Review

1000xResist: The Masterpiece You Forgot to Play

Tarrmu

22 Nov 2025 — 14 min read

Introduction

There are seldom an experience that comes by that has the ability to transport you. 1000xResist is a rare experience that is able to thrust you in with how much information it provides you and it's intriguing premise, but how much it also omits from the player, providing a more of storytelling and narrative design that encapsulates the time of story, that only a video game could tell. It is worth mentioning before I dive into this video, that this is a review of sorts, but it is a difficult review to write through the lens of do I recommend or not recommend it, as depicting all of the things that I found stood out to me feel like they would potentially give too much away and rob you of that experience.

So if you're wondering should I play this game, I will answer that question in the least spoiler way possible at the top of this video, but this video will be more unpacking and discussing why this game is a truly underrated masterpiece, from the way it utilizes its game mechanics, the plethora of themes that this game touches on, and so effortlessly conveys, and overall how a team of about 4 people made, what I believe to be one of the best games of 2024.

So without further delay, let's talk about 1000xResist.

Should You Play 1000xResist?

The biggest question that many who have never heard of 1000xResist will ask is what is this game about, and why should I play it? Well, I'm glad you asked, because I believe that what you're in for is a rich and compelling story that is crafted in a manner that is very intricate and deliberate in its design and its detail of story elements. However, as much as I believe this game is a masterclass in narrative storytelling, I don't think as a video game that this is for everyone, this game shares more in common with what many would call a "walking sim", and whilst I feel like that term is generally used in a pejorative sense, it absolutely isn't with talking about 1000xResist, and there is much more to how this game handles its narrative, and in turn mechanics that lend themselves to the storytelling. If you're someone looking for an interactive narrative, that is less combat-focused but uses the medium of a game to tell a gem of a story, then chances are you'll love 1000xResist. Now with this all being said, if you have noticed I am being vague and that is intentional, as if you're going to pick this up I want you to go in as blind as possible, not being robbed of any aspects of this experience, because 1000xResist truly is a special game.

Unlike my other videos where I break the review down into different components from narrative to the various gameplay elements, here with this video I will be talking about the gameplay, in tandem with talking about the 1000xResist's story and how it brilliantly tells that story, as these two elements work hand in hand with one another and talking about the separately would overall do I dis-service to everything that this game accomplishes through its cohesion of these two major components.

Themes

I will begin with a statement that 1000xResist covers a multitude of different topics, subject matter of ideas spanning from

(have each on pop up on screen)

Family
Identity
Individuality
Diaspora
Generational Trauma
Faith - the youngest original sin, and the wrath of a god
Prejudice
Purpose
Revenge
Existentialism
Governmental power, class, and hierarchy
A microcosm of society - the tug of war of control
freedom

and of course, Resistance.

But ultimately if there is one thing that I can chalk a 1000xResist down to, it is that 1000xResist sheds commentary on the human experience, and uses the premise of its dystopian Science Fiction narrative as a driver to confidently do so. How we choose to live, what we choose to believe, the groups and tribes we form, the bodies of power we develop and how we necessitate and understand our means for purpose and survival. What is it that defines our individuality, what provides an individual purpose, especially in an existence where a sense of meaning feels absent. It touches on many ideas, and weaves them together like a game of matching pairs, but handles these topics in a graceful manner that doesn't feel pretentious or hand-fisted.

Part I: Language and Culture

Little nuances from early chapters reinstate themselves as slogans, phrases, metaphors or references later in this timeline. Things like Bang Bang Fire's knock knock joke, or the whale plushie. There is so much little detail that is put into every chapter of this game, that feels so self-referential and gives some meaning that we as the player know having seen the past, present and future events of this worldline, and seeing almost mundane things of Iris's life unfold into a sense of culture within this micro-universe she has created.

1000xResist cleverly develops its own etymology throughout its story creating words and phrases that the game will seemingly throw at you from the moment the game begins. "hair to hair", "six to one", "hekki allo" are all different phrases that eventually are incorporated into the lexicon of 1000xResist's characters. But it isn't just the phrases and slogans, but the context of the words, emotions and world that this civilization lives within, which is built upon a contextual universe of what came before. The universe in question is the world perceived through Iris, the memories that are passed down and a virus which has plagued each sister since conception, and that was the memetic truth of their reality and existence.

Memetics or memes are the theory that explores the study of culture which bases itself of the same Darwinian principles we use to assess genetics, where in this instance a meme is a unit of culture.

The term meme was coined by Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene, where Dawkins would articulate the proposition that all evolutionary processes depend on information being copied, varied, and selected, a process known as variation with selective retention.

Trust me, I'm going somewhere with this.

Dawkins believed that this same process is the driver behind culture and cultural evolution, and the meme being the replicator, which cites examples be it a musical tune, catchphrase or fashion. Like genes, Dawkins posited the memes are selfish in their replication meaning their level of influence dictates their chances of being copied and adopted into the cultural DNA and living on passing on.

1000xResist is a world that explores the human experience, post-humanity it explores the evolution of a culture a form of language that takes form through what has been based down through Iris, and is the memetic embodiment of her life experiences, the self gene being the memories she chooses to share, the language that is passed down through her experiences, and slogans that are derived from her creation and rise as a deity, which we'll talk about about in more depth shortly.

Part II: Generational Trauma and Diaspora

One theme that weaves itself in a similar way is how 1000xResist approaches the theme of Generational Trauma, which is conveyed through the literal lens of generational memories that peer into the lives of Iris' parents, the original sisters and the modern characters that you take control of and the wrath of the all mother.

It is important to ask what exactly is generational trauma? It is a form of trauma that extends from one generation to the next, that can take form when a group or individual experiences a traumatic event that causes a economic, cultural, familial sense of distress. It operates in a similar matter that the memetics of the pervious section operate, where a traumatic experience or stressor is passed down.

Like with many of the themes that surround 1000xResist there are many contexts that take the concept of generational trauma that are worked into the narrative, the easiest of which being through Iris's parents, who participated and eventually from Hong Kong during the 2019 protests, and the weight and burden that coming to a new country as an immigrant in a new and unfamiliar country.
These environments are remanifested in the games later half, showcasing a divide between the miscellaneous shells, and those who have a function. It depicts a full-circle moment a downtown world that resembles that of a Hong Kong. Similar to the struggle and fight for freedom from the tyrannical rule, Blue would strike out against the council, aiming to bring them down, and strike back in resistance for the people that she lost on her side. It's a different context that resembles similar emotions.

The Occupants the aliens who invade Earth wiped out humanity erased their culture, identity, presence on the world leaving only a memory behind and forcing those that remain to retreat to live underwater. All that survived was one individual and her clones. Humanity as we know it had been all but erased in a tangible sense outside of its memory. This in some respects can be correlated to powers and oppressive forces control over people. But even how the occupants fled their own home world to find a sense of home in Earth. They never were hostile towards humanity, ultimately trying to understand us.

Another example is what a statement that is made by Iris's father where he states "We do not choose what we inherit" and in many mistakes children and offspring are reflections and lessons of their parents. Whether it is mistakes made, or ideals for a more prosperous life. 1000xResist explores the locked capsule that Iris is locked into, memories of her past, and an inability to move on into a future.

Iris's would flee her family and leave for a sense of freedom, much like how her parents left Hong Kong in hopes of freedom and a better future. Much like her parents Iris would inflict her own wounds onto her children which would manifest most evidently in The youngest or Principal seeking revenge against the all mother, based on the rage, hurt and abandonment her mother inflicted upon her.

The climatic conclusion provides a first true moment where all can acknowledge and witness the years, centuries passed, and understand the trauma and grief, the shared memories, and be given a choice with the information of knowing, what type of world they want to make going forward, and the final choice and ending provided is asking the player what type of memories are worth preserving.

Part III: Power and Control

1000xResist's story is dividing into two sides, the events before and up to chapter 5 which I'm going to call Side A and events from chapter 6 to 10 I will refer to as Side B. Both sides of 1000xResist's story showcase different systems of authority, and control over its people. Side A explores the power that is beholden to the sovereignty of a god, the control and authority of the rules written but an almighty deity, and the wrath and consequences one will face for their disobedience. Side B explores a world governed by a system of government one that mirrors a more authoritarian regime dividing people into different classes, groups, and placing them in different areas of living, unless they're deemed worthy or useful to live in the upper ward.

Let's start with Side A, the first half of 1000xResist's narrative has a focus around the sisters, and the all mother. It focuses on a world where the sisters, who are all clones of Iris, worship her like a god. They have poems they read out like prayers, phrases that they use in honor to her divinity, and fear her wrath for disobedience. There are sequences and story beats that heavily mirrors the story of Adam and Eve, a story of The original Sisters who were all immune to the virus, given mortality to fear death, articulates the wrath of the all mother and the rules, power and control that god demands of those who follow, and the sense of punishment, atonement, and forgiveness that those would need to live by due to the sins of those who preceded them.

Side B, focuses less on the spiritual and the realm of a deity, and focuses more on a society governed by leaders, regimes, a system and hierarchy. It focuses on the issues of oppression, class, and suppression of individual identity. It depicts a society that is run by a committee, one that has full reign and control, a leader that society lives in fear of a world that feels authoritarian and oppressive in its ability to want to have control.

Part IV: Resistance

If you were feeling depressed after the first theme we were talking about, good. That's the 1000xResist experience, however I don't think that it is at the heart of the games message. I think through all the pain, hardship, endless cycles of pain, suffering and revenge that the clones of Iris are set into, there is a sense of meaning that is found in a world that is hopeless and deprived of it. That is an individuals need to want to understand, seek purpose, and find meaning.

Resistance, it's a word I feel was seldom used in the game, but it's in the name right? It should have some meaning or correlation to the game?

I think that it is important to ask, what is Resistance, in the context of 1000xResist. I think there are many different ways you could perceive it, whether it is humanity resisting the occupants, whether it is Iris's resistance to the illness of the occupants, whether it is her resistance against the humans who mistreated her, or her fellow sisters resistance against her mistreatment of them.

I believe that the theme of Resistance and the meaning of Resist in 1000xResist is encapsulated perfectly in the following scene in Chapter 7 in one of the conversations between Iris's parents

FATHER: You remember? In the streets...hundreds of thousands marching shoulder to shoulder... Biggest demonstrations in HK history. The world watched it all happen. Heard our voices. Saw us bleed."

MOTHER: So?

FATHER: So if we stayed silent? didn't stand up for ourselves? They would say...this is how it always was. They would say...this is what the people wanted. But no. They can't say that. Because it has gone down in history... That we resisted fiercely. That we fought for a different future...until we couldn't. That legacy lives in us.

The theme of resistance is depicted generational through different perspectives of time being Iris's parents and the Hong Kong Riots, Iris and her treatment during the Occupant rising, The sister of Sin aka the Principal and her isolation, and through the eyes of the characters we play as both Watcher and Blue, one rebelling against the All Mother, her wrath and cruelty, and Blue which is a struggle come full circle rebelling against a regime of government and its forces of oppression.

I think the thing about the resistance is that it is a statement that no matter how futile a situation may feel, the very nature that you fight, stand up, and make it known and fight for a different future, then the legacy of that resistance live on. There is a particular sense of terror that 1000xResist depicts through its passage of time, a futility and pointlessness that every comes with an existential crisis on repeat generation after generation.

In an interview with Touch Arcade 1000xResist's Creative Director Remy Siu when asked to define 1000xResist in 10 words or less referred to it as "A narrative adventure where you experience the cruelty of time."

1000xResist is a world engulfed in conflict where some are seeking truth, others acceptance, and others vengeance. But what makes the myriad of 1000xResist's themes feel so somber is how meaningless all of this can feel in the broader context.

But it ultimately posits that the legacy, and very fight in of itself edges closer to a better future, and is further illustrated through the shared memory that has been retained of Iris and her parents, that is universally shared at the climatic conclusion of the game's narrative, and depending on the ending the player receives depends on the answer to the question of what matters to you, perpetually lingering in the past or journeying into the unknown, the surface, an unpredictably yet potentially better tomorrow.

Visuals and Sound

Visuals

The visuals and sound presentation, for 1000xResist are overall quite striking and distinct in their feeling and with how they feel with regard to the game. The visuals are one aspect of the overall experience that I do feel are quite useful in how they choose to utilize personality and make different areas pop. I would say that the level of polish for the overall world is something that could feel a little lacking in terms of its polish, but is something that the game easily makes up for with its use of cinematic shots, and ways in which it utilizes its spaces, and I mean I feel like for what a small team has produced here, as their first game, the visuals artstyle and overall usage here does enough to really making up for what is a minor critique.

Sound

The sound presentation however delivers in the core aspects. The soundtrack composed primarily by Drew Redman and Line Katcho of its soundtrack that is ominous, somber and haunting the further you progress through the game, make many key moments and reveals, and also the core mechanic of shifting between time periods and seeing the bigger picture unfold, feel like a crescendo to a big major reveal that is very regularly climbing to a new revelation.

The overall vocal performances and amount of lines voiced in this game are actually both solid and impressive, and then you take into account that this is an indie studio, and it is Sunset Visitor's first game, I feel like the amount of effort and quality of particularly it's soundtrack and performances are quite solid.

Conclusion

1000xResist is one of those games that rarely comes by, offering a unique experience in both its gameplay and its storytelling. It's one that will be heralded for a long time to come as a heavy hitting impactful narrative that can resonate with many different people, given how rich in themes and substance that depict the human experience are showcased. Despite talking a lot in this video, there is so much that I feel that this game delves into, that I hope I have articulated or expressed well enough what I felt and took away from my experience with the game. There are influences that derive from the teams experiences with both the Hong Kong riots of 2019, that were not long followed by the Covid pandemics, and these a pillars of that you can feel oozed into the heart of 1000xResists plot points, and were ideas that carried weight for the team. I'm sure there are things that I've missed, but hey, sometimes you don't fit in the backpack.

Everything feels so meticulous and intentional. It's an experience that is unapologetic in its style of gameplay, the themes it places in front of you, and the way it threads them together. It is my belief that 1000xResist is one of the best games of 2024, one that some will talk about today, but one that will carry weight, and only garner more love and attention it deserves the years to come. It's weird that in my mind in many ways 1000xResist sits up there with 13 Sentinels and Nier Automata in how it is able to craft a narrative that unfolds before your eyes and thread itself so eloquently into one concise and unique package.

1000xResist is one of those games that will be highlighted for its incredible usage of storytelling, through its mechanic period shifting storytelling, that collectively pieces this fragmented story into something that is a masterful mosaic of what 1000xResist is, and that is a masterful narrative video game, produced by a studio that had a story they wanted to tell.

Simply put, 1000xResist is a showcase of the types of incredible stories a video game can tell. There are a few games that I feel like wow, only a video game could really do this story justice, and I feel like the story of 1000xResist is one that lends itself perfectly to the medium of video games, and 1000xResist is a masterpiece of storytelling, and an absolute must-play narrative experience, and one that I absolutely recommend.

Thank You For Reading