A niche, yet critically acclaimed narrative adventure game from last year is coming to Game Pass. The name is 1000xRESIST (pronounced as “One Thousand Times Resist“), and it’s one of my favourite games from 2024. Now that it’s finally coming to Xbox and PlayStation, and also launching on Game Pass, it’s time to write a proper review for the game. One, where I try to explain why this is such a special title, and why it deserves your immediate attention. This is the XboxEra review for 1000xRESIST,
Blind spot
The success story, or perhaps lack of success story of 1000xRESIST is a bit of a microcosm of how crowded our gaming hobby really is. Thousands of games, from AAA behemoths to one-man show indies, hit storefronts like Steam, Xbox, Android and so forth, every year. While we celebrate a lot of smaller studios’ successes, many others get lost through the cracks of time. This year’s GOTY frontrunner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, the addictive BALL x PIT selling a ton at launch. For every success story, also come countless games that don’t get the attention they deserve.
1000xRESIST launched to PC and Nintendo Switch last year, to very little fanfare. The few professional reviews for it were mostly showering it with tremendous praise, but it launched to quite low sales all across the board. It was nominated for certain awards, but snubbed. Through stellar word of mouth, recommendations and various discounts, the game eventually started entering conversations. Yet, even today, it only has just over four thousand user reviews on Steam. For comparison’s sake, September’s addictive 3D survivors-like Megabonk currently sits at 42k+ user reviews.
Not everybody makes it
I never preface my reviews with a “rant” about a game’s lack of tremendous success. Yet, I feel that 1000xRESIST is a prime example of how a truly special game can remain in gaming conversations’ bling spots, if it somehow doesn’t enter the hype cycles of traditional gaming media, news cycles and content creators. Ask virtually anybody who played this game, and very few of them will not include it among the best things they played in recent memory. Yet, high chance you may not even know about this title. Hopefully, its PlayStation and Xbox release, with the latter emboldened by a Game Pass presence, will finally give 1000xRESIST the attention it truly deserves.
With that premise, I want to describe developer sunset visitor 斜陽過客‘s game from a mechanical standpoint, initially. It is, first and foremost, a narrative-based title. There is no combat. There’s occasional parts where the player needs to “hop” from one place to another, through the air. It is very generous towards the player, and even these aren’t really skill checks. For the most part, the player explores areas, interacts with objects and people. Often, players can choose which dialogue option to pick, even. One of the game’s core mechanics is an interesting time-phasing ability, allowing the protagonist to visit the same place in different time periods. This is not just for narrative purposes, as it can lead to a few basic puzzle-solving sequences as well.
Story first
Nothing about 1000xRESIST‘s gameplay truly stands out. It is fine for what it tries to convey, but it is ultimately just a tool to give us a story. And I’ve been debating with myself, whether I should get into a deep dive of the plot or not. The game’s plot puts us into a distant future where a pandemic seemingly eradicated most of humanity. The few remaining survivors live underground, in a society dominated by advanced science and rigid rules, to avoid any possible threat ending what remains of our society. This is where the game’s hub world is located, perhaps the title’s slowest and less interesting part, somehow.
The player is Watcher, a character meant to observe the past of the so-called ALLMOTHER‘s past, who’s responsible for creating this futuristic hope for mankind. Through the eyes of someone who has never seen what the world was like before, we get to explore systems, problems, common threads. In a sterile and completely emotion-less future, everybody has a purpose and rules to follow. There really is no such thing as love, conflict, doubts. Yet, Watcher needs to look into a comparatively chaotic past. Our world, essentially.
Erasing history
“Those who do not read history are doomed to repeat it“, it is said. That is, perhaps, one of the ways to look at 1000xRESIST‘s multi-layered, emotional and thought-provoking story. Pretty much nobody but the ALLMOTHER knows of the pre-pandemic world, and now the Watcher too gets to witness. Through new lens, we get to witness what it was like for humanity before. Love, emotions. Owning pets, going to school. Fear, doubts over our place in the world. Discrimination, bullying. Fake news, ignorance. The way we look at authorities, be it the government or our very own parents. Even humans’ own biology was way different, back then. The developers’ own history and experience is felt, in many of the themes explored, with various real world events impacting the characters. These include the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests and evident parallels with the way COVID-19 pandemic was handled.
Watcher‘s unique position allows the game to narrate a unique and memorable story, one that, before long, goes way beyond what I described. The revelations, plot twists, emotional moments and fascinating parts are just never-ending. Throughout the 12 or so hours it takes to get through this sensational story, the player’s put through one hell of a rollercoaster. I strongly advise going into the game as blind as possible, not reading into the story any more than what I mentioned. I intentionally chose to focus on the game’s opening, even omitting a few details. Beyond that, it’s a journey of discovery you really should do for yourself.
A stylish presentation for an unforgettable story
1000xRESIST has a fairly simplicistic look, for the most part. The 3D models don’t present a tremendous amount of detail, yet all feel smartly designed and very readable. The anime-inspired artstyle is great, and many past sequences feature abstract parts – which makes sense, considering we’re exploring memories, not actual time-traveling. The low poly presentation is enriched by excellent use of colour, lights and shadows, with even camera angles and backdrops receiving care and attention. Characters are very well dubbed, with on-screen text following their every words as they should. It wasn’t a huge surprise, since it ran very well even on my launch model MSI Claw last year. I can attest, though, that the Xbox Series X version looks crisp and runs really smooth. Lastly, it’s even a Play Anywhere title, so you get to carry this one on the go with the ROG Xbox Ally and similar devices.
1000xRESIST is a marvelous narrative-oriented videogame. Its minimalistic, sometimes slow gameplay is accompanied by one of the most engaging and well-crafted stories in modern gaming. Themes such as discrimination, rebellion to authorities and the pandemic are handled with utmost care and credibility. Very memorable characters, excellent artstyle, impeccable performance and even a great English dub. The pace can be a bit slow, and the story does take a little to truly get going, which means it’s probably not going to be a game for everybody. But now that it has finally released on PlayStation and Xbox, and of course launching on Game Pass, do yourself a favour. Play 1000xRESIST, as it really is an unforgettable journey you have been missing out on.
1000xRESIST
Played on
Xbox Series X
PROS
- Sensational storyline
- A lot of thought-provoking themes, handled very natrually
- Seemingly sterile characters hide great arcs
- Great artstyle
- Excellent English dub
CONS
- Minimalistic gameplay can turn some players off
- Slow pace at times
