96 PCWorld MARCH 2020REVIEWS KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO
my friends in that poor telephone operator,
waiting for another golden age that will likely
never come.
Anyway, Kentucky Route Zero is the type of
game best enjoyed in the wee hours of the night,
an hour at a time. And it’s the type of game best
enjoyed twice, or maybe even three times. I’ve
now replayed the first episode (or act), and it’s
amazing how much is set up in those early hours
that doesn’t pay off until three, even four acts
later. Seven years. A lifetime, for me and for the
country and for the development team as well.
Auteur theory is unpopular in video games,
and for good reason. It usually entails
misallocation of credit, either unintentional or
intentional. In the case of the former, the “lone
genius” getting praised for the work of the
team. In the latter, “a giant asshole” stealing that
same praise.
It seems relevant in light of Kentucky Route
Zero though. Cardboard Computer is three
people, and you can almost feel them change
over time, and the game changing with them.
Even taken all in one sitting, or maybe
especially when taken in one sitting, it’s hard
not to notice how certain story threads are
entertained and then cast aside, how certain
themes become more or less prominent as
you venture through the five acts.
As I said, it’s a game that defined a decade
and was defined by it in turn. It was one of the
earliest crowdfunding successes, completed
after crowdfunding mostly died off. An entire
console generation passed. The indie scenerose and fell and then rose again. Eons passed.
And now it’s finally over. I hope the
developers get some rest.BOTTOM LINE
Above all, Kentucky Route Zero is an argument
that games can be more. That argument isn’t
nearly so revolutionary now as it was in 2011
when development began, or 2013 when the
first act released. We’ve (thankfully) made some
decent progress in the years since. People
bought Kentucky Route Zero, and those
people did go start their proverbial bands.
It’s still a stunning piece of fiction though.
Surprising from beginning to end, I finished
and felt heavy—my head, my heart, all of me
just heavy. Two days later and I’m still
digesting it, still figuring out what it means for
me as a person and a writer.
Hell, maybe I’ll start a band too.Kentucky Route Zero
PROS- Surprising from beginning to end.
- Plays with dialogue and scenery in fascinating
ways. - Uses magical realism as a vessel for a rich
subtextual layer.
CONS - Movement can be finicky.
- Less revolutionary now than it was in 2013.
BOTTOM LINE
A magical adventure almost a decade in the making,
Kentucky Route Zero is every bit as good as you’ve
heard—and maybe more.
$24.99