Overview
Developed by indie developer duo Cardboard Computer, Kentucky Route Zero is a five-part episodic adventure game set along an underground highway in the caves of Kentucky. It promises classic adventure gameplay with a heavy focus on story and atmosphere. The soundtrack features traditional bluegrass music.
The game was successfully funded via a Kickstarter campaign launched January 7th 2011 exceeding its goal of $6,500 by raising $8,583 by February 6th of that year. This puts the successful funding date of Kentucky Route Zero a full year prior to the now famous launch of the Double Fine Adventure campaign, widely thought of as a progenitor to Kickstarter being a viable funding platform for game development.
Acts
Act I was released on January 7th, 2013, in a DRM-free version for PC, Mac, and Linux platforms. 5 Acts were originally planned to be released throughout 2013. Acts could be purchased individually or as a bundle containing all 5 acts. As of February 18th, 2013, the option for purchasing Act I and any future acts individually has been discontinued.
Act II was released on May 31, 2013, Act III was released on May 6, 2014, and Act IV was released on July 19, 2016. Act V was released on January 28th, 2020 with Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition for consoles.
Music
Kentucky Route Zero features an ambient electronic soundtrack by Ben Babbitt "along with a suite of old hymns & bluegrass standards" recorded by The Bedquilt Ramblers, which Babbit is also a member of. Babbit also provides sound design and foley work for the game.
System Requirements
PC System Requirements
Minimum:
- OS:Windows 7
- Processor:1 GHz
- Memory:512 MB RAM
- Graphics:Directx 9.0c compatible video card
- DirectX®:9.0c
- Hard Drive:250 MB HD space
Recommended:
- OS:Windows 7
- Processor:1 GHz
- Memory:1 GB RAM
- Graphics:Directx 9.0c compatible video card
- DirectX®:9.0c
- Hard Drive:250 MB HD space
Mac Minimum System Requirements
- OS:OSX 10.5 Leopard
- Processor:1 GHz CPU
- Memory:512 MB RAM
- Graphics:OpenGL 3.0+ compatible video card
- Hard Drive:250 MB HD space
Linux Minimum System Requirements
- Processor:1 GHz CPU
- Memory:512 MB RAM
- Graphics:OpenGL 3.0+ compatible video card
- Hard Drive:250 MB HD space