9 ms·

The Weirdness of Kentucky Route Zero (2016)

124 points by olvy0 6y ago

platz 6y ago
Neighbor, is a meditative little vignette along the lines of Mountain (2014) or Animal Crossing. "You should play the new poetic game from the Kentucky Route Zero designers - Kill Screen": https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/cardboard-computer-trienniale-game/ https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/cardboard-compute...
bitxbitxbitcoin 6y ago
Here is some text from a review of Kentucky Route Zero I wrote in 2017. “Are we there yet? This game is all story with no challenges or obstacles, just like a road trip ought to be. Immerse yourself in an artful rendition of our very human world and step into the dusty shoes of a man we have all seen in passing, but never stopped to get to know. He drives for the elusive Kentucky Route Zero - an underground road filled with legend and Americana. How do you find the middle of nowhere?“ For the purposes of understanding America’s heartland a little better, what’s better than playing Kentucky Route Zero is actually taking a real road trip through the flyover states.
the__alchemist 6y ago
This game made me decide never to play an episodic game until all episodes are out. I lost interest and track of the characters and story during the interludes. This article makes me want to play the final episode; the game's beautiful, subtle, and thoughtful in a way few developers dare.
- TeaDrunk 6y ago
  I highly recommend playing the final episode. Interestingly I recall the devs mentioned Trump's win and the subsequent political tension caused a big change in the way the game was developed and the themes they wanted to include. So I don't know if the wait was so bad- I don't know what the last episode was originally meant to be, but the way it is now is a beautiful examination of the most painful, human, vulnerable pieces of the american dream.
- mherdeg 6y ago
  Yup. It's wonderful game and thought provoking and I just gave up and didn't ever come back in that long long long gap before the last episode.
- davidklemke 6y ago
  I did exactly this by accident. KRZ came recommended to me by a mate after a few episodes were out but I never got around to playing it. I did take the dive though last year when all the episodes were out and I'm glad I did as I think what happened to you would certainly have happened to me! The final episode is definitely worth playing though. It's the emotional climax it needed, I think.
7thaccount 6y ago
Kentucky Route Zero is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion and is more of an experience than a true game. It really helps to read some critical analysis of the game after playing it to to get a better understanding and appreciation for the historical background that is being referenced. The game is part adventure, part ghost story, part commentary on the fading american dream, and part artwork. It sounds pretentious, but it never felt that way to me. It is really hard to describe the game and the plot. It is my favorite game along with Journey.
- glogla 6y ago
  Innuendo Studios has a good 8 minute video essay on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl6OYyU4rl8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl6OYyU4rl8
- fetus8 6y ago
  Experience is absolutely the right way to describe KRZ. I feel like it shares a lot of the same DNA as Visual Novel style games too. I just finished Snatcher for the first time, and got similar “feelings” while playing and reading through it all.
- 2bitencryption 6y ago
  I agree with everything you wrote, so you sound like me - in that case, try out the game Omori, which just released. It's right up there with Journey and Kentucky Route Zero. It really is That Good.
  - scroot 6y ago
    Bookmarking this
  - 7thaccount 6y ago
    I'll definitely check that out. When I was younger I loved playing practically any video game, but as I've aged, I only play a few games a year and they generally need to be pretty unusual and heavy on the story side. I want the experience and not the frustration of having to die fighting a boss 10x.
gtfoutttt 6y ago
I've had this game in my list to pick up ever since I got a ps4. However I only ever buy discs, so maybe this is a good sign that it will finally be available in my local store.
- MrRadar 6y ago
  KRZ only had a limited physical release through iam8bit and it sold out shortly after it was released last year. Though it looks like it's also included in a collector's edition bundle of games from the publisher, albeit at a very high cost: https://www.iam8bit.com/products/annapurna-interactive-deluxe-limited-edition?_pos=1&_sid=a1b8b5878&_ss=r https://www.iam8bit.com/products/annapurna-interactive-delux... It's also available DRM-free from GOG and Humble Bundle (the Steam release might also be DRM-free, but I haven't checked).
- 013a 6y ago
  It'll probably still be very difficult to find physically, as it only had one limited release and that sold out almost instantly. Fortunately, if you're not interested in the digital PS4 copy, you can purchase a DRM free download from their itch.io [1] which works on Windows, Mac, or Linux. Its a game that would run on a toaster, so not having a gaming computer isn't a barrier. [1] https://cardboardcomputer.itch.io/kentucky-route-zero https://cardboardcomputer.itch.io/kentucky-route-zero
puzzlingcaptcha 6y ago
The most in-depth analysis of the themes in the first three acts of KRZ I've seen was published by superlevel.de. Unfortunately following a change to the website it's now only available through web archive (and a lot of interesting photographs are sadly missing): https://web.archive.org/web/20190330120931/https://superlevel.de/spiele/kentucky-fried-zero-english-edition/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190330120931/https://superleve...
- 7thaccount 6y ago
  Ah Kentucky Fried Zero. This is what I was referring to in my other comment I believe.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
giantg2 6y ago
Sort of interesting. I didn't think someone would make a game like that. I grew up (partially) in the Appalachian part of PA. I might look into playing it to see how relatable it is.
- user-the-name 6y ago
  Also check out Night in the Woods, which was, confusingly, inspired by Kentucky Route Zero, while also being released before Kentucky Route Zero was completed.
  - phnofive 6y ago
    Well, NitW was released first, but the story runs out of track about 80% through - not sure if they ran out of ideas or money.
    - user-the-name 6y ago
      Not sure what you mean?
immigrantsheep 6y ago
I love this game so much. It's a masterpiece. I played it episode by episode first on PC and then again the whole game over a weekend on a PS4. Fantastic.
sanitycheck 6y ago
Possibly of interest to those who loved the music in the game... A Junebug album: https://junebug.bandcamp.com https://junebug.bandcamp.com (I've hard it in my playlist since discovering it exists.)
0b01 6y ago
While I have not played the game this review is beyond useless with its postmodern Pynchonesque gibberish on entropy.
InvOfSmallC 6y ago
Kentucky Route Zero. Given the reviews I had to play it. And it's beautiful. But the story is really too long.

124 points by olvy0 6y ago

Neighbor, is a meditative little vignette along the lines of Mountain (2014) or Animal Crossing. "You should play the new poetic game from the Kentucky Route Zero designers - Kill Screen": https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/cardboard-computer-trienniale-game/ https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/cardboard-compute...

bitxbitxbitcoin 6y ago

Here is some text from a review of Kentucky Route Zero I wrote in 2017. “Are we there yet? This game is all story with no challenges or obstacles, just like a road trip ought to be. Immerse yourself in an artful rendition of our very human world and step into the dusty shoes of a man we have all seen in passing, but never stopped to get to know. He drives for the elusive Kentucky Route Zero - an underground road filled with legend and Americana. How do you find the middle of nowhere?“ For the purposes of understanding America’s heartland a little better, what’s better than playing Kentucky Route Zero is actually taking a real road trip through the flyover states.

the__alchemist 6y ago

This game made me decide never to play an episodic game until all episodes are out. I lost interest and track of the characters and story during the interludes. This article makes me want to play the final episode; the game's beautiful, subtle, and thoughtful in a way few developers dare.

TeaDrunk 6y ago
I highly recommend playing the final episode. Interestingly I recall the devs mentioned Trump's win and the subsequent political tension caused a big change in the way the game was developed and the themes they wanted to include. So I don't know if the wait was so bad- I don't know what the last episode was originally meant to be, but the way it is now is a beautiful examination of the most painful, human, vulnerable pieces of the american dream.
mherdeg 6y ago
Yup. It's wonderful game and thought provoking and I just gave up and didn't ever come back in that long long long gap before the last episode.
davidklemke 6y ago
I did exactly this by accident. KRZ came recommended to me by a mate after a few episodes were out but I never got around to playing it. I did take the dive though last year when all the episodes were out and I'm glad I did as I think what happened to you would certainly have happened to me! The final episode is definitely worth playing though. It's the emotional climax it needed, I think.

7thaccount 6y ago

Kentucky Route Zero is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion and is more of an experience than a true game. It really helps to read some critical analysis of the game after playing it to to get a better understanding and appreciation for the historical background that is being referenced. The game is part adventure, part ghost story, part commentary on the fading american dream, and part artwork. It sounds pretentious, but it never felt that way to me. It is really hard to describe the game and the plot. It is my favorite game along with Journey.

glogla 6y ago
Innuendo Studios has a good 8 minute video essay on it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl6OYyU4rl8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl6OYyU4rl8
fetus8 6y ago
Experience is absolutely the right way to describe KRZ. I feel like it shares a lot of the same DNA as Visual Novel style games too. I just finished Snatcher for the first time, and got similar “feelings” while playing and reading through it all.
2bitencryption 6y ago
I agree with everything you wrote, so you sound like me - in that case, try out the game Omori, which just released. It's right up there with Journey and Kentucky Route Zero. It really is That Good.
- scroot 6y ago
  Bookmarking this
- 7thaccount 6y ago
  I'll definitely check that out. When I was younger I loved playing practically any video game, but as I've aged, I only play a few games a year and they generally need to be pretty unusual and heavy on the story side. I want the experience and not the frustration of having to die fighting a boss 10x.

gtfoutttt 6y ago

I've had this game in my list to pick up ever since I got a ps4. However I only ever buy discs, so maybe this is a good sign that it will finally be available in my local store.

MrRadar 6y ago
KRZ only had a limited physical release through iam8bit and it sold out shortly after it was released last year. Though it looks like it's also included in a collector's edition bundle of games from the publisher, albeit at a very high cost: https://www.iam8bit.com/products/annapurna-interactive-deluxe-limited-edition?_pos=1&_sid=a1b8b5878&_ss=r https://www.iam8bit.com/products/annapurna-interactive-delux... It's also available DRM-free from GOG and Humble Bundle (the Steam release might also be DRM-free, but I haven't checked).
013a 6y ago
It'll probably still be very difficult to find physically, as it only had one limited release and that sold out almost instantly. Fortunately, if you're not interested in the digital PS4 copy, you can purchase a DRM free download from their itch.io [1] which works on Windows, Mac, or Linux. Its a game that would run on a toaster, so not having a gaming computer isn't a barrier. [1] https://cardboardcomputer.itch.io/kentucky-route-zero https://cardboardcomputer.itch.io/kentucky-route-zero

puzzlingcaptcha 6y ago

The most in-depth analysis of the themes in the first three acts of KRZ I've seen was published by superlevel.de. Unfortunately following a change to the website it's now only available through web archive (and a lot of interesting photographs are sadly missing): https://web.archive.org/web/20190330120931/https://superlevel.de/spiele/kentucky-fried-zero-english-edition/ https://web.archive.org/web/20190330120931/https://superleve...

7thaccount 6y ago
Ah Kentucky Fried Zero. This is what I was referring to in my other comment I believe.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

giantg2 6y ago

Sort of interesting. I didn't think someone would make a game like that. I grew up (partially) in the Appalachian part of PA. I might look into playing it to see how relatable it is.

user-the-name 6y ago
Also check out Night in the Woods, which was, confusingly, inspired by Kentucky Route Zero, while also being released before Kentucky Route Zero was completed.
- phnofive 6y ago
  Well, NitW was released first, but the story runs out of track about 80% through - not sure if they ran out of ideas or money.
  - user-the-name 6y ago
    Not sure what you mean?

immigrantsheep 6y ago

I love this game so much. It's a masterpiece. I played it episode by episode first on PC and then again the whole game over a weekend on a PS4. Fantastic.

sanitycheck 6y ago

Possibly of interest to those who loved the music in the game... A Junebug album: https://junebug.bandcamp.com https://junebug.bandcamp.com (I've hard it in my playlist since discovering it exists.)

0b01 6y ago

While I have not played the game this review is beyond useless with its postmodern Pynchonesque gibberish on entropy.

InvOfSmallC 6y ago

Kentucky Route Zero. Given the reviews I had to play it. And it's beautiful. But the story is really too long.