It's rare that a single game is in the running for Game Of The Year awards seven years apart, but 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Kentucky Route Zero is a rare game. Developed by the independent studio Cardboard Computer, the game follows Conway, an aging delivery driver who travels through a strange version of the American South to finﷺish one last job.
The game was slowly released over the course of seven years, starting in 2013 and 2020. (More on how that release schedule came about below!) And now that it's available on modern consoles, it's a great time to get into this fascinating and unique game. But if you're planning to take the plunge, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
7 Don't Expect It To Make Logical Sense
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Kentucky Route Zero was originally pitched as a "magic realist adventure game." Magical realism is a type of literature that incorporates magical, supernatural, or otherwise unexplainable elements into everyday life; imagine if everyone around you saw ghosts all the time and accepted their existence, without needing an explanation, and you'll get the picture.
This should give you a basic idea of what to expect from the game. The plot is full of unexplained and unexplainable events, like a group of spirits playing a board game in the basement of a gas station, or the fictional highway that gives the game its name. This isn't a game that's going to explain exactly how, where, and why these surreal events keep happening.
6 It's Slow
This also isn't a game that's going to move at your pace. You play Kentucky Route Zero like a classic adventure game most of the time. You'll click at different points on the screen to move Conway, the main character, while solving puzzles and learning more about the game's strange world.
This genre is traditionally slow-paced, but Kentucky Route Zero feels purposefully so. Conway doesn't move at a run, so you'll have to wait for him to catch up to you. Characters will ask strange requests before they give you the information you want, sending you off on kooky tangents. Some might call the slow pace hypnotic and contemplative, but it won't be for everyone.
5 Its Mechanics Shift ꦜ
Note that you'll be playing Kentucky Route Zero 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:like a traditional point-and-click only most of the time. The game isn't afraid to switch up its mechanics based on the needs of the story.
One part of the game features a section where you'll take a break from adventuring and write a song in real-time, which will play out on the screen as you construct it. Another part switches the perspective to first-person, letting you further immerse yourself in its world. You'll never know quite what to expect here.
4 🥀It Wears✨ Its Influences On Its Sleeve
One of those mechanical shifts happens midway through Kentucky Route Zero, in which the game suddenly morphs into a text adventure inspired by the classic Colossal Cave Adventure. It's a good indication of where the game's heart is; this is a game that's going to tell you exactly what's inspiring it.
The game was heavily influenced by theater, which is clear in the way it uses lighting and frames many scenes to look like sets. It was also inspired by Southern Gothic writers like Flannery O'Connor and surreal artists like David Lynch, who looked at traditionally American settings in skewed ways. These influences come through loud and clear in the finished game.
3 It's Split Into Acts
Kentucky Route Zero was one of the first major Kickstarter success stories - its Kickstarter page went live in early 2011, and it ﷽met its funding goal in less than a week. Like many games developed through the crowdfunding platform, Kentucky Route Zero took a winding road to release, and Cardboard Computer announced in 2012 that the game would be split into five separate acts.
The first act was released i꧋n 2013 to critical acclaim, while the followi♚ng acts were released sporadically over the rest of the 2010s. The full game was finally completed in 2020, almost ten years after it was announced, but the final release maintains the multi-act structure.
2 It H🅷ad An ARG
In between the release of each act, Cardboard Computer devised a myriad of ways to expand the game's world and to keep players engaged. Sometimes, these took the form of playable interludes, which often put players in some form of interactive art - one took place in a virtual art gallery, while another allowed you to learn about a play that one of the game's side characters put on.
These interludes are collected in the final game, but they also had real-life counterparts. The interlude that takes place in the art gallery, titled Limits And Demonstrations, was also staged in real life at a gallery in Philadelphia, while another interlude featuring phone calls allowed you to call the in-game number in real life. In a game that's so curious about the nature of reality, it's cool that the developers blurred the line between fiction and real life.
1 It's About Feeling, Not Action
The alternate-reality shenanigans emphasize that Kentucky Route Zero's big ideas, and the experience of playing it, are all about feeling and perception. This isn't a game that you 🧸168澳洲幸运5开奖网:play to experience big action set pieces or to live a power fantasy; this is a more contemplative experience that asks you to consider it's telling you, how it's communicating to you, and how it's making you feel.
For some players, this might be a bit of a hard sell. It isn't a fast-paced test of reflexes, and it's not the kind of game that you can win. But if you're in the mood for something a little more existential, Kentucky Route Zero might be right up your alley.
