#15: 1000xRESIST

1000xRESIST is so dense and rich in themes that trying to sum it all up here in a few paragraphs feels like a disservice to just how much developer Sunset Visitor’s narrative adventure explores in its dozen or so hours. What starts off as a sci-fi exploration of identity in a society made up entirely of clones ends up interrogating so many ideas that its thesis could be articulated in as many ways as its diverging clones view the world. Despite everything it explores, 1000xRESIST feels singular in its vision, building upon its most basic ideas to deliver anime-inspired melodrama that leads to out-of-this-world conclusions grounded in the human desire for connection.

So much of 1000xRESIST is depicted through the memories of one woman, with her clones viewing and interpreting it all through their own eyes. Even then, however, they are limited by her perspective. 1000xRESIST ends on a note that suggests history can be defined by the victors in any conflict, no matter how just one’s cause might be. Its final moments ask you to remember what it means to hold that power and decide what to do with it. As much as 1000xRESIST juggles, it’s all in service of making you understand the position you’re put in during that final segment. You can resist something a thousand times over and not know what to do when you’ve finally won. 1000xRESIST’s ability to concisely reach that conclusion is a testament to what Sunset Visitor achieved. Lesser games would have caved under the weight of communicating so much narrative and thematic depth in such a short experience. — Kenneth Shepard