1000xResist Review

ign.com:

“Just be grateful you get to say goodbye.” “There’s nothing here for you anymore.” “Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing.” Simple one-liners like these are plentiful in the early conversations of 1000xResist, a story-driven game set in a far-flung future where humanity's scant remains live on through generations of clones. It’s easy to see that kind of writing and get the impression developer Sunset Visitor is perhaps a bit too eager to be melodramatic – but it trusts you’ll stick with it because their delivery and the context around them make moments like these as thoughtful as they are gut-wrenching. A striking visual style and an intoxicating mystery pull you in as its ambitious narrative structure comes together brilliantly, and in the process, its sharply written story makes bold and daring statements about family, political revolution, and the things that make us human.

It’s quite clear that 1000xResist draws from works like NieR: Automata, Neon Genesis Evangelion, or Satoshi Kon films, all of which blend surreal concepts with emotionally charged deconstructions of the human condition. You can use that as shorthand to get an idea of what this game goes for, but it quickly shows you that it’s so much more than just an amalgamation of influences. 1000xResist forges a strong identity steeped in its own fiction, establishing a wholly unique sci-fi world with its own culture, rules of governance, and belief systems – it does so with such confidence that I even found myself reciting the phrases its characters use throughout – a little “Hekki ALLMO,” or “Hair to hair,” goes a long way in these streets. That’s a microcosm of the experience; finding things which may not mean much at first glance that evolve into meaningful expressions that cut like a knife.

You spend most of your time controlling Watcher, one of six “Sisters” who are the leadership of a small civilization surviving in isolation on a remote station. They’re only referred to by the titles that represent