Wireframe - #33 - 2020

60 / wfmag.cc

Review

Rated

Coming off the Zero

s has so often been the case

during the seven years it has taken

Cardboard Computer to get to the

fifth and final act of its highly praised

magical realist adventure, Kentucky

Route Zero’s conclusion took me by surprise.

We’ve spent four acts travelling through darkness

• on night-time drives, in an abandoned mine,
  through mould-infested caves – on our search for
  Dogwood Drive, the location for the last delivery
  of beat-down antiques delivery driver Conway.
  Almost every light we’ve seen has been artificial,
  accompanied by an electric hum, in the many
  interstitial non-places we’ve travelled through –
  gas stations, warehouses, a roadside dive bar,
  the seat of a strange intersection between the
  arcane and the bureaucratic that is the Bureau of
  Reclaimed Spaces. However, just as Act I opened
  with the sun setting, Act V beings with the sun
  rising. It is bright and open in a way the game
  has never felt before. The small town in which it
  is set is dilapidated, but beautiful in the glow of
  the sun, showcasing a scene that is consistent
  with Kentucky Route Zero’s meticulously crafted
  aesthetic, but nonetheless quite unlike anything
  we’ve seen in the game up until this point.
  The same goes for the structure of Act V. One
  camera shot is used, situated high above the
  flooded town into which your band of travellers
  emerges to witness the aftermath of the previous

night’s terrible storm (a bit of context for this is

provided in Un Pueblo de Nada, the preceding

standalone free interlude that’s now been

incorporated into the main game). You control

a cat, and the camera follows you around 360

degrees as you drop in on conversations, echoes

of past events, or prompt an interaction with a

pointed “meow.” These vignettes speak to the

history of the place you are in and the present

situation of its characters, connecting the two in

a way that’s typical of Kentucky Route Zero and one

of its great strengths.

That Act V sees us emerging from the darkness

into the light certainly has some thematic

resonance with what this final act is trying to do,

but that doesn’t mean you should expect some

kind of happy, cheery resolution. Cardboard

Computer has long insisted that Kentucky Route

Zero is a tragedy and that it will end as such.

There are powerful emotional resonances built

through the heartbreaking personal stories of

its characters and the broader themes the game

has been playing with over the last few years. We

won’t recap all that here, but with the game now

a full piece that we can look back on in its totality,

it’s clear that this is a game in large part about

capitalism, or more accurately, the experience

of living in it. It is a game focused on its victims:

shamed, indebted, impoverished, lonely,

alienated. It is about the individuals, families,

A

Info

Review

GENRE

Adventure

FORMAT

PC (tested) /

Mac / Linux /

PS4 / XBO /

Switch

DEVELOPER

Cardboard

Computer

PUBLISHER

Annapurna

PRICE

£18.99

RELEASE

Out now

Kentucky Route Zero

Review

Rated

 Un Pueblo de Nada, the

interlude that precedes

Act V, was clearly something

of a testing ground for

Act V. I’d also suggest it

enhances your experience

of Act V, so play it first.

REVIEWED BY

Paul Walker-Emig