I really liked how low-key the musical moment was in this one, where previous scenes with music always came after a big reveal or climatic moment, the one in this act is just somber and soft but still powerful. It felt quieter for sure, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing. Javy: There certainly weren’t as many outright magical moments as the last few acts, like that amazing sequence in the forest in Act II, but I liked the steady drip of surreal surprises. What did you think? Were there enough magical moments that awed you? Many of the locales on the water were neat, but to quote KRZ in an earlier episode, they were “strange but familiar” – perhaps more familiar than strange in this act. I missed discovering a giant eagle in a forest, or watching a performer sing as the ceiling turns into a night sky. That fantastical quality seemed to appear less often in this last act, though. This is what I love so much about KRZ – every scene is like an art piece, and this is reinforced with its tendency to lean toward magical realism.
The Mucky Mammoth ship grew on me, and like many other locations in the game, it had a peculiar design (there’s a mechanical mammoth sitting on it) and it plays with cinematography in astonishing ways, such as the outlines of the boat disappearing and reappearing as you go from room to room. Conway’s slump back into drinking at the end of Act III made him seem like he’s heading for a downward spiral, and that lack of control seemed suiting to the setting.
But maybe there’s a point to that the current takes you wherever it will and you just have to go along with it. I think it’s more because I grew attached to the truck and enjoyed the level of control when zooming down the different highways and dirt roads mapped out on screen. What about you? How did you think it compared to the previous three acts?Įlise: I really enjoyed Act IV, too, but for whatever reason, I was disappointed to ditch the truck even if the tugboat was an intriguing new choice of transport. It’s been a very moving journey so far, and I think Act IV is one of the best chapters of it. We end up playing as this huge roster of characters, all of them in search of something: happiness, redemption, peace. Like The Wire or Game of Thrones, the game has slowly spread out as it’s gone along, expanding the cast of playable characters as more join Conway and Shannon on their journey. However, that’s also kind of KRZ’s charm too, in a way. So yeah, that left me feeling a bit wrecked, given that Conway was one of the two protagonists we started off with (the other being Shannon). We don’t quite know who or what these things are, but it’s implied that it’s not a great fate for anyone who becomes one of them. In Act IV, we see it’s literally destroying him and turning him into one of the glowing skeletons (ghosts?) we’ve seen throughout the series. I feel like the tragedy comes to head in Act IV with Conway, who was presented as a recovering alcoholic up until the end of Act III, when he took a drink. Kentucky Route Zero’s more interesting quality is that it combines American mythology with magical realism to create something that’s always super interesting and tragic.
#Kentucky route zero act 4 release date series
I loved how the series has found ways to traverse different kinds of roads: literal interstates, dirt roads, the mysterious otherworldly caverns beneath Kentucky itself, a mine, and now a steamer on a river.
So, what were your impressions? Did it meet your expectations after such a long wait? I adore this weird and haunting game, and was pleased with how the recent act turned out. Editor Javy Gwaltney and I sat down to chat about our thoughts on Kentucky Route Zero and what’s special about this newest act.Įlise: Javy, you told me that you recently wrapped up the latest act of Kentucky Route Zero. Set in rural Kentucky, we now see Conway and his fellow drifter confidants hitching a ride on a boat as they continue their quest to deliver a parcel for the antique shop he works for. What began as a story following the older trucker Conway, who wished to find the highway known as Route Zero to complete a delivery, has become less about the destination and more about the journey. The point-and-click episodic adventure’s first act came out back in 2013, and the studio has slowly but progressively released new episodes year to year. Cardboard Computer’s haunting new episode of Kentucky Route Zero released recently.
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