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{{title}} '''''Kentucky Route Zero''''' is a magical realist adventure game about a secret highway in the caves beneath Kentucky and the mysterious folks who travel it. The game is developed and published by [[Cardboard Computer]], an independent studio consisting of [[Jake Elliott]], [[Tamas Kemenczy]], and [[Ben Babbitt]]. It follows an episodic format, mirroring the dramatic structure of a five-act play.
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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''Kentucky Route Zero''}}
{{Acts}}
{{Infobox
|title = ''Kentucky Route Zero''
|composer = [[Ben Babbitt]]
|engine = [[wikipedia:Unity (game engine)|Unity]]
|platform = PC <small>(Windows, macOS, Linux )</small> <br> Console <small>Future: (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)</small>
|rating = <small><sup>NA </sup></small>[[wikipedia:Entertainment Software Rating Board|ESRB]]: <abbr title="Teen">T</abbr> <br> <small><sup>EU </sup></small>[[wikipedia:Pan European Game Information|PEGI]]: 12 <br> <small><sup>AU </sup></small>[[wikipedia:Australian Classification Board|ACB]]: <abbr title="Parental Guidance">PG</abbr>
|release = 2013–2020 ({{anchor|Release history|info}})
}}
The game's five acts follow the narrative of a truck driver named [[Conway]] and the mysterious people he meets as he tries to cross travel the fictional [[Route Zero|Route {{Zero}}]] to make his final delivery for an antique company. The [[Act I|first act]] was released on January 7, 2013. The [[Act II|second]], [[Act III|third]], and [[Act IV|fourth ]], and [[Act V|fifth acts]]were released over the following seven years, along with four shorter, supplemental, free-to-play supplemental "interlude" games, have since been released. The [[Act VWEVP-TV|video art]], tie-in [[phone numbers]], and [[Here And There Along The Echo#Weird Telephones|custom electronics]]. The game's final act]] is forthcoming and will be console ports were released on January 28, 2020. The "PC Edition" of the game is currently available via [https://store.steampowered.com/app/231200/Kentucky_Route_Zero/ Steam], [https://cardboardcomputer.itch.io/kentucky-route-zero itch.io], [https://www.gog.com/game/kentucky_route_zero_season_pass GOG.com], and the [https://www.humblebundle.com/store/p/kentuckyroutezero_storefront Humble Store], while the identical "TV Edition" is available on [https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/kentucky-route-zero-tv-edition-switch/ Nintendo Switch], [https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/kentucky-route-zero-tv-edition-ps4/ PlayStation 4], and will release on all major consoles simultaneously with the Act V update[https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/kentucky-route-zero-tv-edition/9p6ftm76l1s7 Xbox One].
== Gameplay ==
| [[Act III]] || Videogame || May 6, 2014
|-
| ''[[Here And There Along The Echo]]'' {{HATATE}} || Videogame, [[wikipedia:Interactive voice response|IVR system]] || October 30, 2014
|-
| Gamepad support || {{n/a}} || February 11, 2015
| [[WEVP-TV]] ([http://wevp.tv/ wevp.tv]) || [[wikipedia:Web television|Web television]] || August 19, 2016
|-
| ''[[Un Pueblo De Nada]]'' {{UPDN}} || Videogame, [[wikipedia:Video art|Video art]] || January 25, 2018
|-
| [[Act V]] || rowspan=2 | Videogame || rowspan=3 | January 28, 2020
|-
| ''[[Death of the Hired Man]]''{{DOTHM}}
|-
| TV Edition (console release) || {{n/a}}
Shannon frees Conway and helps him onto an old mine cart. While exploring, Shannon reveals that the mine flooded at one point, killing the miners trapped inside. The two discover a turntable and explore the mine and its history; turning off the lamplight reveals ghostly visions of the miners. Conway exits the mine alone while Shannon goes back to check on something, and when she returns, reveals her parents were killed in the flood.
The two head to [[Shannon's workshop]], located at the back of a small [[bait shop]] to search for Weaver, but she is nowhere to be found. On the way back to the farmhouse, Conway can choose to return to Equus Oils where he and Shannon meet Joseph's friend [[Carrington]] who is looking for a venue for his upcoming play, and asks the two to keep an eye out for a location.
Back at the farmhouse, Shannon reveals Weaver fled after learning of their family's debt, and tonight was the first time she had seen her since then. Shannon attempts to repair the TV by cleaning moss off the vacuum tubes, and Conway looks in again; this time, however, both the picture on the screen and the barn behind the house begin to warp and separate, forming an image of the opening to the {{Zero}} and the truck driving into it.
The ''Mammoth'' docks at a floating phone booth. Not wanting to wait in line, [[Conway]] jumps into the water and swims back to the boat to look for more alcohol. Will listens to a variety of calls – audio of [[Here And There Along The Echo|players']] personal anecdotes, stories, and feelings. Next in line, Cate calls a woman named [[Summer]], one of her clients for whom she assists as a birth [[wikipedia:Doula|doula]], and suggests a natural remedy to her sleep problem. Next, Clara calls her older sister [[Nadia]] in Lithuania and they talk about their [[Andrius|uncle]] in hospice care.
Another man on the floating platform reveals himself as [[Brandon]], the janitor from the [[Random Access Self Storage|self storage facility]], and mentions Conway not only seemed drunk and preoccupied, but also "spiritually distracted." If encountered in [[Act I]], [[James B. Carrington|Carrington]] calls, in attempt to talk with a friend who is a lighting designer in Chicago if not for the phone lines being affected by the storm. Shannon answers, and he asks for advice for his upcoming [[Death of the Of The Hired Man|play]] which will be held at dawn in the location provided in [[Act II]]. He notes the cast and stage crew are all delayed by the bad weather but hopes the group will be able to make it to the premiere.
If the player chooses to stay on board the ''Mammoth'' instead, the dogs simply lounge on the ship's lower deck.
Shannon, now having lost Conway, reconvenes with the ''Mammoth'' crew at Sam & Ida's, a floating, stilted restaurant on [[Lake Lethe]]. Cate, Will, and Junebug sit at a table deciding on a to-go order for Clara; Shannon talks with Johnny and Ezra off to the side, who are playing a crane game, and tells them what happened to Conway. She returns to the table and vows to complete Conway's delivery as Johnny and Ezra look at a display of [[wikipedia:Shellac|shellac]]-covered plates of food. [[File:Clara performance.png|thumb|right|''JUNEBUG: When I met you — when we met, we were nothing, just these little gray shadows. And we grew, and filled in, and ... but we did all that together.'']]
The cook, [[Ida]], appears, and tells a story of two divers with bottomless appetites who helped kickstart their restaurant's success. Down below, Ida's husband [[Sam]] returns from a diving expedition with a small eel and recounts to himself a similar different angle of the story to himself about the two divers. As he walks up the stairs, Ira Ida brings out the food, and the group prepares to leave. Shannon walks back down to the tugboat as [[Emily, Ben, and Bob]] float by, playing "[[This World Is Not My Home]]."
[[File:Silo.png|thumb|left|''JUNEBUG: Tired? Don't worry, lady. We're almost there.'']]
The group reconvenes, returns to the ''Mammoth'' and sails to their final stop. Clara decides to travel with Shannon, Junebug, Johnny, and Ezra, and they disembark, while Cate and Will depart on the tugboat. As the group stands at the bottom of a large spiral staircase, with no way to bring the vehicle to the surface, they begin to unload the truck to complete the delivery on foot.
=== Act V ===
{{expand}}
== Soundtrack ==
