Kentucky Route Zero Act Two Coming in April

[Andy Chalk]

Kentucky Route Zero Act Two Coming in April

Kentucky Route Zero Act Two will be out next month, the second step toward a "tragic" finale in January.

The first of five planned chapters of Kentucky Route Zero came out in January and I absolutely loved it, as you can see in this enthusiastic Kickstarter [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/10151-Kentucky-Route-Zero-Act-1-Review] that it intended to release new chapters every two to three months and that schedule seems holding up, as the second act is set to come out in April. Developer Jake Elliott described the schedule as "pretty aggressive" but said the team has its ducks in a row and feels pretty good about it.

He also made the rather startling point that the game is not going to end on a happy note. "It's a tragedy," Elliott told Joystiq. "The story's a tragedy, it's a tragic ending. Hopefully it won't be too bleak, but it's in that tradition."

And despite all the strangeness and mysticism, he said that it's actually a game about the vagaries and "esoteric devices" of the financial world, and the struggles and burdens they impose upon average people.

It's not exactly uplifting news, but with four acts still to play out there's a lot of exploration and discovery remaining, and some characters we haven't even met. And the "promise," such as it is, of an ending that isn't all sunshine and lollipops isn't entirely a surprise; there are hints of darkness in the first act, a vague feeling that something is amiss and that somewhere, a shoe is waiting to drop.

A solid release date for Kentucky Route Zero Act Two hasn't been announced, but you can keep an eye on the action as it happens at kentuckyroutezero.com [http://kentuckyroutezero.com/].

Source: Joystiq [http://www.joystiq.com/2013/03/27/kentucky-route-zero-episode-2-due-in-april-tragic-finale-set-fo/]

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[grigjd3]

The way this game is sold holds me back from buying it (at least on steam). They want to sell me all five parts of the game at once and won't give me an option to buy them singly. I mean, for all I know, they could make the first one great and then slack off on the rest since they'd already have my money. I'm not saying Elliott would necessarily do that, but I don't see a financial incentive otherwise. Also, if I buy it and the developer runs out of money or motivation, then I'd have bought the series and only received a portion of it.

 

[Andy Chalk]

Interesting. When the game was originally released you could purchase individual chapters but now that it's on Steam and the Humble Store, it appears that you have to spring for the whole thing. (Which is still a far better deal, really.) Maybe drop them an email and see if they're still offering individual chapter purchases on the down-low. I doubt it, it's less than $20 for the whole thing on the Humble Store right now, but you never know.

 

[Zoe Castillo]

Kentucky Route Zero conveyed more in one scene than most games convey in their entirety . which is even more amazing if you consider that the game can be finished in less than 2 hours .

 

[Skeleon]

I took a chance and bought the 5-games passs. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter and hope it'll keep going strong. "In April" isn't that clear a statement, though.

EDIT: And, yes, I bought it on the Humble Store because I dislike Steam. I'm glad whenever a DRM-free option is available and I hope this model spreads. We just need to support it and ensure developers know it's worth doing without Steam grabbing every interesting Indie-title as an exclusive.

 

[Dave Ruth]

I loved the first episode. Now I'm just patiently waiting for part 2, and I don't hate steam...and purchased it there.