1000xResist does not waste time. It starts by showing a character, clad in a futuristic blue sci-fi suit, stabbing another in the back. The game then flashes backward, ostensibly to show the journey of how a clone murdered her progenitor.
And it only gets better from there, telling a heavy-hitting story about diasporic peoples, generational trauma, and the effects of a pandemic. In 1000xResist, that pandemic is brought about because of alien invaders.
1000xResist was originally released in May 2024 for Nintendo Switch and Windows PC. On Nov. 4, it comes to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Game Pass Premium, meaning now’s the perfect time to check it out if you haven’t yet.
From sunset visitor 斜陽過客, 1000xResist is a narrative-first game. There isn’t a ton in the way of traditional gameplay mechanics; it leans closer to a visual novel than anything. Some levels have light platforming elements in the way of zipping between floating colorful orbs, but they’re only there to get you to the real draw of the game: experiencing its story through fully voiced, dialogue-heavy sections.
You’ll guide Watcher around the Orchard, an underground communal living space for Watcher and her sisters. Though, they aren’t really sisters. Every character in the present timeline of 1000xResist is a clone of Iris, a survivor of the deadly disease spread by invading aliens that wiped out humanity on the surface world. Iris was immune to the disease — which fatally expels the body’s fluids from its eyes — and has found immortality. Her clones call her Allmother and idolize her like a deity.
Watcher and the fellow clones commune together and explore Iris’s memories. In an early chapter, Watcher traverses Iris’s high school on the eve of a graduation dance when everyone got sick with the disease — except for Iris. In the next, Watcher and another clone bounce between childhood and teenage memories in Iris’s parents’ home.
Through these memories, Watcher gradually learns that Iris isn’t all she’s cracked up to be. She was a bit of a bully to another classmate, Jiao, and frequently butted heads with her parents (as teenagers are wont to do). These realizations clash with how Watcher views Iris, and exploring memories of Iris’s parents fleeing Hong Kong after the 2019-20 protests grants new context to Iris and her home life.
The narrative continues from there, and to say more would be to say too much; 1000xResist is definitely one of those stories where the less you know going in, the better the experience will be. I went in basically blind, and was immediately hooked; the character work from sunset visitor 斜陽過客 and deft handling of sensitive subject matter is second to none. Every new revelation had me hungry for more and eager to see how these generational dynamics would come to a head. Oh, and to figure out the truth behind that murder from the opening scene.
There’s a reason 1000xResist was nominated for several narrative awards and won a Peabody Award. Its family dynamics, both between Watcher and her sisters and Iris and her parents, are inherently relatable, even if immigration isn’t part of your family’s story. At the very least, we’ve all survived a pandemic and can relate to just how messed-up the past five-and-a-half years of life on Earth have been.
As it’s now available on all major platforms, give 1000xResist a chance. viraltrendingcontent named it one of our 50 best games of 2024. At the very least, it might give you a reason to keep your Game Pass subscription going.
1000xResist is out now on Nintendo Switch and Windows PC and will be released Nov. 4 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2 using a download code provided by Fellow Traveller Games. You can find additional information about viraltrendingcontent’s ethics policy here.
