Kentucky Route Zero starts out slow and simple. An old man named Conway pulls into a gas station to ask for directions. He has a rusting truck, rumbling away in the background, stuffed with antiques. But he can’t find his destination. That road, he’s told, is not easy to reach. What follows is a surreal road trip that’s constantly changing. Kentucky Route Zero remains slow across its five acts (and multiple interludes). But with the exception of that opening scene, it’s never simple.
It’s impossible to talk about this adventure game without discussing its development history. Kentucky Route Zero debuted in 2013 with the first of five planned episodes. Subsequent acts were expected to launch every few months… but things didn’t play out…