2019-07-01_PC_Gamer

I

’veneverplayed

KentuckyRouteZero

before,outoffearof

fallinginlovewitha

workinprogress.

Timepassed,mymindchangedand

theendofthisstrangepaintingofa

gamefinallydrewnear.

Manygamestakeplaceatnight,

thetimeofdaywhenmonsterscome

outorcriminalsgoanddotheirdirty

work.Butsomanypeopleworkat

nightandseea completelydifferent

sideoftheworld,whereeverything

seemsmuchmoresubduedand

peopleperhapsfeelfreetoacta little

differentlyaswell.

AddtothathowKentuckyRoute

Zerotakesplaceinthosetiny

communitiesandlonelyhousesaway

fromthemainroadsofAmerica–

locationsthathaveinspiredgames

likeWheretheWaterTastesLike

WineormuchofNeilGaiman’swork

• andsuddenlythesupernaturaland
  justplaineeriedoesn’tfeelso
  unlikelyanymore.
  I thinkmytaskis todeliver
  something,buteverythinginthis
  gameis gearedtowardsdistraction.

A ghostaskedmetofixherTV set

whenallI neededweredirections.

ThefirstthingI canthink of,

lookingatherlonelyhousehigh up

ona hill,is ofcourse,whatelse is

shegoingtodoallbyherself than

watchtelevision?

ROADTRIPPIN’

Elsewhere,a groupofbearsinhabits

theirownfloorofanofficebuilding.

Bearsarelargecreatures,they take

upa lotofspaceandtheytake ages at

theprinter.Bestgivethemtheir own

floor.Gamescanbeveryselective

aboutwhatI’msupposedtofind

strange– zombiesandgelatinous

masseswitheyesarestandard fare

now–butKRZhasthisfascinating

wayofmakingmeawareofthe

strangenessofmysurroundings,

simplybyneverremarkingon them

atall.Randomactsofkindness pave

myway.AnywhereI arriveI take the

timefora quickchat,justasyou

woulddoasa lonelysoulon the road,

gettingsparsesocialinteraction

wheneverpossible.

Ratherthanfollowtheplot, I do

nothingbutcruisearoundthe simple

mapduringtheendlessnight,

listeningtothesatisfyinghum of my

truck’sengineuntiloutofnowhere a

buildingappears.

I followstrangenoisesinside or

peekthroughwindowsand

encountermanya lonelysoul

continuingtodotheirworkeven

whentheirbodyhaslongstopped

moving.A bleakAmericanDream.

Game 11. The opposition areallin
the same clan. They’re going tobe
more organised and more strategic
than my group of random players.
Still, I’ve beaten clans before, wejust
need to... oh. One of our teammates
has quit the match. We’re screwed.
I am undone. I lose three of my
four next games. Then, when I login
the next week, things have somehow
gotten worse. Bungie has launcheda
new event, The Revelry, and withit a
special tonic that makes your grenade
ability recharge incredibly fast. With
a full set of the event armour, youget
a new grenade every couple of
seconds. It’s a disaster. I lose mynext
four games in a row, wiping myreset
bonus and then some.

WARLOCK LOCKDOWN
As a Warlock, my character doesn’t
have the best grenades, but I realise
that a significant number of players
struggle to realise when they’re
standing in an arc pulse grenade.
Pretty soon I’m carpet bombing
objectives with area-of-effect
lightning death.
It... works, mostly. There arestill
losses, but also wins that only
happened because I threw so many
grenades that the other team couldn’t
capture the middle point.
In the second week of The
Revelry, after 47 total competitive
games, I finally reach my total. Some
might say I’ve cheesed my way tomy
pinnacle rewards. But do I feel bad?
No. I don’t.

MALINDYHETFELD

THISMONTH

Meanderedthroughthe

Americansouthatnight

ALSOPLAYED

Anno 1800

EnjoyingdilapidatedsightsinKENTUCKYROUTEZERO

“A ghost asked me

to fix her TV set”

Letting the sparks fly.

THE GAMESWELOVERIGHTNOW

NOW PLAYING

You easily accept things work a little

differently around these parts

My advice?

Don’t go in there.