Kentucky Route Zero and the Need For Stillness

Hello youse!

I hope you've all had good time since our last installment. :o) Summer has been SUPERHOT and FULLBRIGHT - two things that, traditionally at least, don't pull people inside and play video games. It's working, apparently. I've stopped playing altogether!

But it's not the sun that keeps me away from games. The thing is that we're building a house. To be precise, technically it's still on the drawing board, but even that keeps wringing my free-for-gaming time to a minimum. It's a genuinely lovely way to spend your time and attention, yes, but I never found Grow up and quit games in my Options menu. (Of course I never went looking.)

So, I needed to find something that would fulfill my hankering for games but not take too much of my time. Something wholesome and tasty. Rummaging through my backlog of unfinished games I found just that: Kentucky Route Zero. It's a fantastic journey into the real world, where everything feels down-to-earth and understandable while never actually being anything like down-to-earth and understandable. It's often downright up-to-earth and derstandable.

Before we go much further, a soundtrack for the review would do wonders, yes? Loscil - Holding Pattern would take you roughly to the right space and time, and at roughly six minutes you could finish the article before the song is over. :o) If you decide to take your sweet time watching the scenery, queue up Israel Nash's Parlour Song for a bit more earthly tone.


Oh, some of you may remember that this is not the first time I'm writing about KRZ, actually. Back in 2014 I was merely fascinated by it, hoping to try it out, one day. And now, in 2018, a short love-letter to KRZ will follow, with as few spoilers as possible.

As a weary, aging antiques driver your job is to complete one last delivery for the small company. You're likely closing up shop soon, but, well, you have this one job, you'll cross that bridge when you get to it. The address sounds a bit odd, and the road is not one you know. No worry, you just keep on asking people until you get there. You've got a charming old dog with a stray hat to keep you company, and the car is running calm.

And bumping into new people and asking for directions is what you will be doing. You're taking your sweeet time doing it, too. You will meet many lovely and friendly people along the way. Some will stay for a while, some will drift away quickly, but they will all change your path. Oh, what an adventure will come out of this!

Yes, you might say it looks like an adventure game. The outward appearance tends to do that, but I don't feel it's quite that straightforward. If the general idea of an adventure game is still something like the Monkey Island or Indy: The Fate of The Atlantis, then this is a different creature. There are no traditional, strict puzzles to be found, none at all. The riddles and navigational troubles will scratch some of that itch, though, I'm sure.

One classic adventure game staple is indeed here, however - there's a plentiful smorgasbord of multiple choice conversations to be had. And that is where the game shines bright. Asking for directions has never been this futile and fruitful at the same time. Describing the characters, both recurring and fleeting, would be tough. Most importantly, they feel like living creatures, real people just passing right through your journey by chance. Not necessarily much is revealed about their actions or motives, but even small blinks or hints of happiness and tragedy here can make the characters feel like welcome companions. It's not quite like Life Is Strange, where you spend much of your time gnashing your teeth in suspense - sometimes just waiting for how your friend will reply to a question about her hair colour. It's a bit different kind of attachment. More removed, perhaps, but not less appreciated or memorable.

Another shining beacon, propelling you through the game, is the atmosphere. There are vistas both concrete and emotional, sounds and music (oh, some of those songs), ideas and allusions that will keep you company even when you turn off the computer.

Speaking of switching off... Due to the style and pace of the game, I played the game with my partner, in a slightly co-op fashion. We would together decide what routes and what conversation options we'd take. We often intentionally played it really late in the night, to enjoy a dark Finnish sky outside and possibly even a cool breeze from the balcony. And I'm going to be completely honest with you... We often quit the game for the night because my partner fell asleep mid-game. That is to say that the routes of Kentucky will mostly not get your adrenaline pumping. But the game certainly doesn't seem to mind, and I was more than happy. The world and story confidently stands on its two, no, four firm feet, happy to move at the pace it chooses. It feels right to simply tread along with it.

It seems like the game invites you to doze off and wander into its world with a mind of a young dreamer, one who rather accepts oddities and peculiarities than questions them. Occasionally making the shift does prove a bit of a chore, but quickly the game repays the effort, with surprising assurity. Kentucky Route Zero is thankful of your company and you feel it.

The game consists of five episodes, the first of which was released already in early 2013. We've only played the first four, just like everybody else. The fifth act hasn't appeared yet. The makers are taking their sweeeet time bringing it to us, and I feel that's how it should be. We're expecting the final episode to be out any week now, but if the game has taught us something, it's that it pays not to rush it.

Have a nice, slow Summer!

Janne

PS: A little blue bird tells me that Housemarque is releasing a documentary around the making of Nex Machina, the much-loved arcade shooter (read RockPaperShotgun's Wot-I-Think). A fifteen-minute featurette is already available. That damn pesky cliffhanger, though... *deep frown*