Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition

 PlayStation 4
Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition Image
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 88 Ratings

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  • Summary: KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO is a magical realist adventure game about a secret highway running through the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it. At twilight in Kentucky, as bird songs give way to the choir of frogs and insects, familiar roads become strange, and it's easyKENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO is a magical realist adventure game about a secret highway running through the caves beneath Kentucky, and the mysterious folks who travel it. At twilight in Kentucky, as bird songs give way to the choir of frogs and insects, familiar roads become strange, and it's easy to get lost. Those who are already lost may find their way to a secret highway winding through underground caves. The people who live and work along this highway are themselves a little strange at first, but soon seem familiar: the aging driver making the last delivery for a doomed antique shop; the young woman who fixes obsolete TVs surrounded by ghosts; the child and his giant eagle companion; the robot musicians; the invisible power company lurking everywhere, and the threadbare communities who struggle against its grip.… Expand
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First 15 Minutes Of Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition Gameplay

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 15 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 16
  3. Negative: 1 out of 16
  1. Malditos Nerds
    Feb 5, 2020
    100
    Kentucky Route Zero begins on the road and expands to dozens of stories, all of them unforgettable. A must-play mystery and surreal adventure that took almost 10 years to be complete and has defined the ways of telling stories in video games, influencing many different titles.
  2. Slant Magazine
    Feb 1, 2020
    100
    Kentucky Route Zero is about America in a way that few games aspire to be and fewer still succeed at, as its deceptively quiet story gives way to something odd, sad, and brimming with humanity.
  3. Digital Chumps
    Feb 3, 2020
    100
    Kentucky Route Zero is lost in the illusive premise of the American Dream but found in the elusive dream logic of its weird, wild, and wonderful prose. Through it all are characters who conceal pain and loss with whimsical musings of hope and escape and locations engulfed in a meditative haze where brutal reality is indistinguishable from isolated reverie. At the end lies a paradox that suggests a circuitous path was the shortest course to an inevitable destination, and the assurance that Kentucky Route Zero’s seven-year voyage knew its direction all along.
  4. Push Square
    Jan 30, 2020
    90
    Even with a downright cavalcade of triumphs, Kentucky Route Zero’s strongest asset is its ability to redefine itself from episode to episode. The deeper your journey goes, the stranger things get, but the more they make sense too. While the game will definitely be a bit too bizarre and densely obtuse for some, this is a game unlike anything you’ve ever played before.
  5. DarkStation
    Feb 28, 2020
    90
    Kentucky Route Zero is a rare video game that is able to find magic in the mundane, transforming a seemingly routine truck delivery into a fantastical odyssey through the heartland of Americana. There really isn't anything else quite like it.
  6. PlayStation Universe
    Feb 7, 2020
    85
    Kentucky Route Zero is a game for those who are happy to slowly digest the measured nuances of a text heavy, but visually stunning and thought provoking adventure. Narrative weirdness abounds but it is anchored by a cast of charming and gentle characters who you will grow to love.
  7. New Game Network
    Feb 7, 2020
    45
    Kentucky Route Zero is an incredibly dull and over-embellished text adventure that fails to engage, entertain, or provide much value to anyone but perhaps the uppermost art connoisseurs.

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 17
  3. Negative: 10 out of 17
  1. IvanCiclon
    Jul 9, 2020
    10
    No es un juego para quien no sepa apreciar obras así, la nota que tiene de usuarios no refleja lo que es el juego
  2. Nobilis1984
    Feb 1, 2020
    8
    Hello.
    I knew the game from 2013. But it was only in English and didn't even have German subtitles. Now I can finally understand everything.    Hello.
    I knew the game from 2013. But it was only in English and didn't even have German subtitles. Now I can finally understand everything.
    But in places, Episode 1 is very bland. This was probably related to the fact that the developers only had a 10K budget. it was probably related to the fact that the developers only had a 10K budget.
    But for 21€ every 5 episodes is offered that convince everyone.    … Expand
  4. Cheerw
    Jul 1, 2022
    6
    it's kinda unique game but nothing too exciting or enjoyable. If you have some free time maybe worth a try
  5. B-Bog
    Apr 8, 2022
    3
    This experience (calling it a game is really stretching the definition) starts off really strong and interesting and then gets more and moreThis experience (calling it a game is really stretching the definition) starts off really strong and interesting and then gets more and more boring and directionless with every act. From a narrative standpoint, there is so much intrigue at the beginning, and sooooo little payoff at the end. The initial setup for the story and world-building in Act I is absolutely genius (especially if you like surreal art of any kind) and promises so much; there seemed to be so many mysteries to unravel and so many potential ways the game could go. Instead, it ends up going absolutely nowhere. It just keeps introducing new characters as if the dev's lives depended on it and, instead of actually resolving any of the threads it started weaving or bringing any of its pseudo-philosophical waxings down to a poignant point, it is perfectly content with just leaving half-developed themes hanging in the air and leaving the player with a general feeling of not only boredom, but also emptiness, because you feel like you just wasted hours of your life listening to some half-baked philosophy freshmen ramble on about their supposedly deep insights on life, without ever finishing any of their thoughts or making a clear and concise point. The „game“ slows down more and more as it goes on, further and further restricting the gameplay and dumping ever larger amounts of completely superfluous text on the player, to the point where it just became an exhausting slog towards the end. The last act especially was such a giant snoozefest that I was practically begging for KRZ to finally come to some sort of conclusion. Turns out, I could’ve just stopped playing, because there’s no satisfying closure to be had here anyways.

    I guess if you’re the type of person who likes to go online and write giant essays about how „the black cat in this context is obviously a metaphor for fear of death“ or some BS like that, this could be your type of „game“. If you expect not just pretentious ramblings, but an actually finished and purposeful narrative that goes somewhere and has a point to make beyond „life is hard and we all die in the end“, or any type of engaging gameplay, you’re going to have to look somewhere else.    … Expand
  6. midgart
    Feb 10, 2020
    3
    I just don't get the appeal to this game, unfortunately. The art style is great and I really wanted to love it, but the story is so tediousI just don't get the appeal to this game, unfortunately. The art style is great and I really wanted to love it, but the story is so tedious and boring that I just couldn't get into it.… Expand
  7. georgem
    Jun 12, 2021
    3
    Usually I like a slow burn interactive story type game but I can’t finish this one. Too dull, pretentious and incoherent. I Bought the TVUsually I like a slow burn interactive story type game but I can’t finish this one. Too dull, pretentious and incoherent. I Bought the TV edition after all the hype. But that’s all it is: hype. The critics say ist some kind of intelligent critique of the world post 2008 recession but I can’t see it. All the praise it has got gives me an Emporer’s New Clothes vibe. There are better story driven and slower paced games out there.… Expand
  8. Docholliday504
    Dec 31, 2020
    0
    I love point and click adventure games. I love David Lynch. I even like some gameplay-lite games like Edith Finch, Gone Home, Firewatch andI love point and click adventure games. I love David Lynch. I even like some gameplay-lite games like Edith Finch, Gone Home, Firewatch and oxenfree. This is awful pretentious claptrap. One of the worst games I’ve ever played. Nothing happens. It’s just hours of meaningless text that reads like someone wrote it after 2 bags of mushrooms. If this is what gaming journalists think of when they reference “games as art” the medium is doomed. I would avoid at all costs. I wasted 15 bucks and feel like a total schmuck for it.… Expand

See all 17 User Reviews

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