1000xRESIST is a game that speculates about the children of the 2019 Hong Kong protests in a Nier Automata-like setting. You jump between time periods to solve light adventure puzzles, but thematically it's all about how people remember and suffer. It's one of the most lucid expressions of generational trauma being passed on and on, making people reproduce the violence and suffering of the past.

I love this game, even if I think it is too much. It's a wonderful title that resonates with me, and I still have conversations with friends who are familiar and unfamiliar with the events it depicts. The whole game is mostly just you walking and talking and remembering. Each level changes perspectives and storytelling techniques, reminding me of Kentucky Route Zero. The ultimate message of the game is something personal and local to the hearts of anyone who identifies as Chinese and/or Hong Kong.

For people who aren't sure if they will get the message of the game, I would say that this game is part of an ongoing conversation that the Chinese and Hong Kong diasporas are having with each other. We don't have a good answer. In fact, I would argue that none of us are ready to have the discussion that this game raises. It's okay if you don't get it, because some of us don't.

But I think it will help you understand why diasporic people can feel a certain way. It's also about understanding the legacy of a protest generation from another country. There are many parallels to our current world that we can make to understand the game, even without the context. Thanks to this game, I've had a lot of cool conversations with people who don't know much, but are willing to learn about the struggles around the world.

That said, I have a few issues with the game:

1) Motion sickness

I'm not sure what makes this game so exhausting for me, but the way the camera works, the frame rate, and the screen transitions in the hub world make me sick. I can only play this game in two-hour chunks. My guess is low depth-of-field.

2) The waypoint system/lack of maps

The Orchard is the hub world of the game, and it's designed to look more like a real building than a game map. This would be fine if the navigation system wasn't so unintuitive. The game gives you waypoints to talk to characters, but navigating to where they are is a chore. Sometimes you have to find the stairs hidden in the corner. Other times, I didn't realize that I had to go underground to get to a certain place. There are signs in the game, but they are confusing and vague to me -- the arrow pointing down indicates a U-turn, which I would have gotten if the game didn't have an underground level. I think I need a map or something to ground myself in these large levels because I ended up not talking to every NPC in the game. Too bad, because they say some funny things and are fully voiced.

3) The zipping

There's this section of the game where you have to aim the camera and "zip" to a target node. It's weird, and it's also irritating to find the nodes because they're hidden somewhere. I'm not sure what the point of this gameplay is. I would rather the game was just a walking sim.

Anyway, these are all minor complaints about a game that speaks provocatively about current events and dilemmas in diaspora life. I seriously recommend getting this game if anything in this review and others sounds interesting to you. It's a game that will stay with you and remind you the world is full of people who are suffering in their own way.

1000xRESIST is a game that speculates about the children of the 2019 Hong Kong protests in a Nier Automata-like setting. You jump between time periods to solve light adventure puzzles, but thematically it's all about how people remember and suffer. It's one of the most lucid expressions of generational trauma being passed on and on, making people reproduce the violence and suffering of the past. I love this game, even if I think it is too much. It's a wonderful title that resonates with me, and I still have conversations with friends who are familiar and unfamiliar with the events it depicts. The whole game is mostly just you walking and talking and remembering. Each level changes perspectives and storytelling techniques, reminding me of Kentucky Route Zero. The ultimate message of the game is something personal and local to the hearts of anyone who identifies as Chinese and/or Hong Kong. For people who aren't sure if they will get the message of the game, I would say that this game is part of an ongoing conversation that the Chinese and Hong Kong diasporas are having with each other. We don't have a good answer. In fact, I would argue that none of us are ready to have the discussion that this game raises. It's okay if you don't get it, because some of us don't. But I think it will help you understand why diasporic people can feel a certain way. It's also about understanding the legacy of a protest generation from another country. There are many parallels to our current world that we can make to understand the game, even without the context. Thanks to this game, I've had a lot of cool conversations with people who don't know much, but are willing to learn about the struggles around the world. That said, I have a few issues with the game: 1) Motion sickness I'm not sure what makes this game so exhausting for me, but the way the camera works, the frame rate, and the screen transitions in the hub world make me sick. I can only play this game in two-hour chunks. My guess is low depth-of-field. 2) The waypoint system/lack of maps The Orchard is the hub world of the game, and it's designed to look more like a real building than a game map. This would be fine if the navigation system wasn't so unintuitive. The game gives you waypoints to talk to characters, but navigating to where they are is a chore. Sometimes you have to find the stairs hidden in the corner. Other times, I didn't realize that I had to go underground to get to a certain place. There are signs in the game, but they are confusing and vague to me -- the arrow pointing down indicates a U-turn, which I would have gotten if the game didn't have an underground level. I think I need a map or something to ground myself in these large levels because I ended up not talking to every NPC in the game. Too bad, because they say some funny things and are fully voiced. 3) The zipping There's this section of the game where you have to aim the camera and "zip" to a target node. It's weird, and it's also irritating to find the nodes because they're hidden somewhere. I'm not sure what the point of this gameplay is. I would rather the game was just a walking sim. Anyway, these are all minor complaints about a game that speaks provocatively about current events and dilemmas in diaspora life. I seriously recommend getting this game if anything in this review and others sounds interesting to you. It's a game that will stay with you and remind you the world is full of people who are suffering in their own way.