Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.1

Mixed or average reviews- based on 99 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 99
  2. Mixed: 30 out of 99
  3. Negative: 28 out of 99
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  1. Tellus12
    Mar 11, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Intruiging...yes...masterpiece....no.

    I tried so hard to like this game. Been a long term fan of point and clicks and obscure games. This is possibly the strangest game I have ever played, but in terms of actual gaming quality, it lacks desperately.
    I can't even really understand why players who followed it from the start were so indebted to it. I downloaded this TV edition in 2021 to give it a go.

    It starts out with a simple light trick at a gas station where it leads you to believe it could get a lot more clever with its design and puzzles. The episodic track is a bit disjointed, but forgivable having been made over a period of a decade.
    The story is a simple premise to start with, a delivery guy making his final drop but can;t find the legendary Dogwood Drive. It means something more as the game continues. But...it gets lost in itself. Endless dialogue which most of the time diverts and distracts from any real substance the game could have. It draws from all dsorts of literature, poems,,plays, verses, songs, historical and political viewpoints, but you just have to go along with it. It frustrates wildly when you realise no storyline ever really ties together, it just calls itself 'life' when it actually isnt. In fact, we are playing a video game to escape that.

    Ghosts and humans are living among each other, but you never really get deep enough into any spiritual connection with any characters or develop any reason to care why. Some characters who join your crew along the way are forgettable. The dialogue choices most of the time dont seem to make any difference to the storyline either. The most frustrating part by far though is *major spoiler* the lack of closure for the main character. Your protagonist walks off and joins another group at the end of act 4. His dog goes with him! The players you started with. So Act 5 comprises of several remaining characters who you don't control, and ultimately make this final drop to bring forth another disappointment with the sad and disjointed ending.

    It's all very rendom and burys itself too deep in existential, metaphorical, political, pseudoscientific ideologies with its conversations. It's like a bunch of concept art students made it for a project and didn't ever really know where it was going.
    It does manage the odd emotional connection with some characters and their lost wandering soul backgrounds are explained. The amount of writing involved must have been a mountainous task fuelled by smoking a lot of the herb. The simple graphics and designs are cool sometimes, but it starts out a little open world to gradually become a pretty much on rails text game. It wouldn't work well as a book though, too many plot diversions.
    So, sorry, a game with so much potential never really got far in my opinion this time. damn shame.

    If you;re a fan of Robert Frost then you might like it a tiny bit. Im surprised they didn't get platonic values in there somewhere, or maybe they did and i fell asleep for that part.    … Expand
  2. iamreadymade
    Mar 11, 2021
    4
    The aesthetic and atmosphere of this game instantly roped me in, and I was excited to explore the universe that KRZ offers; however, the appeal gradually slipped away as I entered the back half of Act III, and I was all but asleep by the midpoint of Act IV. This is not a game, but a tedious (seemingly pretentious) art gallery that offers a few glimpses of brilliance. I found the best partThe aesthetic and atmosphere of this game instantly roped me in, and I was excited to explore the universe that KRZ offers; however, the appeal gradually slipped away as I entered the back half of Act III, and I was all but asleep by the midpoint of Act IV. This is not a game, but a tedious (seemingly pretentious) art gallery that offers a few glimpses of brilliance. I found the best part of this "game" was the soundtrack, which really does a wonderful job of entering you into the atmosphere; but it couldn't save it entirely. Although I didn't completely hate my time with this "experience", I could not recommend it to anyone peeking their head in to see what it's all about.… Expand
  3. ohyou
    Mar 30, 2022
    1
    Background on me: I like interactive story games, I like David Lynch, I loved Twin Peaks (most of it), I like weird and artsy. I enjoyed Year Walk, Oxenfree, Life is Strange, What Remains of Edith Finch (not the ending, though), and Gone Home. I had read the reviews and saw that people either loved KRZ or hated it, but it had been on my list a long time and was on sale for $15, so IBackground on me: I like interactive story games, I like David Lynch, I loved Twin Peaks (most of it), I like weird and artsy. I enjoyed Year Walk, Oxenfree, Life is Strange, What Remains of Edith Finch (not the ending, though), and Gone Home. I had read the reviews and saw that people either loved KRZ or hated it, but it had been on my list a long time and was on sale for $15, so I figured what the hell. ACTUAL REVIEW: It IS moody and atmospheric, which can be great, but atmosphere will only get you so far when there’s literally nothing else. This interactive story (not correct to call it a game IMO) is needlessly wordy, incredibly slow, and unforgivably boring. I wanted to know what was going to happen to some of the characters, but by the end of Act III, I couldn’t bring myself to push through the boredom to keep going. It was just pointless meandering and Lynchian word salad. I won't give it a zero, because I did like Act I. As far as the critic's reviews on this, I am mystified. I guess if you're the type who is so pretentious and navel-gazing that you're into huffing your own farts, this could really be your cup of tea.… Expand
  4. 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 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 storyUsually 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
  5. 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 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 ofI 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
  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 tedious and boring that I just couldn't get into it.
  7. robcollins606
    Apr 11, 2020
    0
    I'm from rural eastern kentucky where the game is set so out of curiosity I bought this game full price for PC in 2013 when 3/5 of the acts had come out in a relatively short timespan with the release of the final 2 seeming imminent, and it took them 7 years to release the final 2 acts. I went through 3 different laptops in the span it took them to finish this game so my save files areI'm from rural eastern kentucky where the game is set so out of curiosity I bought this game full price for PC in 2013 when 3/5 of the acts had come out in a relatively short timespan with the release of the final 2 seeming imminent, and it took them 7 years to release the final 2 acts. I went through 3 different laptops in the span it took them to finish this game so my save files are gone, as if I could even remember what was going on. I started and finished college and moved to different states twice in the years it took them to finish this game. Final fantasy 7 remake took less time to make than the final two acts of this game. Now they want to cash in again on the hype on this unnecessary "tv edition." It's an overhyped overrated hipster game with a nonsensical story. Currently rated the #3 best ps4 game of 2020 on here. Don't fall for it.… Expand
  8. Yourmumsbills
    Mar 1, 2020
    3
    I'm usually a huge fan of games like this, and had heard a lot praise for it, so i was excited to hear that this game was finally coming to PS4. Sadly Kentucky Route Zero does not live up to it's hype. It's basic to the point of feeling like a budget mobile phone game, and has very little atmosphere. The dialogue is pretty poor and nothing about the story or characters really draws you in.I'm usually a huge fan of games like this, and had heard a lot praise for it, so i was excited to hear that this game was finally coming to PS4. Sadly Kentucky Route Zero does not live up to it's hype. It's basic to the point of feeling like a budget mobile phone game, and has very little atmosphere. The dialogue is pretty poor and nothing about the story or characters really draws you in. Some of the scenes are done in a very beautiful art style, but unfortunately a lot of the games story is just text on the map screen, which makes it feel like you're playing a game from the 1980's...not in a good way. If you want a game in this style that really delivers, try: Oxenfree, Firewatch, Night In The Woods, Even Everybodys Gone To The Rapture feels like it has more gameplay and that game is very basic. The difference is, Rapture has a great story, fantastic characters who are very well voiced by a talented cast and an incredible soundtrack. Basically your money could be spent better elsewhere.… Expand
  9. Alecj
    May 6, 2020
    1
    KRZ is all hype. It has a initially interesting art design but it doesnt do enough to motivate you to play a whole game. Its supposed to be some sort of Twilight Zone type mystery, i guess, with story parts making little sense and the setting being fantastic in the literal sense of the word.

    Its really slow, its meandering, its seemingly pointless story is neither engaging nor exciting.    KRZ is all hype. It has a initially interesting art design but it doesnt do enough to motivate you to play a whole game. Its supposed to be some sort of Twilight Zone type mystery, i guess, with story parts making little sense and the setting being fantastic in the literal sense of the word.

    Its really slow, its meandering, its seemingly pointless story is neither engaging nor exciting.

    I dont get it. Its like someone smoked too much weed, starting writing a story....then 3 months later did it again.....then 3 months later did it again.....etc. Then some company tried to make money off it by turning a bunch of disparate parts into a game. Its a disjointed mess.

    Do some in depth research on this "game" before buying, or wasting your time on it. Maybe youll love it, but the 99% of you i just saved money and time will thank me.

    A Pretentious fever dream.    … Expand
  10. 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 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 youThis 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
  11. Windbreak
    Sep 26, 2022
    4
    It’s really not as deep and insightful as it thinks it is. It tries to make you feel smart for playing what it hopes you think is a high-concept intellectual game but just makes you feel like an idiot for wasting money on it.

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best PS4 Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 17
  3. Negative: 1 out of 17
  1. PlayStation Country
    Sep 8, 2023
    90
    Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition is a fantastic port of a great episodic point and click adventure. It’s really rather excellent. Get to it.
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  2. Gaming Nexus
    Mar 31, 2020
    95
    Part point-and-click radio play, part adventure game audiobook, Kentucky route Zero is as much of a journey in sound as it is a meditation on surrealism. I’d nominate it for the Booker Prize in literature before I’d hand it a Keighley statue at the Video Game Awards.
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  3. GameCritics
    Mar 16, 2020
    90
    It took the better part of a decade to happen, but I’m finally in a position to say that when everything was said and done, Kentucky Route Zero came together beautifully and has solidified itself as essential for anyone interested in games that have plenty to say and share their message in a beautiful way.
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