Kentucky Route Zero

I just have no rational thoughts. Act 3 exceeded all my expectations.

rabbit wrote:

I just have no rational thoughts. Act 3 exceeded all my expectations.

Yup. Having taken a couple days to mull it over, "haunting" is the word that feels most appropriate to describe my experience.

Some other random thoughts:

Spoiler:

There's a point in the back half of all three Acts where the pacing starts to drag in a frustrating way - the Mines in Act 1, the Museum in Act 2, and the Distillery in Act 3. I'm not sure if it's intentional on their parts, of if it's even a real thing, or if it's just that I tend to hit those parts towards the end of a longer gaming section when I'm looking for more of an immediate emotional release rather than drawn out exploration.

If it wasn't apparent already from Act 2, it's clear now that the interludes are an integral part of the experience, to the point where I'm surprised that they're not included in the game proper. The Entertainment looms large over all Act 3, right from the beginning when we see Conway's leg, and Limits and Demonstrations continues to have tie-ins, particularly with the Xanadu sequence this time around.

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So in the third episode I'm starting to finally see some images connect to each other in strange ways. With the recurring connection between the Zero and horses, it's got me wondering about that Equus Oils station, and if the giant horse there is also connected in some way. Maybe the basement is in the Zero - that would explain the warnings not to remain in the basement for extended periods of time.

There definitely seems to be a thematic connection - the Zero being a collection of the shells of things that are past their moment of glory, being choked by the past like the old trees that are no longer cleared out by wildfires. Joseph, settling down with his gas station still has some connection to the place, though he seems to have mostly put it behind him.

Wow. The Bar scene.

I think I'm going to have to forgo my "no episodic games on the GOTY list until all the episodes are out" rule in this particular case.

Just finished Act III tonight.

WOW.

Bar scene was downright Twin Peaksian.

So good. I can't… Think… Right now… In a good way.

Finally got around to playing The Entertainment and Act III.

Spoiler:

XANADU clearly references Project Xanadu, the first hypertext platform; Roberta might be a reference to Roberta Williams, of King's Quest et cetera. The first part of the computer simulation closely resembles ADVENT, the second part reminds me of The Sumer Game/Hamurabi. Did anyone else notice Weaver as one of the assistants?

Debt is a major ongoing theme here. There's a lot of death in the background (Mentioned this time: Charlie, Miguel, Ezra's family).

My guess is that those that populate the distillery have mortgaged their bodies, leaving behind magnetic patterns that can be degaussed. A passing remark implies that the distilleries debts get passed to the next of kin...making me wonder what is going on with Weaver.

The Entertainment turns out to be a kind of turning point for the setting, starting the process of weaving all of these disparate threads together. It's a story about debt...and now we've met the debt collectors.

It took me a little while to get back into the mood for Act III, but I just played the whole thing in order with the interludes (Act I -> Limits and Demonstrations -> Act II -> The Entertainment -> Act III), and I am suitably floored. I love the way that The Entertainment is interwoven with Act III in ways that make no logical sense but work perfectly.

Spoiler:

Regarding Weaver: I did notice her in the XANADU section, and also noticed that at one point she wandered off into the tunnels and disappeared, leaving me short a research assistant. The way Lem Doolittle (so that's what happened to the author of "The Bar-Fly" and "A Reckoning"!) talks about the mathematician who created the Formula, I'm pretty sure that was Weaver.

I went back and finished Act III tonight. Yeah, it's taken me far too long.

I continue to be struck by how beautiful this game is, and the little touches that subvert your expectations for how adventure games are supposed to behave are wonderful (the game within a game, the bar scene, the character control switching at surprising times, the flashbacks, the cursor moving on its own...)

I'm happy with it, but I've got so much distance now from the first two acts that I'm certain some things are lost to me due to my failing memory. I understand why they've released this game episodically, but I think the huge delay between playing the chapters does it a disservice.

I still feel like something is missing, that it's not quite grounded enough for me, and that it's just a bit too linear for me. But I do wonder whether those complaints would be lessened if I go back through and play all three acts and the interludes in order. I'll probably do that when A4 comes around.

gore wrote:

I still feel like something is missing, that it's not quite grounded enough for me, and that it's just a bit too linear for me. But I do wonder whether those complaints would be lessened if I go back through and play all three acts and the interludes in order. I'll probably do that when A4 comes around.

I'm a bit curious as to how much the choices I'm making in previous episodes are causing divergence in this episode. Not curious enough to go digging, mind: I'm going to wait until it's over before pulling apart the save files. But there have been a couple times when a choice I made earlier seems to have created a subtle shift, and I'd like to know how much is in my imagination.

That said, this is clearly an interactive play rather than a branching visual novel; the player's interaction is critical, but one of the major themes is that the characters are compelled to go down a certain route--by circumstances and by internal struggles--and there's only so much they can do to avoid it.

Call the number.

I'm really digging what these folks are doing, but holy crap are they testing the limits of my patience.

ThingumBob wrote:

I'm really digging what these folks are doing, but holy crap are they testing the limits of my patience.

Yup. I very much want to give you money and play your game. I just won't be doing either until you finish making it. Finish game so I give you money!

While that is a valid way to engage with an episodic game, I'm perfectly happy playing each episode as it comes out. I think it helps to approach this as something different than an ordinary sit-down-and-play-through-it game.

I think the interstitial things, like this release, have been exemplary artifacts that push the boundaries of artistic interactivity. And I don't say that lightly.

YAY!

If it can land before December is out and live up to the last few installments, I can have KR0 on my GOTY list for the third straight year!

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

YAY!

If it can land before December is out and live up to the last few installments, I can have KR0 on my GOTY list for the third straight year!

I have no doubts it will. Now I just have to get a working PC so I can actually play it when it's out!

YUUUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

I can't wait for the whole game to be done so I can play it!

I needed this as a reminder I still haven't played Act 3 yet and I have a week of vacation starting tomorrow. Time to get on it!

I think I played 20 minutes of the first act. It was enough to blow my mind. I need to restart this. And, apparently, it has controller support (which is cool, now that the only PC I have is my htpc...)

bobbywatson wrote:

I think I played 20 minutes of the first act. It was enough to blow my mind. I need to restart this. And, apparently, it has controller support (which is cool, now that the only PC I have is my htpc...)

Oh man what! That's awesome.

Whahoo!!

Act IV just randomly dropped...!

Here's a... trailer?

Whaaaaaa? Weird.

Been to long to just dive into it! Since acts I, II & III only took me 5.8 hours, I'm going back to re-play those and then start it. Exciting!

ooooo nice. downloading that then.

brouhaha wrote:

Been to long to just dive into it! Since acts I, II & III only took me 5.8 hours, I'm going back to re-play those and then start it. Exciting!

Good idea... I've forgotten so much of this game. I need a refresher before I continue.

Don't forget Limits & Demonstrations, The Entertainment, and Here and There Along The Echo, particularly if you haven't played them yet.