If it does exist, the people Conway meets are certain that the only way to reach it is to follow the Zero, a mystical highway that seems to run through and under the state of Kentucky. But no-one seems to know where Dogwood Drive is, or if it even exists. Primarily you are focused on Conway, a middle-aged man trying to make a delivery of antiques to 5 Dogwood Drive. At times the camera shifts around the characters, making them seem powerful and fragile at the same time. It often feels like a paper diorama with light and shadow used to create incredible depth. The spaces feel huge with tiny, crudely drawn people in them. And all of it is complemented by some extraordinarily beautiful visuals. It demands your attention, but at the same time doesn’t concern itself if you are not listening. At other times, Kentucky Route Zero is a like a dream, using motifs and imagery to suggest a supernatural or magical presence in the lives of the people you follow. There is sparse scene setting and dramatic fades to black in one of the interludes you even play the role of an audience member in a theatrical presentation of a bar, listening to the patrons talk about their crumbling lives and the impact modern society has had on them. At times it’s like a modernist play, almost Brechtian in its presentation. To call it a game feels trite, it is way more than that, it feels profound. Loosely, Kentucky Route Zero is a point and click adventure, but without any formal puzzles for the player to solve, other than the complexity of the narrative. Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition features all five acts plus the accompanying interlude sketches that help to fill out the main story and bring some of the themes into more focus. The first act came out in 2013 with the conclusion seven years later in 2020. At times it is deeply, almost painfully sad, but it is also filled with hope.Ĭardboard Computer‘s drifter odyssey has taken almost seven years to complete with an episodic release of its story told over the course of five acts. Time lines overlap, perspectives shift and it has you questioning what is real and what is not. It is mysterious and mercurial, skipping between different styles to confuse and misdirect. Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition is an astonishing game, if “game” is what is can be called, because I have never played anything like it.
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