A Balatro crossover, GOTY nods, and near-perfect reviews propelled one of 2024's hidden gems to its highest selling day months after launch

gamesradar.com:

1000xResist was one of the best but sadly overlooked games from last year, though the dystopian sci-fi adventure's fortunes might now be turning as the game reached its highest sales day ever, a whole seven months after coming out.

Developer Sunset Visitor says as much in a new post on Good Twitter, writing that 1000xResist sold more on New Years Day than any other day in its brief history, including its launch on May 9, 2024. "To everyone who has recommended, spoken or written about 1000xResist... thank you," the developer writes. "This is what we mean, when we say it's working," it continues, before teasing that it'll have "more updates soon."

So, what fuelled such a massive spike for a niche indie game that's not exactly going viral at the moment? Sunset Visitor itself acknowledges that strong word of mouth recommendations, nominations on several game of the year lists, and its recent cosmetic collaboration with hit roguelike hit Balatro probably had something to do with its resurgence. 

But more interestingly, Sunset Visitor also speculates that "not being in The Game Awards seemingly kicked off something." Anyone who's played 1000xResist can't stop saying good things about it - it's kind of like a complimentary gag reflex - so its exclusion from the big awards show likely got all of its fans up in arms. 

It's not hard to see why, either. 1000xResist has almost perfect reactions as 97% of its Steam user reviews give it the thumbs up thanks to its ambitious story that tackles everything from generational trauma, immigrant experiences, queer experiences and state violence at least partly inspired by the violent police crackdowns on Hong Kong's 2019 protests, all wrapped up in a juicy, layered science-fiction future set 1,000 years from now.

"This one would not, could not let me go. I found myself thinking about it every moment I wasn't playing it, when I was trying to sleep and when, after the credits, there was nothing for me left," one player wrote. "All that