// 1000xResist Review

This review is sponsored by our very own Lady Feathers. Thank you!

1000xResist (pronounced One Thousand Times Resist) is the debut game by Sunset Visitor. They’re a four-person independent developer located in Vancouver, Canada. We’ll cover them in a bit more detail later.

What they’ve crafted here is truly a special narrative experience. That’s what 1000xResist is through and through, a narrative experience.

If you sit down to play 1000xResist – which I highly recommend you do – it will be hard not to get sucked into this fascinating world almost immediately.

// Hair to Hair

1000xResist tells the tale of a future. How far away it is, we do not know. All that’s left are a series of clones living in some strange, indoor world. Iris, the original (or ALLMOTHER) was the only human to survive a species-destroying disease. This immunity was not passed on to the clones, so they are forced to wear masks at all times even though they live inside.

To give away any more than this initial premise would be doing the game a disservice. Uncovering what happened to humanity, why these clones are here, and the story of Iris in the before times is thrilling.

Aside from the obvious parallels to the COVID-19 pandemic (a crazy little thing you might remember) Sunset Visitor hits you with a couple of very strong themes that work in conjunction with each other through just about every element of storytelling. It’s really about these themes and the character more than it is about the disease, which serves more as an instigating incident.

The rest of this section is a brief overview of the themes in 1000xResist. If you plan on playing the game, honestly, you can skip this part and come back after. I’ll touch briefly on the things in the setup of the story and how they connect to the themes. If you are on the fence, maybe this small taste will push you over it. 

If you don’t want to explore them theme’s before playing it, you can jump to the next section, Six to One.

The themes that stood out to me are: the hereditary impact of generational trauma and an examination of how much of our world today is inherently a construct of human nature.

These are robust points to hinge your story on, and the writers absolutely have the chops to back them up.

The way the story is delivered is also unique. The world of 1000xResist has a mechanism for sharing memories and experiences with other people. Much of what you’ll learn as the protagonist – called Watcher – comes via communion sessions where you get to experience snippets of Iris’ life before all this happened.

Her home life, and the life of her parents, are where the bulk of the generational trauma storytelling originates from. Iris’ parents were freedom fighters in Hong Kong before they escaped and moved to Canada. This has shaped their views on life and the world around them and in turn, how they raise Iris in it.

After society, “restarts,” we see the ALLMOTHER and her clones rebuilding a new world. Many of the things that define our society today are present: government, religion, artistic expression, etc. The game provides meaningful commentary on all of these things. It asks if people are pre-disposed to acting in these ways, or if they are nurtured into it. When the clone’s nature is also the memories or experiences of Iris, is it truly nature? Or is it a strange, built-in kind of nurturing?

Do the things the clones are rebuilding eventually come to resemble the conditions that shaped Iris’ parents into who they were? You can see how these themes will continually butt up against each other as the story progresses.

One could write a piece twice the length of this review on the themes and storytelling alone. But since this is as spoiler-free as possible, I will leave it at that.

// Six to One

Although 1000xResist is driven by the narrative, it’s not just a text-based game.

You’ll spend a good amount of time exploring the different environments the game puts you in. There are some larger areas you’re free to explore and converse with almost everyone you find. There are also more linear areas you will be exploring during specific story beats.

In some instances, you’ll be able to use a grapple-like ability to fly through the air between different platforms in some more abstract levels. This is the most, “video-gamey,” the gameplay will ever get.

While it’s hardly the focus of the game, there were times I felt I was doing a bit too much running around. A minor complaint, but something I noticed.

As a bonus, the game is entirely voice acted. The voice acting has a realistic quality to it. By that I mean, it sounds like they just got real people to do it. There’s no over-acting here. At first, it seemed a bit unusual. But as the game progressed, it felt quite natural and matched the vibe of the game perfectly.

The writing at times takes on an almost poetry-like abstraction. That GIF of the pen writing and flames coming out of the page? I’m pretty sure that was a recording of the devs writing the game.

It’s not so abstracted that you can’t follow along with the story, but it makes reading every line fun. It leaves you with enough questions to keep your imagination cooking at the perfect pace.

// Red to Blue

The visuals are an interesting point of discussion. By all accounts, the common talking points in models, textures, etc, are not all that impressive. But the game still looks great. It has fantastic art direction, inspired camera work, and very stylish lighting.

This is hands down one of the best examples of art direction being more important than sheer graphical power. They do a lot with only a little.

It’s very reminiscent of a stage play. When crafting a stage play, you’re forced to work within very specific constraints.

This makes a lot of sense when you learn that the development team, Sunset Visitor, all have backgrounds in theatre and performance art. They switched gears during covid. When they couldn’t perform, they decided to make a game.

That DNA is so there in 1000xResist. Once you look at the game through the lens of a stage show, you can see the creativity and craftsmanship everywhere. It’s how they get the job done so effectively, and blow you away scene after scene.

Skipping from one day to the next (a mechanic available when you are in a communion) felt very much like transitioning from one scene to another in a show. The props and lights are adjusted on the fly, transforming the show right before your eyes.

There are some moments where the artful editing of scenes truly left me speechless. 

// Should You Play 1000xResist?

I’m going to give this an unequivocal recommendation.

The writing is of the highest tier, and the art direction is there to match.

Even if you aren’t big into visual novel style games, I think there’s enough here to keep you interested. The various environments to explore help break up the long periods of reading, if that’s something you struggle with. Full voice acting also makes it easier to take in if your brain is washed after a long day of work.

It’ll likely take you in the ballpark of a dozen hours to complete it. That’s a dozen hours well spent, because 1000xResist is remarkable.

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Hey, while we have you… Like narrative breakdowns of futuristic worlds that have kinda gone to shit? Check out Wires and Chains: A Narrative Breakdown of Cyberpunk 2077.

Until next time, Hekki Grace.