Just finished 1000xResist

What a beautiful experience

Thank you to those who made it 💟

There is a you, and a me, and a terrible gravity, and a sadness, and a hope, and a memory that remains and remains and remains

Hair to hair, sisters
Hekki grace

Took a while to finally getting around to finishing this game after picking it up at launch but wow im kicking myself over not finishing it sooner. The game has a novel amateur look to it, choppy animations, static poses during dialogue and flat textures, but that doesn't stop the devs from making some of the most gorgeous areas and scenic pieces i've scene as of late. The story is another highlight, and while i wasnt moved as much as some other people praising this game, I can appreciate how the game tackles feeling outcast and the human connection among other themes. I was immediately hooked on the premise from the get go, the games world-building is nothing short of engaging, and long dialogue strings didnt feel as boring as I thought they would be. This game is certainly special, not only to the devs but to the people who needed to hear the heartfelt message the game touts "Is there a feeling worth getting incinerated over?"

So often does this medium surprise me with its continuing innovations in how a narrative can be presented in an interactive format that when something this good comes about, I'm left damn-near speechless. This is one of the most layered, interesting bodies of narrative fiction ever conceived, only made better by the fact that you, the player, are behind the wheel at every turn. Every shift in perspective, every crazy twist, every beautiful and painful moment - you're there, and you really feel it. I cannot begin to sing the praises of this masterwork enough; just play it already.

People who say video games are worse nowadays seriously need to play this and Lorelei and the Laser eyes. Starts off about as dreamlike and intense as the “surreal finale” of many other games, progressing through notes harsh enough to make it into the history books. I don’t think I can quite call this a “groundbreaking” experience since in all earnesty I’ve seen most all of these narrative notes and structural beats in various other places, but its dedication to its own voice and its understanding of the sci-fi genre make it possibly the best overly cinematic game I’ve played. 1000xResist is still an awful title lmao

Despite being Asian, I've never gone out of my way to actively consume diasporic works or those that capture the Asian experience (whatever that means) or Asian generational trauma etc... . I understand the function of those works and their value to others, I just find so much of it personally boring, since I prefer batshit vision, hyper-entertainment, insanity, and escapism in the media I consume.

1000xResist is one of the few works that achieves all of that madness while still having its fair share of sad gay/sapphic asian fuck-the-world type anime shit & socially important generational trauma + HK protest stuff. It's neither too realistically heavy nor too flippantly quirky (e.g. many post-Undertale indie games out there), knows when to take its shit seriously, knows when to go mad, and achieves all of this while looking like a cross between a PS2-era Killer7 fangame and a Wong Kar Wai film. It reaches a level of concision and condensation many other games hope to hit, probably thanks to the devs' background in experimental theatre- every chapter contains the same level of conversational-thematic density & punchiness as something like a Caryl Churchill or Sarah Kane or Tom Stoppard play, and even the most offhanded jokes or dialogues can have thematic and symbolic resonances that reverberate throughout the whole structure. One could think of it as the stylistic opposite to Disco Elysium's poetic maximalist approach, yet the overall effects are potent in their own way, even if lacking the breadth and flourish of ZA/UM's masterwork.

This work proves that in today's media landscape there really needs to be more weird-as-fuck, creatively-deranged, nutso devs with important shit to say (and who are not just content with only having important shit to say). Thank you Sunset Visitor for figuring out a way combine Evangelion, Nier Automata, teenage anime melodrama, and HK-China politics and blowing my mind. Hekki Allmo.

A really compelling narrative that shifts between the domestic and the planetary. It has so many rug pulls and shifts in perspective that despite its very long run time I was constantly being surprised. It feels like a big shift in the way that the interactive narrative games (ones where the only mechanics are movement and those that let you view your surroundings or trigger dialogue) can work. Its definitely the most ambitious game of its type I've encountered and managed to feel like something genuinely new and exciting.

Uh, wow. So heavy are this game's themes (though, I stress, not heavy-handed) that I could only really bear playing a chapter a day. But at no point did I consider stopping; the writing and performances were just that... well, 'good' undersells them but I can't really speak to the sheer breadth of their quality without writing a full essay. In any case, don't let the simplistic graphics lull you into a false set of low expectations. 1000xResist will be your Best Narrative pick for GOTY, if you see it through.