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Kentucky Route Zero: A Game You Can't Win
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- čas přidán 16. 08. 2024
- This is a love letter to Kentucky Route Zero.
Kentucky Route Zero is a game you can't win. It tells you it's a tragedy.
0:00 - The most important moment of the game
0:14 - Spoiler warning
0:27 - What is Kentucky Route Zero
1:23 - Kentucky Route Zero on capitalism
4:14 - 1st Technique - Magical Realism
12:06 - 2nd Technique - Choice
22:46 - 3rd Technique - Community
28:25 - The game's final act
Kentucky Route Zero is one of the best games I played this year, and this video is why.
Actually, it is a game, but it's really a point and click game, adventure game, visual novel combo. There's a LOT of reading, but it's also one of my favorite Nintendo Switch games of 2020. Magical realism, anti-capitalism, and some serious David Lynch vibes make this one of the best games of 2020 for me.
A game ostensibly based in rural Kentucky, you play Conway, on a search for 5 Dogwood Drive. This sends you on a route down the Zero, a mysterious highway in the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky. The game tells you it's a tragedy and that your strategies are useless. It's not the kind of game you win. You can't min-max your way to a good ending.
This is my Kentucky Route Zero review. I played the Nintendo Switch version, so all the of the Kentucky Route Zero gameplay you're seeing is from the TV Edition.
Included in this video is my cover of a hymn that is included on the Kentucky Route Zero soundtrack. If you'd like to download that yourself, watch all the way to the end for instructions.
MY LINKS
Twitch - / matthorton for Tuesday night covers and originals at 7PM ET!
For Instagram, Twitter, Spotify, Apple Music, and more:
MattHorton.live
Thanks to the Kentucky Route Zero unofficial Discord for the assistance.
Love Letter icon by Vectors Market and Noun Project.
#kentuckyroutezero #review #videoessay
![Notes From Along Kentucky Route Zero [Spoilers]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pW3qZfF6JfI/mqdefault.jpg)
![Notes From Along Kentucky Route Zero [Spoilers]](/img/tr.png)
Damn that was touching bro. I also played this game during lock down it really helped me get through it. You put into words why I loved the game.
Thank you for that and keep it up you're doing great.
Thanks Liam!
I know this is an old comment but I just played it through Netflix and I assumed everyone was dead. They keep talking about death and airplane crashes and a car wreck. It makes everything makes sense when you consider the fact that every single person you meet is dead including you. They just don't know or it doesn't affect them.
So I live in Kentucky, right about where this game is set. And the “zero” is not completely fictional. There is a mixture of natural and man made paths in the caves. At first they where roads, then treatment centers for influenza because of the constant temperature. Then they were just sort of used for military storage. But almost every aspect of the game and any lore that it might’ve had, did have at least some aspect of truth to it. That’s why it’s so special.
This is really great to know!
I live right around there to. Barren to be exact. It is such an interesting game that captures lots of different visuals and subject. Love the references to south central Kentucky too
"I'm Going That Way" and "This World Is Not My Home" make me cry every single time I hear it in any context they're beautiful
Absolutely agree
Me tooooo! So beautiful.
In the PC version, the mouse cursor moves toward the Drink button on its own. The only action that works is the click.
That's awesome! Thanks for the perspective.
I just played for the first time, and can confirm it does also click on its own, I took my hand off the mouse completely. I was _not_ gonna make him drink right after learning about his background... not to mention resigning him to lifelong debt
This was one of those games that screwed with my head; especially when Conway was slowly turning into a skelton and getting that tour through the brewery. That sense of dread ramped up when more of Conway became a skeleton until those two skeletons in the boat took him away. That still such a haunting image whenever I think about it.
Truly a moment that gives me anxiety
I always loved that the fact that you play as Shannon when he finally gets picked up by the Boys. You (the player) and you (Shannon) both have no control over his debt or his fate. Once he has started acruing it, it's out of your hands. The simple fact that you don't play as him during this scene really contributed to the hopelessness of the scene. It isn't a game you can win. The box says it's a tragedy. You and Shannon can only sit and watch as he and the Boys float down the river.
The scene where he has the drink is also the last time you get to play as Conway
This essay definitely helped me piece the last bits together (like how Conway's leg becoming skeletal represents his medical debt), but tbh it also helped me appreciate the themes a lot more.
I think my personal favourite segment in the game was The Entertainment. The dialogue writing was brilliant and the way it become increasingly unnerving as you realize that something is wrong and then come to the realization that Frank sold their debt was fantastic.
Yeah. It's really fantastic
Absolutely beautiful. I just finished this game yesterday and it has invaded my thoughts and dreams ever since. I've never played a game where I've stopped and stared at dialogue on a screen for how crushingly real it was, needing a moment before I continue. I doubt I will ever play another game like this again, and that's okay. In case you're wondering, the theme I personally derived from my experience was simply: "life goes on". This was a fantastic tribute, great work. I hope it gets discovered by more people, it's very deserving.
It's so good! And thank you!
I am not even American and this game stayed with me for a long time, something about the mysterious storrytelling , the somber tone. For me this is American art at its purest.
I watched a video that called it the new American Gothic and I could not agree more
@@MattHorton absolutely, the sense of decline and decay of rural America through capitalist exploitation in this game was deeply unsettling and at times just horrifying.
Thank you for making this. I just finished the game, but I was left feeling confused and a little frustrated for not understanding it. I didn't know anything about the game going in and I kinda just expected it to work like any other choice-heavy game, where there would be very different endings depending on what you did, rather than being one you can't really win. So, when I got to the end, I felt like maybe I'd missed the point, or made the wrong choices somewhere that led to me getting a more vague, confusing conclusion. It didn't help that this was my first experience - at least that I can remember - with magical realism, so I was always waiting for some grand revalation where there would be an in-world explanation for why everything felt so dream-like, when there wasn't one. This lead to me waiting for an explanation for all the weird little quirks of the world, rather than focusing on the story and characters as a whole, even though the quirkiness of the world is more of a stage for the story and its commentary and not the focus. I think, because of this, I had a very basic understanding of the concepts of the game (captitlism and community and such), but I never really realised the point they were trying to make until I watched this video. I just wish that I'd realised it when I was playing, so that I would've appreciated it for what it is in the moment, rather than afterwards. Kinda makes me feel like I missed out on something pretty special.
Thank you for helping me understand, this is a great video!
Hey you got here and I'm glad I could help! Really recommend a second playthrough after you've had time to digest some of it.
I don't think you should feel like you missed out because you didn't have the base to be fully immersed in it yet. Like, if this is your first brush with magical realism then you've started to build that base by playing KRZ. Going forward other examples of magical realism can start to convey more to you as you find them.
I just finished the game last night. Thanks for filling in some gaps I had as the story progressed. Doolittle being the playwright and the one who shows Conway around the distillery is wild. Must say I felt the tears welling in my eyes when I saw the ghosts join the ceremony that was primarily for horses but what I also felt was for the community who had been bled dry by the power company. Fantastic video man!
Thanks! And that's the thing friend. That's it right there.
Great essay! As for why I chose Blue, she just sounded like a "sweet old hound" :)
The truest 😊
Great essay. I chose Homer as a name. I've played this game many times. You clarified a few things for me because I breezed through a few sections. The bears in the Bureau and the organ guy are two of my favorite moments.
Thanks 😊
It's funny how you say "you can't win" when choosing a password, my exact memory from playing that scene was thinking "ah, I don't think I can lose here".
Yeah! You can’t lose either! That’s a non-nihilist way to see it
I went with Homer because I thought it was a reference the Oddasy and Homer was constantly traveling from strange place to strange place.
My main problem with the game is how you could make choices for other people in the past. We are only free to choose what we are doing now and everything else is facticity.
It's kind of the point!
I chose the name 'Homer' because it felt fitting and symbolic. Joseph was (quite literally) a blind man giving you directions, and Homer (author of The Odyssey) was a blind epic Greek poet. In a way, Kentucky Route Zero feels like a rural, urban iteration of the 'epic poetry' genre. As you said, the "point" of KRZ was never really about finding Dogwood Drive in the traditional sense -- it was about the journey of getting there, and the people and places you met (and lost) along the way.
(Also: holy crap sir, well done on this video? It's genuinely criminal that you don't have more subscribers. This is a very nuanced and detailed critique of KRZ, and one that I enjoyed quite a bit. Your vocal delivery is stellar and filled with emotion as well -- it never feels detached from the subject matter that you're talking about. You have def earned my subscription and a like!)
Thanks Andrew!
One of the best commentaries I've seen on this game. Thanks for sharing your perspective, you have a great way with words!
One final thing I wanted to point out is that the horses seem to be a metaphor for the freedom that capitalism claims to give us. When speaking of the horses of the "town with no roads," Will says, "there are horses living wild in this town... they don't stay in stalls, they sleep outside, they walk around the town on the streets or on the sidewalks and the people of the town think of them as elegant, wordless neighbors."
The horses have true freedom, and we see glimpses of this freedom as our protagonists roam along Route Zero and the Echo River, like a reminder of what they could also have. They have no constraints, they are not burdened with debt, and they do as they please to the awe of townsfolk. Then, when the characters finally reach the town with no roads, the horses are dead. Like a memento mori, we spend our entire lives searching for a freedom that many will never obtain. The American Dream isn't dead because the American Dream was never real.
Quite nihilistic if you ask me. Nonetheless a beautiful work of art.
That's really beautiful. And thank you so much.
I personally find KRZ extremely confusing yet mysterious cause I never know where the zero will take me makes me think the zero is a real route
Absolutely wonderful video, I must say. A poem, a video, one of those that sums it all up.
Also, you can actually meet Carington after going to elkhorn mine. If I remember correctly, Shannon has dialogue with him too. There is so much in KRZ. It's a journey, where the wheels turn over the moonlit tarmac. It's quiet. The moon whines.
I had no idea about this game, but it's right up my pensive, emo alley.
Mood. Mood. Spooky anti-capitalist mood.
Amazing video!! I played this game in high school and just picked it up again to play all the way through. That last scene was probably THE most beautiful scene I have ever seen in a game. I would gladly call the game a visual and storytelling masterpiece. Very innovative too.
Really just one of the best. Glad you liked the video 😊
Great video! Both you and Noah Caldwell-Gervais knocked it out of the park. Having a real "Americana " game is necessary, and very appropriate that it was done my a small group of people, and not some AAA company. Btw, I also named the dog Homer, because what i assumed was the Greece reference. I think not giving him a name seems more thematically appropriate though, or at least poetic.
Thanks Tyler. That's quite a comparison.
I really should watch all the way through his video 🤦♂️
Funny, I always name the dog Homer, don't remember why I picked it on my first playthrough but after finishing the game it feels fitting as a reference to the Greek Tragedy-ness of the game. Junebug and Johnny are also my favorite, I love how they change outfits every scene. Also they recreated the entire WEVP-TV evening broadcast in live action on the Cardboard Computer yt channel, they also have a few other videos that goes slightly more into the out-of-towner.
Yeah I love those videos. If you look close, I use at least one of them in a part of this video
When i noticed the ghosts appearing, that broke me.
Yessss
I picked this up for the Switch not knowing anything about it, but I wanted to give it a shot because the summary blurb on the back of the case was probably the most perfect summary of a point-and-click adventure I had ever seen. The way it merges reality and fantasy together reminded me of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast with a similar, very subtle and constant tension (minus the Lovecraftian horror).
There's also an additional layer to Consolidated Power that hit me where it might not other players. I grew up in southwestern Pennsylvania, HQ of CONSOL Energy, the largest coal and natural gas company in the US and that dominates the Appalachian region, including Kentucky. It's a special kind of hell when you can't stop a major corporation from mining under your house because you might own the property, but they own the mineral rights...and they pay your salary which pays your mortgage and insurance on that house where the foundation just cracked due to subsidence and may end up being condemned.
But that's what happens when there is such a massive consolidation of power, at which point it doesn't matter what economic system you operate on. Both capitalism and communism will treat human beings as commodities or as cogs in a machine that are easily replaced when they wear down and break. Both systems in their extremes have choices that aren't choices: you either go along with the system or you don't. Pearl literally sacrifices her parents to the system so that she can escape it. Other characters just treat the whole situation as "normal" to the point where they don't acknowledge the abuses even after it's too late. There were so many hard hits in this narrative that I didn't catch until I mulled it over later.
It's an interesting take on "perception is reality."
And I always name the dog "Homer". It felt like it was going to be like being lost at sea for years punctuated by bizarre misadventures along the way...and I was not disappointed.
I'm glad you loved it
I've played this game three times yet I still missed that detail about Doolittle and the meteor.
This video is incredibly well made, to the point that I sort of assumed that I would look down and see ~200k as the sub number, especially considering the niche topic material.
You are punching out of your weight class for sure, and the passion is clearly there. I'm glad you could share your love of Kentucky Route Zero so well. Fantastic work, and fantastic transferal of the feelings of the game to the viewer.
Hey I appreciate it. Share with friends!
In my limited literary experience this story reminded me of Catch-22 and Franz Kafka mixed with American gothic and a Greek tragedy. There's nothing quite like it, but if anyone is looking for games that share thematic similarities I'd recommend Oxenfree and Disco Elysium.
I loved Oxenfree! Disco is long on my list
Great analysis. Not far in myself, but fairly captivated by the narrative. Chose Homer because it seemed an epic Odyssey might unfold.
I hope you love it, and you're not wrong!
Wow. Underrated channel here. I love the deep thinking and ur pleasant voice and delivery! Great breakdown of the “game” aka, story/experience.
Thanks! You might enjoy my Citizen Sleeper video!
Hey! I've finished it a few days ago, and was filling a little lost about what exactly happened, the game is fascinating and got me hooked, but I struggled a bit to understand it. Your video was really helpful, thanks a lot! Also really liked your point about building a community, gives the game a sense of hope, and we kinda need it right now.
Congrats!
Glad you liked the video Bruno
I know it's a tall order for a relatively slow game, but I do recommend replaying it at some point. With the knowledge of the themes that the game later presents, going through all the dialogue a second time hits a bit harder.
I absolutely want to replay it, but I'll give it some time. First time I played I went completely blind, and it was fun just go with the flow, but I felt I was missing something or something was escaping me, knowing what know now will help me to see these symbolic elements more clearly.
damn didnt realize about doolittle's fate, thats deep.
RIGHT?!
this game made me cry several times over the course of 5 acts and then you just made me cry several times over the course of 35 minutes
Glad I could affect you like that
Loved this video and the game. So many memorable moments, and I'm glad you brought up Junebug and Johnny's gig because that was one of my greatest gaming moments too. As much as I love the song, I deliberately don't listen to it outside of the game because I want to get the maximum emotional impact whenever I play it.
Playing through the gig for the first time was the moment I realised that I was all in on KRZ and that the game is a masterpiece. I've never played anything else quite like it.
great essay, on my second playthrough currently so i skipped some of the recap stuff even though ill probably remember it all, i chose Blue for both playthroughs, it seemed like a sweet name on my first playthrough and the whole Homer Simpson alcoholic connotation made me a lil sad when thinking about Conway's struggles with alcoholism
Mm yeah
I actually finished the video game shortly before I watched this and needed some perspective just because I can tube out some of the text at times. But this game was like nothing I'd played before, it's characters and writing felt real and personal. Especially Junebug and Johnny. But what really got me was Conway, I wish that there was something that I could do to have let me him "live" but he "died" when he gave up his will in the interest of consolidation and greed. He didn't have art or expression or family to keep him going. He had the opportunity to accept that but didn't and instead met is fate. Man. This game is gonna haunt me. Thank you for this video and perspective
I disagree that Conway had a choice. He had an accident. He needed medical attention. The medical system and the power company preyed on him in that moment.
@@MattHorton omg you're right. My apologies. If he had t have been it would have been a different outcome all together.
No need for apologies. Just a discussion 😊
I always thought the song by Lobo, 'Me and you and a dog named Boo' had said, a dog named Blue. I had thought the song said the dog was named Blue for years and so it just sounded right to name the dog Blue in the game. lol
It's such a road trip-y kind of song too.
"Me and you and a dog named boo
Travellin' and livin' off the land
Me and you and a dog named boo
How I love being a free man"
and it just felt like a road trip song and because of that, the name Blue sounded perfect.
I spent my adolescence in the midwest. Actually right next door to Oklahoma. I definitely think it hits that demographic just a bit harder.
thanks for this
Amazing video, bro. Perfectly describes my feelings towards the game while also explaining some details I didn't fully understand or catch. Well done!
Thanks!
I played this game during lockdown and I’m late to comment, but I haven’t seen enough praise on the absolutely breathtaking OST. The transitions into the animated band is chefs kiss
Right?
My dogs name was Homer, mainly because I came from a past of believing the written word was supreme and video games/animation really changed that perspective. So Homer felt fitting because I knew Kentucky was this almost fruitless and tedious journey which should've been the end of the journey but ultimately became the journey for Conway.
This was incredible thank you. I really struggled to verbalise my thoughts on this game, and it might be something I have to write about from an academic perspective, but this really helped.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you.
Funny that you mention no one naming the dog anything but Blue, because I named him Homer. It felt like an old name, maybe because of my time reading Greek myths, but it felt perfect for an aging dog. It was rather quaint, actually. I cared a lot about Homer, I worried if he was going to make it to Dogwood drive. And he did, thankfully.
They turned it into a dog house, just for him. A place where that tired old dog can finally rest.
Homer seems to be popular among commenters.
You got a really neat ending it seems! My 5 Dogwood Drive was a concert space both times I played.
@@MattHorton I had some of the villagers playing guitar at mine as well. I’m curious how many variations of Dogwood drive there are.
There are 5 cataloged. But the info we have comes from fans
I enjoined your review essay 100 times more than I enjoyed playing the game. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Amazing video about an amazing game. Right on man, that was great. Thanks for another perspective on the story.
Glad you loved it
I love this, but I would add that the game also deals with life and death and afterlife. Conway went to purgatory, maybe the town without roads could be some realization of heaven. Or Hell, depending on your choices. Certainly I don't have that fleshed out in any real way. Just a thought, and something that stuck with me from the early part of the game through to the end.
Sure. Many ways to read it
This game was incredible and saddened me the story makes you feel something undescribable there was always something unique waiting for you in every dialogue and corner of the game the soundtrack was incredible as well
I chose nothing at all for the dogs name mainly because It seemed like the dog was more of an outsider than someone who was part of the cast. The dog is barely acknowledge maybe only 5 or 6 times through the game but I never knew this at first, "I just thought this game is surreal why not act surreal and not give it a name at all".
Like everything else, it totally depends on how you personally reflect onto the game. I talked to the dog a lot.
@@MattHorton Also great vid!
Thanks friend! Glad when people find it!
I've noticed that it's been added to Xbox Gamepass. Problem is i can't find a description of the game. So i looked it up and honestly got sucked into the video. I just listened to it sota of like a pod cast sort a deal. I just listened to it while i was doing other stuff. I definitely want to try this for myself. It's gathered my attention fot sure.
Good news for you is that my videos are available as a podcast now
As a kentuckian it was odd to play a game that takes place within its borders. But it was cathartic to explore another interpretation of kentucky. The setting felt right at home liquor, horses, and loved ones. But the town I found the most interesting as it was almost identical to a coal town, with the sense of planned renovation and exodus. Because once the coal drys up the question on everyones mind is why should we stay. Should we stay for family? For memories? For a sense of sameness? For pride? For love? All reasons to stop and take a good look at the next step. So is it worth the chase to reach the sun on the horizon? Or is it better to stay in your chair and watch the sunset, hoping you get to see it rise tommorrow.
I feel this having moved back to Oklahoma in the past year.
Can I read this in a future video?
@@MattHorton I would be honored
Я плакала во время игры, и я плачу сейчас смотря этот чудесный обзор
💜
Just wanted to add a curious detail: Conway is probably named after Conway's Game of Life, a simple set of rules for cellular automata to live and die depending on how many neighbors they have, you can tell the makers had their fun with this... ahem... hmmm... interactive art installation?
When I played I chose no name for the dog. I guess I thought of the dog as not being Conway's, but just some dog he came across recently, picked up, and didn't give a name to, and doesn't feel the need to, cause it's not his, it's just along for the ride.
I liked some parts of this game but what I didn't like was not being able to follow the story of Conway and Weaver, who were the characters that had most trapped me in the game.
The game tells you Weaver's story in pieces. I'm curious how you feel you didn't follow Conway. You complete his story, but the game grows past him.
10 months late to this video, but I named the dog Homer. Invoking the odyssey felt right to me, and likewise, I've never been able to choose any other option.
I just finished the game today too!
I named the dog Homer I thought it was fitting for the long adventure
I had been playing this game for a little over a week, and its pacing has been so frustratingly slow to the point that I am calling it quits. I am in the middle of Act IV. I realized I had gotten so lost in reading the text and organizing who is who, and trying to get past the cumbersome parts that felt just like filler, that I completely missed the fact that Doolittle could light up his body to illuminate NPCs. Because of this, I didn't speak to a SINGLE skeletal NPC while I was in the distillery, and the message about the game being a commentary on capitalism completely flew over my head. Like I really thought this game was about people who had died/were on their way to dying and was navigating their route to the afterlife. In addition to the criticism you mentioned, my personal gripe is that I got too attached to Conway and when the game didn't let me play as him anymore, I felt myself caring less and less about the game. I realize that the irony in not being able to control Conway after his leg surgery is intentional, as the whole point of getting the surgery is to fix his walking speed, but I felt such a disconnect between me and the game when an act would open and I would be controlling a character who wasn't my main man Conway. There was also just a LOT of text and a lot of dialogue that seemed to skate around the main point, and I wanted sometime to really outline it for me like you did here. I can tell that this game has touched many people, and I do admit I was quite moved by Junebug's singing in the tavern, but that was the highlight of the game for me, and things just kept getting more abstract to the point that the only motivator for me opening the game was to finish it. And I can't even bring myself to do that anymore because I'd rather just watch a video about the ending than play through a full act. TLDR it was just not my cup of tea (and I so wish it had been!). But thank you OP for creating this video; it made me appreciate this game more.
Not everything has to be for everyone. Glad you were into the video
Just about to download this game, heard many good things and your video is in point 👌🏾
Hope you enjoy it!
You’ve recontextualized this whole game for me. As you said, the critique of capitalism is pretty obvious, but describing the game as being about community makes so much sense now, especially the hymns. I also grew up in a rural town on the Bible Belt, so you’re descriptions made a lot of sense, I just hadn’t thought much about it yet. You did a great job making this, thank you.
thank you for watching and for the kinds words!
I recommend Citizen Sleeper if you loved KRZ! I've got a video on that too!
@@MattHorton citizen sleeper is definitely on my list. Hopefully I can get to it soon!
The themes of the final act were great but it was so brief and short of dialogue I couldn't help feeling dissapointed after the previous acts. Compared to the ambiguity and beauty of previous dialogue decisions, the choices felt like big YES/NO buttons for who you wanted to stay in the town. For me, it felt like a single scene or intermission from a previous act and not a conclusion or new beginning at all.
I even preferred the Death of a Salesman intermission with Carrington! It at least adds some new wrinkles to Harry and Carrington, the former showing he still has a trace of compassion left and the latter showing genuine dissapointment and dropping a bit of the mystical self-assuredness we saw before. But Act V has every character doing nothing except staying or leaving, we don't get anything that we didn't already get by Act IV.
Eh. Too each their own
Fourth Floor: Bears.
best
Funnily enough I chose the name Homer. At first blue seemed like the obvious choice but I second guessed myself. There was something so ordinary about the name paired with the dog who, to you, isn't ordinary at all that made it make sense to me. He's just Homer. If fit the vibe of everything around you in the game to me.
Yeah for sure!
The game is also heavily influenced by the Odyssey
I called the dog Homer. He looks like a Homer to me.
Kind of a mopey, raggedy, quiet type dog. Blue feels more energetic. Kinda elegant even.
I chose homer for the dog. I liked that it reminded me of The Odyssey. That felt right. Especially since the first two characters were so close to Joseph Conrad, another author of a meandering boat trip story.
Yall are far more well read than me 😅
@@MattHorton Making online videos/ discussing games seems to be the only time I use my English Lit degree lol.
Brilliant. Very much enjoyed your take on this masterpiece.
Thanks!
No name because it makes me feel like a lost soul as is similar to the journey of characters I’m the Zero
i love that
Excellent essay. Subscribed!
Thanks!
I love this video! Absolute masterpiece of a game/art
Thank you! Check out my citizen sleeper video!
2008 Financial Crisis and how it wiped out the last vestiges the American Middle Class the Game. Powerful video man, don't know how you didn't mention '08 though.
I started college in 08. It is a big reference point for me but the foundation of my distrust of capitalism lies more in the 2nd and 3rd order effects of 08 like Occupy and the rent crisis.
Wonderful video, thank you for making this ❤
Thanks for watching!
Great video! One other thing I'd like to add is I don't think that setting it in Kentucky was a coincidence. The Appalachia region of the US as a whole has been particularly hit hard by capitalistic exploitation and that region is home to some of the biggest labor uprisings in the US (Battle of Blair Mountain). One of the origins of the term 'redneck' stemmed from coal miners in that region who would wear red bandanas on their necks to identify that they were members of a union.
1000%
Wait, when the fuck does that scene with the asteroid happen? I've done two playthroughs and never seen it!
In one of the moments where you're driving around Kentucky you can see it at one of the stops. It's a wonderful hidden moment
@@MattHorton Aw beans, guess a third playthrough is on the horizon, with more driving! Great video btw
Thanks!
Is Conway the third distillery boy skeleton on the boat? Sorry I can’t tell for sure if that’s what you were implying
Yes
So I just finished the game and have a question? What was weavers part in all of this? (BTW I named My dog Homer) 😌
It's been a bit but she seems to have disappeared and given the hard times boys their math for their machines. And also she's a ghost? I don't quite understand her really!
I picked the dog has no name lol idk why I picked it. I didn’t get why I had to name the dog. It was just what felt like the truth.
That's the vibe!
Fantastic video essay!
Thanks so much! Appreciate all the recent love on this one
Even if it were the only video on the channel, your channel should have existed
I'm glad this video is finding an audience
I chose Homer! Love this game so much ❤ thanks for the vid
Thanks for watching!
I had no idea that 5 Dogwood could become anything other than a library. It always became a library in all my playthroughs. I am a librarian. I had no idea and did not do that on purpose. What a game.
Truly neither did I until I was researching this video
Did you see the meteor in act 2
Yeah! It's in the video
I use to live 30 minutes from Bowling Green and I've been to mammoth cave
That's cool!
@@MattHorton This was a cool analysis. I've never played it before but I wrote it down recently for some reason and your video was one of the first options so this is the first I've seen of it. I have a Switch so I may buy it. Or I'll at least watch a let's play of it.
It's real good! Jacob Geller also has a good video on it called Fear of Depths
@@MattHorton Don't think I've seen any Jacob Geller videos. That's interesting how his titles don't seem to mention the title of the game he is analyzing. I subscribed to you, but I haven't had a chance to see any of your other videos yet, haha.
Hehe. He's big enough he doesn't have to do that. Much more of a writer with big thoughts than me.
Thanks for the sub! I'm a bit all over the place but generally do critical thought on tech and games.
This game and the video made me ugly cry ;_;
Omfg that last this world is not my home AHHHH MY EYES
Thanks. I randomly decided to record it at the last minute
It’s an experience. It’s so amazing.
Truly
For those who don’t know, Cardboard Computer Recreated Rita’s Broadcast as a sort of AR Game to go along with the game. It’s pretty cool to watch it while you play. czcams.com/video/RJi33k5kznk/video.html
I watched this a bunch while writing this video 😅
great work!
Thank you!
I actually chose Homer. Mostly because it kind of reminded me of "Homie" Maybe I also had 2 bottles of Hard-Times Ale. :P
but like some someone below pointed out, it sounded like a reference to Homer's The Odyssey.
Which it absolutely is
Feeling Embarrassed for naming "blue", Homer
No need to be embarrassed! It's a good name
Fuck ME this is a great video about a great game. Thank you.
Haha thanks! But like...right here?
I never played the game
This was amazing
He just really looks like a Homer
Honestly I come from a communist country and have seen the horrors so I’m a big advocate for capitalism but this game was so beautiful I genuinely was left in shock at how it made me feel. I don’t agree with it per say but it was so well done and thought out. Your video was definitely 10/10
That's fair. I think what we're living in right now tells me that this isn't working either
Its not really to be agreed or disagreed with. Its a display of people's truth.
Me and my gf picked Homer, because we're pretentious probably lol
I am also pretentious lol
What are you talking about? The capitalism? 😂
What about digging deeper? The only thing you can't win that's based on choices is life itself. That's the true drama as it is! Isn't it?
The characters are to be DELIVERED to a certain destination after crossing the Lethe River by a ferry. Isn't it the final delivery for Conway? Does it either remind anyone of the route being taken or give a piece of mind about what they are? Homer? Aida? No idea? 😊
Well, the main character is dead, just like the old dog is - straight from the very beginning of the story.
Lots of hints are there in the soundtrack. Enjoy!
Ok well one way to have a conversation is to say "interesting. I see it this way."
Another is to laugh at a person and tell them they're dumb.
All of that stuff is interesting and not exclusive of my analysis. Really interesting in fact.
But you don't have to be a jerk about it
@MattHorton
I appreciate your answer much, thanks!
I do accept your statement absolutely, although it seems irrelevant to my comment. Unless either the emoji made you way concerned, or was I supposed to follow your proposed form of speech literally?
Would you, please, mind showing that particular quote of me being rude or impolite? And do you assume the possibility for the addressed tension to be just your imagination?
No offense. TY.
Great video, I wish it had more views! I chose blue just because my hair is blue lol
Thanks! Me too!
I went with Homer...the odyssey and all.
I did not chose any name for the dog
Wow!
@@MattHorton i played krz for the first time in 2014 or 2015 if i'm not mistaken, calling it a game is so wrong, it is a piece of art, everything about it is so well done. At first i thought it might be some kind social experiment where developpers would collect the answers we chose during the gameplay to conclude something related to how every player would see things, but again i got lost in the strangness of the events. Last year when i played the last act it was so tragic. The ending of the story alongside the pandemic in the real world was so heart moving 😬
What was the deal with weaver?
Ha I mean it's the most magical part of the story. As far as I can tell she discovered the hard times boys in the cave and taught them to make whiskey? I don't really know what's being implied but she, in fiction, is very much haunting people, whether she's dead or alive.
I didn't write about it much (and cut a chunk about her out) because I don't understand it.
I picked Homer, and trying to shame anyone for not picking Blue is really self-obsessed on your part. My Kentucky Route Zero journey is mine, not yours.
That's the point of the video, friend. Not trying to shame anyone! I just have a snarky sense of humor.
@@MattHorton Listen to what you said. You were clearly being very condescending.
I wrote the video my guy!
"Your choices are Blue, Homer, and no name at all. Honestly, I have never heard of anyone choosing anything other than Blue, and that feels so right to me, I couldn't choose anything different the second time I played.
If you've played, what name did you pick? Why did it stick out to you?"
Me talking about my specific experience and inviting people to share theirs. That's rather inviting to me!
Anyway if you want to cool off a bit, you're welcome around here. There's lots of good discussion in these comments specifically about the different ways through KRZ.
I beat it
I just got the 1000 cheevos. I like the game lot. Not quite as much as I enjoy The Artful Escape, but very good game. I am glad you admit in the beginning how pretentious your analysis is, because, well, it is.
You really chose violence today
Personally, whenever a game has multiple interpretations of its themes, the interpretation that involves a critique of capitalism is always the most boring one.
Well there really isn't a lot of other ways to look at this game which is beating you over the head with that critique
Just finished the game and I love that whatever you say, becomes fact. I love this game. That being said, Capitalism is also in my opinion the best form of an economic system. It's the leeches on society, like Pearl's parents who wouldn't pay their tab that ruin Capitalism. It is a system that works, but only for those who work. I think the game critiques Socialism just as much as Capitalism albeit not as harshly. You can love both Capitalism and the game, I feel like some people don't understand that. Great vid btw
Edit: I picked no name for the dog, I just love how he refers to the dog as "old man" it feels perfect to me 😂.
Edit pt.2: Man I keep thinking of things to say! Also I feel that the end of the game has a sort of "In a perfect world Socialism would be great, but mankind is sinful. Let's go the way God has us on, the way of Capitalism. Even though it isn't ideal for some, it's the best we got." The end gave me that sort of thought. But it's up to interpretation ofc
The makers of this game would very disagree with you, but I guess death of the author and all that?
Anyway, the biggest "leeches on society" in this game are the power company and hard times distillery: metaphors for actual society's actual corporate leeches.
@Josh Righter and that's why we have healthcare, I'm not saying that people like you should be left behind. The only reason we thrive as a society is because of corporations helping us out. Socialism isn't as great as most think it is. Would you rather have a variety of companies helping us get jobs or the greedy government controlling everything and making everyone suffer. Socialism would be wonderful in a world without sin, no doubt about that. But in a sinful world like ours everyone will work in their own best interest. It's the sad truth.
Lots of religious undertones in your speech which feels irrelevant. But I would turn your thought around the other way. Capitalism sounds neat until you realize that corporate incentives don't protect the needs of the people, because corporations can't be trusted.
@@MattHorton part of the genius of any media is the different interpretations it can have. Even if it wasn't intentional, that's the message I take away from it. I'm glad you were able to find meaning in a different way because this video was very well done. I, on the other hand, think Capitalism is the only form of government that will ever work. For example, Cardboard Computer would never be able to make this game successful without capitalism. Heck barely any media would even exist in socialism. People complain about capitalism which for the most part is what made them rich. It is that American dream of through work becoming successful that makes capitalism a beautiful prospect. That said, Socialism is wonderful in its own right but it wouldn't work in a sinful world like ours.
@@MattHorton I trust corporations because I have options, when the government controls everything we're screwed because they have all the control. The corporations will look out for us because they need us as consumers and workers, the government wouldn't give a rat's ass about the people because they don't need anything but our tax money. And yes there are religious undertones, I am training to be a pastor.
It's funny that you reddit types always leave out the ovewhelming christian tone of the game. Especially the last song.
Am I a reddit type?
Anyway I'm an ex Christian. I grew up in Oklahoma. That is my culture. It's part of the American Gothic thing it's going for