Review 1000xRESIST – tragic fates of generations

I only discovered 1000xRESIST after it was released, and it was completely by accident. I really didn’t know what to expect from the game. I was interested in the theme and style. Science fiction that takes on interesting themes, develops futuristic concepts but isn’t afraid of a realistic setting, is properly convoluted but unravels and explains storylines early on? It’s all 1000xRESIST.

• Platform: PC (review version), Nintendo Switch
• Publication date: 05/09/2024
• Developer: Sunset Visitor
• Publisher: Companion
• Genre: story adventure
• Czech localization: No
• Multiplayer: No
• Download data: 10 GB
• Game time: 15 hours
• Price: 19.5 euros (Steam)

The story is by far the game’s biggest attraction and also takes up the majority of the game’s playing time, which can be as long as fifteen hours. I’m not sure I’ve ever encountered such a complicated story, and I probably don’t even need to attach a last name. games.

The narrative moves in several time planes, but this is a very superficial description, since each of these aircraft may take several years. We’ll be jumping back and forth throughout the millennium, and if it weren’t for the smart assistant in the bottom left corner of the screen, it would be very difficult to navigate time more accurately. Sometimes you can directly influence the time jumps, which is good fun even if it doesn’t involve any of the more complex game mechanics.

The player character is the Observer, one of the many clones living in the closed city of Orchard. The prototype of all clones is the so-called All-Mother, who is also worshiped almost like a goddess.

A web is being developed, which is not exactly described and the developers do not skimp on symbolism and metaphors.

Within the framework of a special connection of the mind, which is one of the key points of the Observer. sisters speaks, we will learn about the origin of the All-Mother and we will de facto play for her, together with the Observer we will put ourselves in her place. We learn that this is a girl named Iris, who in 2046 was the only person immune to the devastating virus. It was brought with them by an alien race called the Occupiers.

Does this already seem quite complicated? Please know that this only scratches the surface of many, many stories and characters, their personalities and their relationships. A web is being developed, which, moreover, is not exactly described and the developers do not skimp on symbolism and metaphors. Despite this, it manages to touch on more complex themes such as sacrifice, friendship, betrayal, as well as suicide, bullying or terrorism.

In the end, I view the story of 1000xRESIST primarily as a generational tragedy. We’ll look at at least five of them, although even such a statement is hampered by the fact that some characters simply don’t age, and the mother-daughter relationship during cloning is also a bit flimsy. Every generation makes mistakes, and every generation witnesses extremely sad destinies. If you tend to cry during emotional games, there’s significant potential here.

I devoted six paragraphs to the story and narration. This is no coincidence; dialogues take up most of the time, and the gameplay is not particularly lacking. You spend most of your time in the Garden, which serves as a hub of sorts from which you begin completing linear missions. (This is also a rather simplified description, and this principle will change over time.)

You can explore the city, but most of the exploration comes down to dozens and dozens of other dialogues, which thankfully are well written, fully voiced, and not boring. I also recommend watching the side stories of seemingly insignificant characters. Most of them are retold, and thanks to time jumps, you can meet the same clone ten years later.

Otherwise, walking through the Orchard is the more tedious part of the game, also due to the rather difficult navigation. As a result, I hardly used the strange and not very functional compass and relied on pointers directly in the environment. Even with their help, I sometimes got lost.

The game’s main focus is traveling through Iris’ memories, followed by other stand-alone missions in a linear environment. However, other than small hints of logic problems, don’t expect any intense gameplay elements. There are also some “invisible anchor” platforming passages worth mentioning, but there are only a few of them and they aren’t particularly challenging.

There’s one thing 1000xRESIST does brilliantly. It’s about alternating points of view. More often than not, we’ll be looking over a character’s shoulder, but fixed cameras are no exception. Classical survival horror, but in some places also from top to bottom or from the side. We experience most of Iris’ memories through our own eyes, which in turn turns the game into the standard walking simulator that we probably most imagine it to be today. Even after ten or more hours, the authors manage to surprise.

The stumbling block may be the graphic page. I emphasize: she could be. The purely technical level of graphics – the number of polygons, the quality of textures, animations, and the like – is very meager. There is no point in hiding it in any way. Especially in the Garden, you often find yourself in architecturally boring, gray corridors that are really ugly, like the ugly rocks in a cave.

But the authors from a small independent team tried to fill the technical deficit in all available ways. Scene lighting, cinematic cut scenes, switching angles, working with depth of field, originality of scenes and architecture. All this really helps a lot, and when you add, for example, reflection from a water surface, you get really beautiful pictures, not spoiled by glitches and other errors.

Below the visual I will add a mention of music, but it will be brief and relatively neutral. The music is pleasant, emotional, quite different and fits everywhere. It supports on-screen actions well. I wouldn’t call it the best of the best, but it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Describing 1000xRESIST and choosing the most important thing to write about in a review is really difficult. It’s a special experience based on a story that can be told in such a compelling way that you don’t even mind limiting the gameplay to a minimum. Although yes, towards the end the player may get a little tired. Not because of the plot, of course, but because of the long running around. But again, there are big decisions to make at the end, which is a nice change from the rather cosmetic dialogue options throughout the game.

I have a major recommendation for fans of great science fiction stories. I believe that even a weaker presentation cannot spoil the impression of what is happening on the screen. But at the same time I raise my finger. 1000xRESIST is not for everyone, and certainly not for those who need a more challenging gameplay experience to enjoy it.