1000xResist

[one-armed dwarf]

That is '1000 times resist', according to one of the creators I think.

 

I put this on hiatus a week or so back, but wanted to write down my thoughts on the first half anyway. I think some of us have this on our backlog

 

It is a sort of 'walking sim' type deal set in a very Yoko Taro-coded version of the future. A mass extinction event occurred, aliens invaded and spread a virus. The game jumps back and forth through time via a sort of memory technology called 'communion'. You're playing as this character called 'Watcher' and you live in this enclosed, somewhat infantilised sisterhood where everyone's names is their role. Nobody can ever take off their mask. There's a sort of COVID allegory to some of it, but also as the name suggests there's a theme of resistance and cycles which gets into slightly more interesting real world allegories, which I'll leave out here but they're mentioned in reviews if you're curious. Put in simple terms, it's an interesting sci fi story with lots of overlapping layers that develop its themes in interesting ways and are successful at generating empathy for their characters.

 

 

Playing the game is a real struggle though, which is why I put it on break. You just talk to people in it, and you navigate these really confusing environments. It all sort of looks a bit like a second life level, or a custom map from VR chat or something like that. In a way the aesthetic is kinda refreshing or maybe nostalgic if you've ever played F2P MMOs from the noughties or something. The game does find some neat tricks with perspective, how it changes camera angles from third person free form to first person to fixed angles, trying to inject things with a cinematic flair. But it is a bit like doing the fetch quests in FFXIV or FFXVI and having being a bit traumatised by that design it makes it very hard to recommend. You'll see a few articles on some gaming sites praising the story, like massive praise calling it the greatest of all time. I'm not on that level with it, but I do think it's doing something interesting but in a way that's kind of draining to interact with, personally speaking.

 

So I'm very mixed on it, but I'll probably try to see through the second half over Christmas. It seems like the kind of story where you can take an intermission cause of how it's structured

[Maf]

I’m looking forward to trying this. Similar to Metaphor I’m enjoying playing a game that engages with current politics/culture without being too dense (in both senses of the word)

[DANGERMAN]

I've not played it but the release seems a bit of a funny one. Seemed like people took it as some cheap shit, then out of nowhere it became a bit of cult darling 

[Maryokutai]

The first time I've heard of it was in some EDGE preview (surprisingly long, either 2 or even 4 pages). That was a bit of a hint that this might be something more than what its art style initially suggests. From dwarf's impressions and the linked review, which I only skimmed through, I fear this might be something that goes over my head, but I do have it, so I will check it out at some point. Probably soon-ish, I find these narrative adventures well-suited for the winter months.

[one-armed dwarf]

It's trying to be a bit literary with things but even if you don't have the life experience of being a part of this diaspora, the overarching sci-fi story layer helps make its delivery more digestible. That's why I'd describe it as being good at generating empathy, because it uses that aspect of the story to package its themes and cross over cultural barriers

[DANGERMAN]

I'm playing this now, kind of approaching the end and I'm really enjoying it. the story and how it's told are superb, I've been really gripped by it.

 

As Dwarf says though, the level design is a bit frustrating. The areas aren't massive, it's not like you're going to get completely lost, but it very much leaves the game up to you, you have to work out what it wants from you in puzzles, gameplay, and within the environment. You eventually get a map of a particular area, but it doesn't really reflect the layout. Eventually there's a kind of radar you can bring up with notable people on the compass, but it's literally everyone you can talk to. So combine all that and you can end up with a dramatic meaningful section undermined because you're just wandering around

 

I don't want to be too negative because I'm really enjoying it and it might end up on my GOTY list, but it does have one glaring flaw that made the early game a bit frustrating, and this later section lose a bit of meaning