Reviews from

in the past


There are games you finish and don't know what to say because they are so unremarkable, and then there are games like 1000x resist where I sit at my computer inmediately after thinking how exactly I could do the game justice without just playing it again whilst taking notes.

I'll try to be brief, but what 1000x resist's sci fi narrative adventure game brings to the table is that its not only dense as hell plot and theme wise, feeling almost like an adaptation of some acclaimed novel, whilst also having stylistic flourishes that are both impressive and also feel purposeful in a way that a higher budget game probably wouldn't. They made a game this visually striking with what feels like cardboard sets and a few unity shaders. The starkness of the environment design and the various shifts of perspective from over the shoulder to first person to top down to side scroller in a way that feels elegant rather than whiplash to the extreme.

The credits have the usual indie game thing where one guy was Modeler, Texturer, Writer, Designer, Costum Designer, Chef, Lawyer and Defender of the Innocent. The game is so impressive as someone who does 3D modelling myself, I have taken a bunch of screenshots of the game simply because I love how they look. One small ass team somehow puts most AAA games I've played to shame in the visual department.

Thats not to say the game's budget or lack thereof doesn't become apparent with the lack of facial animation. Of course the game understands this to some extent, hence the choice of making the sisters require masks to breathe and be clones of each other (hence, only like 5 or so models had to be rigged up) but thats what taking advantage of your limitations is all about.

Story wise, its again hard for me to really comment because its dense but in a way that all great narratives are, like say, Moby Dick or The Truman show, which are enjoyable both at surface level and on a deeper read of the symbolism. Not everything worked for me, and the resolutions of the endings could have perhaps been more elegant, as well as all the Hong Kong stuff carrying the stench of liberalism about it (Incidentally the cops of the provisional government being called the Red Guard was really on the nose) but the game is otherwise so engaging that I don't mind. Strong personal contender for GOTY, it and Extreme Evolution : Drive to Divinity are the front-runners for me.

There's a common criticism of games as a medium that even their best narratives lack something in comparison to those of books, movies, etc. And while games are what I love, from a narrative perspective I have found that framing hard to disagree with. There are several games that have changed my life, but they are so often unsophisticated in their meaning-making. They are frequently blunt in their delivery and single-purposed, perhaps because it is so difficult to do all of the creative mediums at once and tell a story with interactivity. I love games because of that ambition, and yet...

I think 1000xResist actually defies that notion. And I don't mean to say that as if everyone who plays this will have their life changed forever or whatever, but it IS one of the most thought-stirring games I've ever played. It is utterly overflowing in meaning. It is not impressive merely "because it is a video game," or because of clever interactions that "could only happen in a game," yet all the while it makes shrewd use of its interactivity. It's the kind of narrative where truly nothing is without purpose, and I spent its entire runtime learning how to reinterpret past scenes, adding layers to the meaning that I had already derrived.

I'm afraid all of that is going to come across like I'm just dumping hyperbole on it without getting specific. It is sort of a challenge to articulate what it speaks to, because there truly is so much: it speaks to the experience of COVID-19, of the tension between immigrant parents and their children, of fitting in, of finding one's purpose, of generational trauma, of mental health, and so much more.

"But isn't this just the way? We do not get to choose what we inherit."

damn. didn't really expect that right after Land of the Lustrous (a singular manga and one of my all-time favorites) ended, an indie game would pop up operating on the same level, about many of the same themes, in its own incredible and singular way. a bit speechless. also very validating proof that we can (and should) demand more of games on a narrative level.
really struggling with star reviews. i used star reviews on letterboxd for a few years before opting for heart/no heart which is also troubled but in general feels better. happy to have another crack at it but it feels weird to not give this 5 stars, but i will stand by how i'm doing things for now at least... (5 stars being the all time top of the top of the top, which this also might be! need to sit on it for a minute)

In its first week, 1000xResist has received near unanimous praise for its story. I am not one of those people. I wanted to make clear what this is on the surface as a caveat for those sucked in by hype but aren’t primed for this sort of experience, which at points was the only thing keeping me going (besides the fantastic somber music).

The prose often consists of punchy psuedo-poetic labyrinthine conversations. I’d say Disco Elysium has poisoned the well here in terms of how its influence has conditioned gamers to treat cryptic rambling as the gold standard for writing in games. I think there was a finesse to the writing in Disco Elysium that made me believe in it regardless of my inability to latch onto it emotionally or intellectually but I must say I tend to feel dead inside by its imitators. This applies to the work of Hideo Kojima and Yoko Taro as well, whose work is similarly convoluted, but have a playfulness about them I find intoxicating regardless. 1000xResist takes itself far too seriously to develop much of a personality of its own, which leads me to a compounding issue here- the clones.

I think using clones is an excellent idea for a more budgeted title like this (fewer voice actors, fewer models) but it’s detrimental to understanding a complicated story when its singular voice actor is talking to herself in limited shades of aloof and tired. It’s a great gear to be stuck in for a sci-fi story I guess but the emotional range is lacking and the supporting voice talent isn’t doing nearly enough to inject the story with much flavour. Differentiation is needed in a narrative with so many twists and turns- because they were all technically the same people, emotionally I treated them as such. I didn’t care. I didn’t understand the stakes. My plot comprehension is pretty poor on the whole, so calling me out on that is fair, but the acting and writing is actively undermining clarity and I do see that as an underlying flaw.

The gameplay is fine. I like relaxing story-driven games without combat. But let’s talk about its derivative elements. If you’ve played your fair share of games in the past 10 years you’re probably well-acquainted with “vision quest” segments that plop you in a hazy psychedelic space with oversized familiar objects placed in haphazard positions untethered by gravity as symbolic waypoints for the fractured psychology of a character’s emotional distress. I am unbelievably tired of this trope, and 1000xResist makes an entire mechanic out of it. TBH it actually pissed me off less in this case just because of its commitment to the bit, but when trying to understand the story in tandem with its other quirks, there’s just layers and layers of inception here I don’t care to sift through.

Again- just my caveats! If you’re predisposed to enjoying these kinds of bendy sci-fi stories, I’m happy you’ll get a lot out of this. Not for me. To give it marginal credit, the prose itself never got anywhere near as bad as the “dumpster Jiao” line in chapter one. There is an overall maturity here I do appreciate despite my objections.

My story-driven gamers your going to love this one you NEED to play it.
I don't know where to begin with this title I cannot articulate the level at which this game achieves because it is something above a masterwork but I must press on.
The music is wonderful. The characters are so complex with a lot of depth and the relationship dynamics on display is just gut-wrenching to the point it hurts. Don't let the graphics dissuade your interest because the art direction is so fucking spectacular you'll be surprised with how gorgeous this game can be. The character design is important for a game like this you know if you know or you'll find out hopefully. The designs are very distinct with the outfits and color. The use of color is used in ways I'm just so enthralled by with how little and how much they can me. The VAs really do an amazing job of giving these characters a voice and more.
Red to Blue, Mother.


A bear perfect story with so many layers and ideas that I could dive into everything about it here for hours. It's a completely story based game so I cannot talk about it here.

The only reason I cannot rate it a ten out of ten is because the gameplay is very minimal and I wish there was a bit more puzzle solving with it. But I'm ok as that isn't the point. Another thing is that I also played it on switch which led to a couple crashes and frame rate issues.

Literally check out this game it's incredible. It deserves so many awards

Is it trite to call a unique and expressive VN literature?
This one is rough around its edges - yet its writing is impossibly worthwhile. Very glad I sat down with it.
1000xResist will undoubtedly be mentioned often when folks start throwing around GOTYs this later this year, and it will be deserving of that praise.

The worst girl since the three worst girls since eve making a society of her fucked up clones, is such a powerful premise for a story that I did not hesitate digging right into 1000xResist upon learning of its existence. As a piece of visual and interactive storytelling, I was not disappointed. Yoko Taro wishes he could cook like this. Characters cruel and exciting. Feelings difficult and tender. Yearning for a place you never knew. It all really worked for me...

As a game that you play, however, you could hardly call it fun; even the movement puzzles in the communions do very little to make things interesting. The time jumping ability is mostly a storytelling mechanic, and in that regard its effective; I dont know if the game would have been "improved" with more puzzles but there's unexplored potential there. Running around to talk to all the sisters in every chapter was tedious, but you can also pretty much sidestep most of that tedium.

4 stars, hair to hair... she just like me fr

A very, very good...visual novel? I think that's the closest thing to describing the game, which largely consists of just running around and talking to folks.

I think the comparisons to something like 13 Sentinels are well-earned, though it doesn't quite reach the storytelling or character-writing highs for me. 13 Sentinels also feels a bit more ambitious in its storytelling style.

But hey, 1000xRESIST has 100% fewer naked teenagers, so gonna chalk that one up as a win. I reserve the right to bump this up to an A later upon further reflection.

1000xResist is one of those sleeper indie games I picked up because of the seemingly out of nowhere cult favoritism and fanfare they've gotten, thinking I may be in the running for a hidden gem and possible memorable sleeper hit. What I quickly found out as I made my way through this visual-novel esque piece of abstract was that you are intended to revel and take in the confusion as a piece of endearment towards this media and not as a detraction. The scope of the narrative is entirely obscure and reminiscent of an amalgamation of futuristic and philosophical pieces of work that I've experienced in the past like Nier: Automata, Land of the Lustrous, and strangely enough Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. I'm all for the out-there when it comes to penning a story, but there has to be a level of grounding for me to have a buy-in. Nier: Automata's abstractism and grandiose questioning of Philip K Dickian ponderings works because it has an immediate pressing storyline to help carry on the deeper and more intrinsic philosophies. Where 1000xResist separates for me is that you as the player are immediately thrust into a cavernously deep thought-focused plot with no real endeavor made to either coat it under an easier to parse coat of paint or giving it a guiding light. I'm not saying that it needed to be spoken to the player like they were out of Idiocracy or something, but Moreso that levelling out a ten or so hour experience in abstract and only making it more confusing and... abstract leads to a story that never really sticks for me.

I was able to understand the loose goings-ons of things as they happened and the messages placed throughout the game, but it never really struck with me as a critically important or thought provoking piece of media. This is the same gripe I had with the last six episodes of Neon Genesis: Evangelion that gets me in hot water with friends of mine as we discuss the hallmark and legendary anime. As the creator delved further into the conceptional of Shinji's mind and enemies at large and further and further into psychological mysticism, I fell out of favor with the show. It felt like it was trying to "think too much" and not "say enough." That is ultimately my qualm with 1000xResist, there is a lot being done in weird ways that are meant to be symbolic and interesting but ultimately fell flat because of the persistence to non-linear and ambiguous storytelling.

On top of qualms with the way the story was told, there are some slight issues I had with this game that don't really chalk up to much of a real con-list: voice acting I felt could have been greatly improved to create a more passionate tale, and the hub world that you revisit quite a bit is maze-like and annoying to traverse.

Pick this up if you want a mildly interesting (basically) visual novel that jumps heavily into science fiction themes, but if you want a game that will stick with you and make you think, this was not it.

"Hekki Grace, Sister."
Quase todo ano tem pelo menos um jogo que me faz lembrar do porque eu amo vídeo-joguinhos, eu sei que essa é uma frase jogada quase o tempo todo por gente que está sempre falando "a indústria está morta, não há mais jogos bons" mas não tem uma melhor para descrever como eu me sinto nesse momento. Em adição a isso também me faz lembrar do quanto eu quero criar experiências como 1000xResist ou Signalis, arte que mesmo com suas limitações utiliza sua mídia ao máximo para quebrar suas expectativas de novo e de novo.

"Hair to Hair, Sister."
Há muito a se falar sobre 1000xResist, o seu texto, simbolismos e personagens são tão ricos e com tantos significados diferentes que eu poderia ficar por horas discutindo sobre, sobre os protestos de Hong Kong principalmente, mas sinto que quanto menos quem for jogar saber mais interessante vai ser a experiência. Uma das coisas mais curiosas desse jogo para mim é como ele parece uma peça de teatro, o uso de luz, poses e exageros para comunicar emoções de formas diferentes por toda a campanha; já que o jogo é basicamente um talking simulator com alguns simples e fáceis puzzles (não há combate) toda a diversidade vem dos visuais e em diferentes mudanças na forma em que a narrativa é contada, e em todos esses momentos a criatividade/expertise dos desenvolvedores são EVIDENTES.
(Os desenvolvedores aparentemente trabalharam com teatro e similares, faz sentido)
Eu demorei um pouco mais de 10 horas para zerar 1000xResist e é surpreendente que um jogo independente com tanto texto e diferentes personagens está completamente atuado, e ainda mais surpreendente: com incríveis atuações no geral.
A parte mais fraca de 1000xResist é na sua fidelidade gráfica, é aparente que o jogo foi desenvolvido para Nintendo Switch e o port para PC possuí diversos problemas com mudança de controles, performance e falta de customização (que provavelmente é a causa de tais problemas de performance), mas nada disso tirou a beleza teatral do jogo para mim.

"Sphere to Square"
Eu não sei se este jogo terá o mesmo Cult-Following que Signalis e outros similares tiveram ao passar dos anos, já que apesar de tudo que eu disse ainda é praticamente uma visual novel e nem todo mundo curte isso, mas se você já tinha algum interesse ou tem gostos para arte similares aos meus, por favor jogue 1000xResist, vai te chocar, vai te fazer chorar, vai te fazer rir, vai te assustar, e mais importante de tudo: Te lembrará que não conseguimos colocar tudo em nossas mochilas, por mais que queremos.

1000xResist é meu jogo do ano até o momento e acho difícil algo tirar, mas vai que o Miyazaki cozinhou um The Old Hunters² ai, nunca se sabe.

Sometimes, you can't fit in the backpack.

An absolutely enthralling and deeply personal sci-fi narrative that is simultaneously small in scale but explores so many ideas. It's mechanically shallow and that will turn some people off and, without giving anything away, I think the ending could've been handled better. Additionally, being a low budget game means that you'll have to overlook voice actors giving great passionate performances while their character looks nonchalant with no real facial animation. However, I'm more than happy to overlook these things. 1000xRESIST is a brilliant piece of media and a journey I will never forget.

I see other people listing 'Hong Kong stuff' as a con, but for me it's one of the main reasons this game is so special. Not every video game should be shy and abstract.

I was engrossed in this one sisters! Hekki ALLMO 🙏

Very interesting walking sim with a tight narrative full of themes that are explored in interesting ways. If you're like me and enjoy a good story and running around talking to everyone in between plot tasks for more lore, then this is for you.

If there's anything that would stick out as a complaint, it would be the voice acting, which can be a bit hit and miss at times.

Highly recommend if you're in the market for a good sci-fi story.

Amazing storytelling, I'm kind of bewildered that everybody seems to be sleeping on this game

Este es el extraño caso de un juego que no veo que justifique ser un juego, pero aún así la historia que cuenta es tan buena, que no veo otro medio que aguante una historia de 12 horas y te mantenga tan enganchado ocupando todos los métodos que 1000xRESIST ocupa. El trasfondo teatral de los desarrolladores ayudó en gran medida a que cada escenario sea tan épico como se siente.