The use of ambient sounds and music also puts the player directly in the experience, whether it is the sound of the occasional passing vehicle going down the road, the soft hum of electricity beginning to course through the abandoned mines and especially the inclusion of bluegrass music that seems haunting and comforting all at the same time. Those few moments when I dared to turn off my lantern or cut the electricity left me with an uneasiness that I still keep with me after the first play through. Something that seems so simplistic yet is completely deliberate and impactful, and becomes even more so once you are in the complete dark. The story plays out with such an amazing backdrop to support it, the use of the foreground and background that only seems to be in close proximity but will reveal more distance the further you travel. Even in the very first part of the game, a simple decision like whether my dog was male or female set the pace of how our relationship would progress, and how I perceived the main character to be. I enjoyed the fact that each opportunity to converse with a new character opened up new options for myself to build my version of Conway. The refreshing thing is that like the roads that Conway was traveling, there were always turns and sharp cuts that would keep me from really knowing what was going to happen next. Reading into each conversation, taking in all of the surroundings played into the emerging story, as I continually tried to piece together how the narrative was going to progress. The rest of the remaining scenes kept me in constant interest while wondering what I would find driving down the highways of the Bluegrass State, or at least this version of it. No maps show it, and the attendant at the station informs the driver that he will need to contact some people in the area in order to find his destination. The story of Conway begins in front of a pump station as he and his dog travel up and down the road trying to find the mysterious Route Zero. The result of which is some of the finest storytelling in gaming so far. Interactive narrative may seem like a buzz word seen too often in the games industry in the last few years, but trust me when I say that Jake Elliott and Tamas Kemenczy of Cardboard Computer are doing exactly that. Fast forward almost two years later and what Kentucky Route Zero becomes is something far more than what I could have imagined: a meaningful presentation that keeps the narrative in the forefront, and a game that plays out like an eerie adult pop-up book. Kentucky Route Zero: Act 1 developed and published by Cardboard Computer.Fter watching the initial trailer for Kentucky Route Zero back in its infancy, I thought that the overall design was interesting, and according to its Kickstarter page would be “a magic realist adventure game”.As it does so, silhouettes melt out of the darkness, solidifying before your eyes.Īs the shape of a house looms out of the gloom we are reminded of the mother’s house in Psycho the unnatural fluorescent shapes of trees protruding starkly from the monochrome landscape creates visuals on a par with The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari the charming Depression-era Americana-style graphics are redolent of the stylised animations that used to precede 1960s farce movies and more recently films like Catch Me If You Can and Tintin.Ī Kickstarter project which not only succeeded in achieving its funding goal, but has already been selected as a finalist in 2013’s Independent Games Festival, Kentucky Route Zero promises a five-act bundle upon completion, and I for one can’t wait until the next instalment. The camera moves like a watching entity, roving through the landscape and zooming in to focus on a small section of action. Not only is the writing in this game extraordinarily good, the visuals are artistically outstanding. Later on you will take control of various other characters as you select from interaction options - a bit like Dungeons and Dragons – and watch as the consequences play out, be they in animated sequences of game play, or in incredibly descriptive text which, with the aid of sound effects, narrates the encounters you cannot see. In fact Kentucky Route Zero is more of a visual novel than a typical adventure game, but it is these visuals which push the game into the realms of art.īeginning your journey as lost delivery man Conway, you are searching the highways of Kentucky for a mysterious underground Route 0 with only the lonely sound of cicadas and a faithful dog in a battered straw hat for company. Described by its creators as a piece of magical realism, the game is intentionally character-based, focusing on atmosphere and storytelling over puzzles and tests of skill.
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