I just finished playing Act 1 of Kentucky Route Zero, and it’s weird and inventive and unafraid to just tell a story in a way that few games are these days. It’s beautiful, and due another four acts this year, and you should definitely check it out.
Played: Kentucky Route Zero, Act III
I love this. It has been almost a year since Act II came out, but it almost feels appropriate - there’s a languorous, laid-back feel to Kentucky Route Zero that befits such a slow schedule.
It’s hard to compare this to any other games, even though it’s ostensibly a point-and-click adventure game; all that said, it’s a game where progressing to the next stage is never really an objective, and exploring the environment and savouring the dialogue is important for its own sake. It works at cultivating atmosphere so hard that the plot sometimes falls away.
Each of the acts so far has had a set-piece that blows you away, and the third one comes in the form of a song. During this sequence, the roof of the dive bar you’re in slowly fades, and the song that plays is hauntingly brilliant.
Play this, savour it, play it again. This is the sort of game that feels like the best works of literature - it merits being played again and again, not because there are new paths to discover but because it’s like coming back to a world you can’t help but cherish.