Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 46 Ratings

  • Summary: Kentucky Route Zero is a magical realistic adventure game about a secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 28
  2. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. Jan 29, 2013
    95
    Evokes the feeling of old ghost stories told around a campfire. There's the familiarity of friends and family around a warm, man-made fire, but with it comes the unnerving tale of the strange and unusual. Kentucky Route Zero is beautifully bizarre and perfectly poignant, and most of all, deserves your attention.
  2. The first act of Kentucky Route Zero will take you about an hour to complete. It’s well worth your time to do a second play through and a third and maybe even a fourth just to experience what it’s like to live a life on the road.
  3. Jan 16, 2013
    84
    A powerfully evocative and beautiful subversion of point-and-click rote, but occasionally opaque and disorienting.
  4. May 7, 2013
    70
    Inspired by traditional point’n’click games, Kentucky Route Zero steers clear of puzzles, picking up objects and using everything on everything else. Instead it offers a distinct mood comparable to Alan Wake. [CD-Action 05/2013, p.75]

See all 28 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. For those who fell in love with Dear Esther and Another World, this is one of those masterpieces that come up only once in decade. A must have. Stunning visual style and the sense of mystery drives you the whole time. Amazing. Simply outstanding! Expand
  2. Kentucky Route Zero is a weird and wonderful point-and-click adventure game that will leave you thinking long after you've stopped playing. Its unique and iconic art direction, coupled with a narrative that is intriguing and fresh, make it a game unlike any other.

    Like To the Moon, and like Thirty Flights of Loving, it places significant emphasis on plot and storytelling, and the result is a first act that leaves the player reflecting on all the events that just happened and what they mean. There isn't much in the way of actual gameplay, although the point-and-click elements play a large role in fleshing out the character of Conrad; the story is told mainly from his point of view.

    Kentucky Route Zero is not for everyone; that much is certain. Its strange narrative, point-and-click mechanics and lack of any sort of traditional gameplay makes it appear intimidating at first glance. Yet the game is so well-made, with such detail in its presentation and sound design, that it proves impossible not to be swept up in its magical tale. If you have any interest at all in games as a narrative medium, you owe it to yourself to play Kentucky Route Zero.
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  3. The old style graphics are well done and it looks great. Very reminiscent of the old style point and click adventure games I used to play too many years ago. The sound is fabulous. Unfortunately the first act is VERY short, completed it in 80 minutes. Perhaps I didn't venture off the beaten path enough. There was simply not enough substance to give it higher than an 8. Expand
  4. I like this game, as it does a good job of creating a haunting atmosphere. Would normally give it an 8 but one thing knocks my score down and that's the choice of how to release the game. 25 bucks for part of a game now, and the rest of the parts later when they get around to releasing them. Really? I bought it because I figured each act would be long enough to suffice paying such a price point but I guess I was the fool. Act 1 only takes about 2 hours. It's a cool game but I would recommend waiting for more of the parts to release before purchasing it. Expand

See all 11 User Reviews