1000xResist Review

1000xResist

Release: May 9, 2024
Publisher: Fellow Traveller Games
Developer: Sunset Visitor
Genre: ReviewsSwitch Reviews
PEGI: 16
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There are some games that hit the zeitgeist so hard that it’s hard not to see them mentioned everywhere. 1000xResist is one of those games. I knew the name long before I knew anything else about it, and the message was clear: you have to play this game.

Mostly a visual novel, it tells the story of scandal and betrayal within what is basically a religious cult, and the aftermath of exposing it. It asks difficult questions and often handles them in interesting, tense and thought-provoking ways. While it occasionally presumes to tell you the “correct” answer to these complex problems, it usually handles them well.

There are gameplay elements, some more interesting than others. Use of time to quickly see the impacts of actions and to solve simple puzzles is a mechanic I wish was used more elsewhere. But this is where 1000xResist falls down. There are just too many roadblocks, and the pacing suffers as a result.

Despite that, this is one of those games that is pretty simple to recommend. You probably already know if it’s your cup of tea, and no doubt it delivers on its premise in spades.

Reading the 1000xResist-ance

So to get the easy bit out of the way first: 1000xResist is written and performed well. There are lots of characters to meet, and you can learn a lot about the world by getting off the beaten path. More on that later.

The story is often surprising, and can get quite dark at times. I found myself wanting to know the story more than wanting to actually play the game, and I’d be thinking about it during the day. These are helped by performances that are naturalistic, sometimes unusual, but very strong. It fits the world well, and I was impressed by how it never went overboard. Small, real – when it hits, it hits all the harder because of it. It’s something some of the big publishers could stand to learn.

Yes, you’ll be doing a lot of reading (or listening to the lines spoken if you’d rather). Your goal at all times is to get to the next point of dialogue. And that, I’m afraid, becomes something of a criticism.

Out in the Open

If you’re not already out based on the description above, there’s a good chance that you’ll enjoy 1000xResist. But there’s one thing I never saw mentioned in all the hype.

Many of the game’s 10 chapters make you explore a little, talking to people on your way. The main map isn’t brilliantly designed, and feels like a maze at the best of times. Even with a radar giving you the rough direction of each waypoint, you’ll often see them behind a wall with no obvious way to get to them. Walk away from them, follow a few bends, go through an unassuming door, maybe take another turn and you’ll find them, but only if you don’t get lost along the way. Signposts help, to an extent, but only if you care enough to know what the name of each place is and, indeed, if that’s where your target is in the first place.

The bulk of these sections just has you walking from spot to spot, reading some dialogue and then repeating. The design is annoying but forgivable in slower sections, when optional conversations and exploration may help you learn more about the world. Then there are moments where the stakes feel high, and you’re slowly fed exposition while walking from spot to spot. There’s no challenge except to your patience.

Communing with the Past

When you’re not exploring, you’ll be on tighter missions, wandering around less open areas. These are where the game shines, offering surreal and beautifully memorable moments throughout. Because of the fragmented nature of these, you’ll jump from place to place, just the right information hitting at just the right time.

They’re not entirely immune to pacing issues. In fact, there are times when it’s flat out self-indulgent, expecting the player to slowly walk through or along areas that aren’t as meaningful or pretty as whoever designed the segment thought it was. When a game is so focussed on its narrative, anything that harms it is magnified. There were just too many times when I was deep into the story only to be disappointed that I’d need to play to see more.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t moments that use gameplay well. In fact, most of these missions each have their own unique hooks, and many of them work tremendously. Some are on a 2D plane, others 3rd person, some 1st person. Some let you whizz through time, while others are strange and opaque. When using interactivity to enhance the narrative, 1000xResist tries some really special things that wouldn’t have been possible in any other medium. It justifies itself through storytelling.

And then you’re slapped back down into that map, given a vague goal and left to get lost again. Run from person to person, ticking off checkpoints, waiting for the next moment of greatness. You know it’s coming, and you know this isn’t it.

1000xResist – Conclusion

1000xResist is a really easy recommend because it’s part of a genre that you love or you hate. If you love visual novels, there’s an awful lot to like here. If you don’t, there are some things it does to convince you, but they’ll disappear the second you’re dragged along a section that isn’t as interesting.

Some will see the pacing issues as part of its charm, soaking up every inch of repetition in the name of “world-building”. I don’t think it’s very successful in that regard. But again, the developers have created a level of depth to discover that rewards putting up with the pacing. I just wish it was more accessible.

But as the resistance rages on, 1000xResist has a genuine impact that few games can match. You’ll remember it long after you’ve forgotten the time spent going in circles. I don’t know I’m as passionate as some. I don’t know I’d ever say someone has to play it. But it’s very good. What it has to say is important. That is more than enough.

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