92 PCWorld MARCH 2020REVIEWS KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO
strangest and most ambitious games I’ve ever
played—and yet slightly less so, because like
the Velvet Underground, Kentucky Route Zero
has gone on to inform so much that came after.
Even if you’ve never played a single moment of
it, you’ve probably played something made by
someone who did.
Disco Elysium (go.pcworld.com/dsel)
seems like an obvious heir, its prosaic and
dreamlike writing very reminiscent of Kentucky
Route Zero. Where the Water Tastes Like Wine
(go.pcworld.com/wine) and its Americana
folklore and fascination with the open road,
that’s another. Inkle’s games (go.pcworld.
com/inkl), and the idea that lots of small
choices are more important than a few
massive ones. Celeste (go.pcworld.com/
celt), and how it handles conversations. And
the list goes on, a list that includes Night in the
Woods (go.pcworld.com/ntwd), Paratopic,
maybe even Control (go.pcworld.com/cntl).
Perhaps I’m wrong. It’s hard to point
fingers and name names, to say, “Well thisgame was clearly influenced by Kentucky
Route Zero.” Not without the developers
copping to it, anyway. I recognize so many
other games within Kentucky Route Zero
though, or rather the reverse.
And the common denominator is writing.
Kentucky Route Zero is a game of
conversations. There is walking between
conversations, and a genre purist might call it
an adventure game. Like Heaven’s Vault
though, or Disco Elysium, the walking is only
ever in service of more reading and the
occasional stunning vista.
You start the game as Conway, a truck
driver with one last delivery to make. Trouble
is, he can’t find the address, a “5 Dogwood
Drive.” He and his dog have stopped at a gas
station to ask directions, only to find out his
destination lies down the titular Route Zero.
Where’s Route Zero? Nobody really knows—
but oh, Weaver Marquez might be able to help
you find out, and so off you go to find her.
That’s the hook.
Forget the
mystery for a minute
though. Something
more important
happens in that first
scene. In the first
conversation, even.
You walk up to the
gas station
attendant, introduce
yourself, and then