Kentucky Route Zero has probably become more known by now not by the praise it’s first Acts received but due to how it took to get the “full” release of it. But here we are, Act 5 is out, those who followed the game since 2013 are finally getting what they wanted. Those who were curious since 2013 but don’t like unfinished products (like me) are getting to finally learn what the game is all about. I can see why 7 years ago Kentucky Route Zero, with its first two Acts out, was an interesting and mysterious journey to look forward to. As a complete game, though, it’s a drag.
So how does it play? Kentucky Route Zero usually controls like an adventure game with slightly isometric 2D scenes. You can walk (usually), you can interact with objects or people when the game gives you an option and luckily this is often provided without the need to get close to said objects or people. Its dialogues are designed in a way where you essentially shape the story, inventing elements of what will happen and what has happened before the game or mid-scenes, rather than “correct” or “incorrect” options, giving this a bit of an interactive fiction flavor. Sometimes this also means what scenes you will see and which you won’t, depending on what you choose to do and where you choose to go. There are also occasional “riding” segments, where you use a map or something like a map to move around, though those are rare and disappear completely past Act III. So, the game is spent mostly with characters you play as (with the game constantly switching your point of view controls), learning about their lives, the stories of this weird “magic realism” US and getting into different, often surreal, situations.
Which, of course, means that a lot is riding on the storytelling and the presentation. The presentation, while not fantastic, still looks nice and shows that the developers understand the visual storytelling language at least to some degree. They’re often also spot on with audio to accompany it, with several memorable music interludes in the game. Though, in my opinion, only the first one of those really works, the rest seem like trying to recapture lightning and failing.
Where the game starts consistently failing, at least if you like actual stories and not collections of barely related anecdotes, is in the storytelling that uses text. It starts well. You get a character, you get a goal, you get a mystery of the titular route. You meet people, things get weirder, but the story holds, threads are unfolding. First 2 Acts are also of a perfect length to never overwhelm the player and never get boring. By the point of Act III only the Interludes feel tedious and badly done. Third Act itself is too long, but has several magical moments and while getting to the point of having too much stuff to talk about, at least it’s trying to keep itself focused and relevant to the goals the game set originally. From there, things just descend into mostly unrelated episodes, anecdotes, situations. Stuff happens. And is shown and described in the most boring, most meandering and dry way possible. By the time Act V happens (and almost immediately ends) it feels as if the game completely forgot what stories it wanted to tell and only its themes, completely reinterpreted by that point, remain.
Kentucky Route Zero reminded me of a story-driven webcomic that wants to implement relevant topics and themes into itself. And that webcomic would go on for several years, retaining some of what it started out as, but changing along with times and the creator behind it. And by the end, if one even happens, it’s either completely stale, or barely reminiscent of what it used to be. But in either case, it lost its plot years ago. Except, unlike a webcomic that is expected to be experienced as an ongoing thing, Kentucky Route Zero is a story-driven game in 5 Acts (+ interludes), and it’s complete version is now out. And playing it start to finish in one playthrough (not necessarily on sitting) is not fun, confusing and most importantly tedious. Though, to be fair, with the amount of characters you’re “controlling” by the end, I have no idea if you remember anything about what is even happening if you play it in several playthroughs. Perhaps, that’s what the developers were hoping for, however. People forgetting what it’s about, going through confused but then feeling like “woah, man, that was, like, so surreal and and philosophical! Symbolism, maan!”
It’s very rare that I play games that go from being genuinely intriguing at first, to something I absolutely despise by the end, but Kentucky Route Zero turned out to be a game like that. It’s painfully long despite being quite short. It’s tedious, it’s not fun, it seems to intentionally refuse to tell actual stories despite starting out with a promise of one. And I feel like in the end I’ve wasted my time by playing it.