Kentucky Route Zero

 PC
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 70 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 40 out of 70
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 70
  3. Negative: 19 out of 70

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Mandulum
    Feb 27, 2020
    1
    Playing Kentucky Route Zero makes me feel like I'm back in high school reading a book no human actually wants to read and I'm expected to write an essay afterwards on the actual meaning. In this case I'm not so sure there is a deeper meaning. Kentucky Route Zero stays intriguing after the first chapter, falls off a bit during the second and third chapters then quickly loses any semblancePlaying Kentucky Route Zero makes me feel like I'm back in high school reading a book no human actually wants to read and I'm expected to write an essay afterwards on the actual meaning. In this case I'm not so sure there is a deeper meaning. Kentucky Route Zero stays intriguing after the first chapter, falls off a bit during the second and third chapters then quickly loses any semblance of a coherent story.
    If I hadn't known it was such a short game I would have abandoned it after the first couple of hours. As it was, I struggled to have the desire to finish it.

    Date Completed: 2020-02-27
    Playtime: 7h (feel asleep while playing a few times)
    Enjoyment: 1/10
    Recommendation: Please, no, don't.    … Expand
  2. Javichuck
    Feb 29, 2020
    2
    Jugados dos primeros actos e interludio. No puedo continuar, siento que estoy perdiendo el tiempo. Mientras que el estilo me gusta, la interacción me resulta tediosa e inútil. La historia no existe y lo poco que te cuenta lo tienes que interpretar sin mucha ayuda. Leí y escuché reviews que hablaban de obra maestra que era para todo el mundo y sinceramente me cuesta pensar quién podríaJugados dos primeros actos e interludio. No puedo continuar, siento que estoy perdiendo el tiempo. Mientras que el estilo me gusta, la interacción me resulta tediosa e inútil. La historia no existe y lo poco que te cuenta lo tienes que interpretar sin mucha ayuda. Leí y escuché reviews que hablaban de obra maestra que era para todo el mundo y sinceramente me cuesta pensar quién podría disfrutarlo, yo personalmente no.… Expand
  3. Riibiax
    Apr 4, 2020
    3
    Kentucky Route Zero is a boring animated comic book. Although the graphic design is appealing, the most interesting thing in the story is to discuss with the dog Homer...
    Nothing to solve and the interaction is basic.
  4. ticroo
    Dec 14, 2020
    3
    This is more of a semi-interactive cartoon than an adventure game. There's nothing to solve, the texts go on forever, dialogs are more often than not just boring and/or plain absurd and the story is apparently envisioned as a Twin Peaks meets Inside but falls far short of both aforementioned franchises respectively. What is it about? Everything and nothing. There's no real plot. It's justThis is more of a semi-interactive cartoon than an adventure game. There's nothing to solve, the texts go on forever, dialogs are more often than not just boring and/or plain absurd and the story is apparently envisioned as a Twin Peaks meets Inside but falls far short of both aforementioned franchises respectively. What is it about? Everything and nothing. There's no real plot. It's just as if the creators had no real script and were making it all up as they went along. Or better: as if they put their weird dreams on the paper and turned that confusion and nonsense into a motion picture which they then improperly christened as "the game". The execution of such surreal ideas really puts developers' immaturity into perspective. The product is nice-looking, the atmosphere is captivating but is wasted on the very basic interaction with it and , for most of the time, lines and lines of pointless and off-putting text. I suppose the game works better if you're high. In other case, however, I cannot recommend it.… Expand
  5. jfrisby
    Feb 15, 2022
    0
    metacritic wont update my score unless i type something out apparently. Very annoying. The game is also overrated, go read books.
  6. ns0l
    Nov 22, 2015
    1
    If reading is really nessecary then I'll read some books rather than getting blinded by this boring nonesence. I don't see any future for this bla bla.
  7. MindWanderer
    Apr 25, 2023
    1
    I can't say that I understand all the hype about this game. For being an interactive narrative ("walking simulator"), there's no coherent plot to speak of, and the vast majority of it is stream-of-consciousness rambling that makes no sense at all. Along the journey of these poorly-established characters, expect to deal with scenes revolving around the life cycles of bats, extinct PuebloI can't say that I understand all the hype about this game. For being an interactive narrative ("walking simulator"), there's no coherent plot to speak of, and the vast majority of it is stream-of-consciousness rambling that makes no sense at all. Along the journey of these poorly-established characters, expect to deal with scenes revolving around the life cycles of bats, extinct Pueblo peoples, whiskey factories, feral horses, incomplete text-based video games, arcane phone help lines, a modern art exhibit, an incredibly long and boring scene from a play, a small restaurant's unusual menu, and more. None of it connects to anything. None of it makes sense. The "story" has no real ending, the characters have no real resolution. Your choices are, of course, meaningless. Even the art is crude and low-poly. There's some good voice acting, though.

    If you're into trippy art experiments that you have to work to find meaning in, you may enjoy this. I did not.    … Expand
  8. zahthris
    Nov 24, 2022
    1
    Choices don't matter, there are no mechanics that make it a 'game', and the characters are mostly boring and uninteresting. Most of the early reviews really loved the first two Acts, but the only thing that they had going for them was that they were short. The first thing that I would call a plot point doesn't happen until chapter 3, and even then is pretty weak. Ugh. I finished this game,Choices don't matter, there are no mechanics that make it a 'game', and the characters are mostly boring and uninteresting. Most of the early reviews really loved the first two Acts, but the only thing that they had going for them was that they were short. The first thing that I would call a plot point doesn't happen until chapter 3, and even then is pretty weak. Ugh. I finished this game, and regret wasting my time. Watch the Zero Punctuation review, I did after I played it, and my feelings were aptly summed up there.

    Avoid.    … Expand
  9. philzlz
    Oct 5, 2022
    3
    An absolute slog to get through and way too artsy for me. I would rather read a good book. While I understood most of the themes the characters did not do it for me.

    You really have to be in synch with the writers to get something out of this and I clearly wasn't.
  10. SearchBy
    Aug 12, 2023
    3
    Inconsequential, drab, and unsubstantial story that hopes people will misread its disorganized ramblings as something deeper that it is.
  11. Juciferus
    Dec 21, 2021
    0
    Ultimately, a waste of time. Incoherent. boring. wall-of-text red herring ramblings with minimal playability or plot. Suffered through it only to find out nothing got solved in the end.

    Avoid if you like games.

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Best PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Gamer.nl
    Feb 18, 2020
    90
    This special Kickstarter project, which spanned five episodes over seven years, comes to an end. This point-and-click sequence is bursting at the seams with creativity and strange happenings. There is no better writing in video games.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Feb 18, 2020
    50
    Exceptional dialogue served even in most exquisite forms (mini-games, different perspective, mixed chronology) are still not enough for the story to be compatible with this medium or to be worth telling altogether. The result is slow and difficult to ingest and sometimes even unpleasant in its archaic mechanics. [03/2020, p.54]
  3. PCWorld
    Feb 12, 2020
    100
    A magical adventure almost a decade in the making, Kentucky Route Zero is every bit as good as you've heard—and maybe more.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »