Kentucky Route Zero is the kind of game that makes me wish I was smarter. I feel like there’s a lot of clear symbolism and themes that are going way over my head, I wish I was better at literary criticism. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a polar opposite opinion change on a game. I really didn’t like this for my first playthrough - it gave me the worst House of Leaves vibes, all the weird shit with none of the unique and complex concept. I bounced off it hard, until at the very end when the funeral for the Neighbors and Conway being taken away more than anything I think made me want to give it another shot. I think I was expecting more in the way of puzzles and general ‘adventure game’ stuff, it’s really more of an interactive story with very light decisions making differences. I much more enjoyed my second play through where I wasn’t expecting it to be something it simply isn’t. The presentation is impeccable, the art style and music is wonderful. I did more ‘exploring’ during my second playthrough though, finding little vignettes and little moments of storytelling. The tone is so melancholy and has this overwhelming feeling of inevitability, even before Conway makes his bad deal. The sad history of his life and the way it connects with others. I do like how interwoven and related all the characters are - I definitely noticed these little matching moments more on my second playthrough. The funeral for the Neighbors honest go god nearly teared me up this time around. If nothing else, it’s an incredibly unique game. I’m glad I finally played it. For me I think it’s quite a depressing look at inevitability and of endings, how things might limp on but will all eventually finish. Conway’s attempt to finish his delivery, attempt to redeem himself maybe for Charlie’s death? Prove himself as worthy of Lysette’s final job. Shannon’s attempt to help him, Ezra’s attempts to find his family. Lula/Donald/Joseph’s attempts to create something meaningful. The town with no roads inevitably coming to an end. The final act in particular makes me really sad, all these people deciding to leave because the anchor - their community television station - was destroyed and their Neighbors killed. I picked a lot of options which involved characters staying or moving to the town but it didn’t feel genuine.

KRZ is an impressionistic, magical realist game about legacy, traditions - the things that are passed down from one generation to the next both in the sense of regular people and the communities that they populate, and of artists and the history and traditions of their schools of art. The game is very aware of its own influences and the wide variety of artistic mediums and traditions that it draws from, it's extremely dense with references and allusions (I caught just enough of them to know that there were way more that went over my head).
KRZ is more interested in being thought-provoking and evocative than it is trying to make any bold declarative statements about the way in which society is constructed or anything like that. In that way I find it very interesting that this game is compared so often to Disco Elysium, a game which had a direct and very materialist political analysis, whereas KRZ is much more descriptive than prescriptive.
It is extremely effective at evoking feelings of loss, decay, and mourning, while always making sure to remind that there is no decay without regrowth. Death and disposal - of people and communities, of artists and their art, even of office supplies (keep an eye out for those cute lil crabs just making the best of what they've got) - is never the end of anything, just another transformation, part of an ever-ongoing conversation echoing back and forth into itself forever. You take what you need and leave the rest.
The headiness, amount of reading required and lack of an immediately gratifying "fun" gameplay loop will probably make a lot of people bounce off of this game, which is a shame, because it's the rare game that truly rewards deeper examination and carries en emotional heft that will have me thinking back to certain scenes, songs and lines for years to come.
A true classic, one of the best games of its size that I've ever played. Just missed being one of my GOAT's, but wouldn't be surprised if later reexamination bumps this game up there for me.

Interesting game, that is less of a game and more of a semi on rail story with small things you can affect here and there. This world is very interesting, with a lot of weird ideas and even weirder things that are just never explained, such as the route itself. You are to make it to 5 Dogwood Drive, and run into many different characters and ideas. The game waxes poetically on the idea of memories, who you are supposed to be, and introduces elements just as quickly as it dismisses them. I think this was probably the major downfall for me, is that several times you’d encounter characters who were interesting and would have an important part of the story. Then you’d have characters who share a ton of information about them, just what it’s like to run a restaurant, that only exist in the single scene you encounter them. I didn’t dislike all these types of scenes, but these were especially consistent in Act IV and I just felt bored more than intrigued. But for the most part the game was pretty unique and very interesting.

One of those games that people like to mention as their favorite so that they can feel smarter than anyone else. It’s great that there are still video games that try to do something different and experiment with storytelling, but I can’t imagine anyone with a decent background in art and literature being blown away by this mediocre theatre script dressed up as a point-and-click. It would have been much more convincing as an art piece if the developers actually cared to work on the presentation. What’s the point of developing a game if 80% of the events are only described by walls of text without any visual support? The eerie atmosphere and surreal visions along the way are truly captivating, but unfortunately, constitute a very small portion of the game.

another instant favourite. i adored the very empathetic, human exploration of varying personal impacts and experiences with capitalism, colonialism, and some of the displacement, dissatisfaction, and need for community as a means to survive that all accompanies these systems.

the haunting surrealism was more grounded in everyday reality than many other things i've encountered in media. i doubt there is anything truly like this game, visual novel, interactive fiction... however you'd like to describe it, the story feels incredibly intimate and it's worth your time. (as long as you, too, are happy to immerse in its meditative and dreamlike atmosphere)

honestly, my review of citizen sleeper, my now very much loved second favourite, fits here too. although, i feel the two games are quite different - kentucky route zero is far more gentle and consistent in its delivery yet left a deeper, yet more mundane, emotional impact on me because of its grounding in everyday life and loneliness. the review:

'the sort of game that leaves a deep ache in your chest; incredibly human and embodied, heartbreaking, woven with hope and compassion - the sort of writing i will never forget'

kentucky route zero left me with tears in my eyes and the reminder of how deeply i love being alive and having the possibility to build beautiful things with others

<3

I always found myself rushing through games to finish them, but it's surprising how I took my time with Kentucky Route Zero -- absorbing the imagery, architecture, atmosphere, and the journey to Dogwood Drive. Despite watching and experiencing many surreal media and attempting to understand it, Kentucky Route Zero is a strange one since it's without a doubt an experience that wants you to absorb the amazing art direction (the developers of the game being art majors). Moments of the game strangely felt nostalgic, melancholic, and sad despite not understanding what was happening which felt perfect for the type of story Zero is; and will remain one of my favorite experiences in gaming.

Future Tips:
- Watching a playthrough of the game will cheapen the experience of Zero.
- If you have a Netflix subscription, it's free via a mobile app. If Steam & Switch & home consoles, it's usually on sale for an affordable deal.
- Take your time with each Act + Interlude and immerse yourself in its journey.
- No need to rush the journey to Dogwood Drive since it'll tell you where to go.
- Waiting for long intervals to play each Act helps to fully reflect about the experience.
- Enjoy the journey in a dim-light room, with earphones, and fall into the depths of the road to Zero.

Really special and diferent game. One of the few real tries of videogames to move in a kind of arthouse field.

The problem is that as an example arthouse cinema by itself it's not good or bad (if you are not a cinemateque hipster). Since you have many options in cinema to find that you don't value it just for what it tries or diferentiates with others.
In videogames since there are so few you could make the mistake of overpraising KRZ because of praising its diferences and intentions, even if at the end they aren't that well done.

KRZ has a real problem with rhythm, I love taiwanese slow cinema, Marienbad and many things like that, but KRZ has a dead rhythm, not a style decision but a lack of emotion or beauty behind wandering and really repetitive structure and scenes that end feeling extremely tiresome.

Also despite all its virtues as it advances KRZ starts to become too soft, too slow, too hipster. Because years pass and society shifts towards this mentality of being fragile and praising fragility, always under powerful emotions, passion and those feelings not in vogue at all at this moment.

What are the good things? The road scenes are very soothing, many moments of pure beauty of discovery of diference with what one is accustumed in videogames and wished could be found more frequently; but above all the scene at the pub in act III with the song is one of the most beautiful moments I've experienced in a videogame, amazing moment, very touching and aethereal.

This game changed what I thought a video game should be. It's a classic point-and-click adventure with all the story telling of an ancient Greek tragedy with the music of classic American folk.

The game touches on themes like capitalism, addiction, the death of the frontier and the small town, isolation/loneliness, and even reality itself. The game explores all of these concepts enough to feel relatable and real, but not enough to truly say anything other than "yeah, you get it." It's perfect. I think about it constantly.

Kentucky Dog Game really feels like it exists in a world I relate to and understand, despite being cartoon-y and foreign. Homer for life.