I personally found this element comforting and comfort is much needed when exploring a world as nakedly cruel as that of Kentucky Route Zero. For however hard these people have been squeezed, you find friendly, generous faces at pretty much every turn, people who are willing to go out of their way for you just because you're a person.ġ1. Also in line with The Grapes of Wrath, you find the people in this strange area of Kentucky have learned to survive only by relying on each other. Kentucky Route Zero doesn't really come at you w/ solutions but it isn't shy about showing its characters being victimized by capitalist enterprise.ġ0. So, like I said, this is basically The Grapes of Wrath. Is there a Marxist theme here? Holy smokes, are they even allowed to do that in video games!? Call the police!ĩ. The local distillery also happens to be housed in an old church, drawing the parallel between the use of religion and the use of substances to placate the masses.Ĩ. People are driven by their debt to the local coal mine, to the power company and to the local distillery. Debt in general looms large in Kentucky Route Zero, specifically debt used to entangle and exploit working people. Actually, sometimes you do literally lose a body part because you can't afford medical treatment.ħ. Literally lose a body part because you can't affordīut losing a piece of your life to debt is real enough.Ħ. Afterwards, he says the leg doesn'tįeel like it's his anymore and it turns into a skeleton leg. At one point, for example, Conway injures his leg goes into debt seeking treatment. Kentucky Route Zero adds plenty of otherworldly elements but they feel more like exaggerations than outright fabrications.ĥ. This lends a dream-like sense of control that melds well w/ the surreal version of rural Kentucky in which the game is set. It goes as far as to let you control both sides of a conversation at times.Ĥ. You initially control the game's protagonist, Conway, in his attempt to deliver a load of antique goods to a strange, unknown address but as the world unfolds itself, you begin to control other characters, often w/in the same scene. The main narrative is a bit of a hero's quest but especially as you dig into later episodes that aspect begins to fade. There is an overarching narrative surrounding a group of people on a journey away from a community ravaged by unfettered industry interspersed w/ short vignettes that flesh out its setting w/o being directly related to the story being told.ģ. Kentucky Route Zero was released episodically but presented in its final form, it reminds me quite a bit of Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath both structurally and thematically. Buy it now and read my last twelve points while you wait for it to download.Ģ. It's a game destined to be a critics darling while still being actually good to play. It is both emotionally poignant and thoughtfully experimental in its design. I've got to say there's a lot to unpack with Kentucky Route Zero.
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