveal more as you dive into more Communions with Watcher to comb through Iris’ past and learn of her sins and the truth of her history.
You also spend a lot of time in the present, dealing with clones at different levels in their society. Every character has personality and depth, conveyed through excellently written dialogue and strikingly good performances for every voiced line. Even background characters you meet, who you’ll meet again as the game goes on, have satisfying storylines as they’re affected by change in the world.
1000xResist. Credit: Sunset Visor / Fellow Traveller.
1000xResist tells its story mostly from a third person perspective. Some parts of the game mix up the point of view to great effect, moving the camera to top-down, first person, and more, changing how we see things when the story requires it for emotional effect. Gameplay resembles overworld town areas in 3D RPGs like Persona—you run around and talk to NPCs—though in Communion sections of the game, you can also move forward and backward in time, giving the exploration a fourth dimension. Your goals in most parts of the game will be finding and talking to other characters.
A lot of other studios may have chosen to tell this story in a visual novel format and I respect Sunset Visor’s choice to go a more expensive, elaborate route with their design. I think it made me more invested in the world and its characters, especially as locations became familiar. The world is small; you revisit a lot of locations.
1000xResist. Credit: Sunset Visor / Fellow Traveller.
1000xResist explores themes of family and the relationship between parents and children. We repeatedly see mirrors and parallels between different pairs—Iris and her clones, Iris and her parents, clones with other clones, and others I won’t spoil. We see the effects of generational trauma. The game also handles other themes deftly, such as radicalization and revolution, the immigrant experience, and mental health.
The game performed well on Steam Deck at its native resolution, running around 60fps. It ran at 30fps when playing at 1080p. Regardless of the resolution, framerate dropped drastically during a couple of climactic cutscenes. The game doesn’t look very visually demanding, so I assume it’s a result of needing more optimization. I liked the design of 1000xResists’ characters and world, but the game’s graphics aren’t the reason I loved the game.
1000xResist. Credit: Sunset Visor / Fellow Traveller / Sam Kahn.
1000xResist is one of this year’s biggest surprises for me so far. Its ambitious, layered narrative and storytelling left a lasting impression and I hope more people experience it. I can’t recommend this game highly enough; it just loses a point because of the hiccups in performance.
1000xResist is available now on PC (Steam / GOG / Humble / Epic) and Nintendo Switch.
Overall Score: 9/10
Played on: Steam Deck
