Category: Student Posts

One of the many elements found of magical realism is clearly highlighted in Kentucky Route Zero. Political critique can be found in many scenes during Act II. In the scene where Conway and Shannon are looking for Lula, it was a bureaucratic mess to find Lula. The system failed to help them in the beginning. Another scenario where there is political critique is when we learn that the church has been taken over by the government and  turned into an office space for themselves. The game is criticizing the government amplifying the fact that they can do anything they want. The church for some people is a special and holy place, and the government was able to simply use it at its disposal because they needed it. The building Conway and Shannon go to find Lula was a mess to get help in. I believe this scene was used to criticize to disorganization and how useless the government is. It also shows all there are levels in the bureaucracy and how it gradually gets worse as one works their way up to the top. These scenes presented in the game invites players to think about the system we have and critique our own government.

Kentucky Route Zero incorporates the use of fantastical elements throughout the game to provide a sense of mystery for the player. There are subtle little things in the game that the player would notice and wonder why that’s there or what does this have to do with anything. Then there are huge things the player would see such as Julian the giant eagle that flies you to a forest. There were no questions asked about the eagle. It was just accepted that he was Ezra’s brother. Another example of fantastical elements in the game is when they are in the forest and you are Ezra. You keep running forwards and see different times or scenes of Conway and Shannon as they travel through the woods. It’s almost as if you are running along their timeline. Then, at the end of the woods, Shannon asks you where you’ve been and you say that you got lost in the woods. In the beginning when Conway goes in the basement of the gas station, he finds the three people playing a game at the table. They were there but they didn’t acknowledge him and when he finds their missing dice, they disappear.

Although Kentucky Route Zero takes place in “real world”, it has multiple elements thats make it a unique game including the idea of magical realism. KRZ blends two ideas of magical realism as it is set in the real world but also contains fantastical elements. For example, in the opening scene we quickly can figure that KRZ is certainly going to be a weird game as the dialogue seemed very awkward. Even the graphics themselves looked like they were taken out of some Tim Burton movie. Although there were weird aspects of the game at the start it was semi-realistic in its setting with a normal gas station, truck, dog etc. However, the first fantastical moment we encounter is with the three people playing that strange board game in the basement. Although Conway repeatedly calls for their attention none of them even know that he’s there. As you finally find the piece they are looking for they mysteriously vanish without a trace.

Kentucky Route Zero from the beginning will make a player doubt whether the whole situation indeed exists or it is all within the main character’s mind. The reason for that is the heavy presence of a magical realism characteristic: Fantastic elements.  Although the setting takes place in what could be a real place, meaning that there is nothing extraordinary within the environment such as purple trees, yellow sky or the like, there is still something intriguing. At the moments that you would least expect it something extraordinary will appear. For example in Act 2 near the end a boy appears claiming that his brother is a big eagle. At first when I personally encountered this character I just thought that the boy is either lying or gone completely crazy. There were already a bunch of characters present within the game whose state of mind was quite questionable thus I actually disregarded him. However when the little boy offered a ride and called a bird, a huge eagle indeed descended and swiped the main characters off. One of the best parts of the game I would say was actually controlling this eagle as he was flying around. The whole representation of the flight was very fantastical as well. The whole scene was made in black and white and one could see all of the geographical sites as they were floating. I feel that moments like this fill Kentucky Route Zero with Fantastical Elements and thus create Magical Realism within the game. This makes the game as a whole more engaging and full of surprises. Moments like this surely made me question: what if this whole game is just a dream that the main character has?

Kentucky Route Zero exhibits magical realism in many ways. The main way that it shows magical realism is by having a lot of fantastical elements in the game while trying to keep it somewhat realistic. An example of this is in Act 3 when Conway and Shannon go to the bar and listen to the people that drove by in motorcycles sing. The woman turns into an angel and the roof disappears. Another fantastical element of the game is the fact that they are looking for a road called “the Zero” that doesn’t seem to exist in the same physical world that the rest of the game exists in. A third aspect of the fantastical elements of the game is when Conway gets his leg crushed in the mine and then goes to the doctor to get it fixed and comes out with a robot leg, commenting that it doesn’t feel like his leg anymore. A fourth and final main way that the game incorporates fantastical elements is sometimes when a character is talking near a television screen, in particular when Conway and Weaver/Shannon are in the old Marquez house, the walls disappear and the scene is focus on what is in the background. All of these fantastical elements make Kentucky Route Zero a particularly bizarre and interesting game.

If there were one element of magical realism within the game, Kentucky Route Zero, it would most definitely have a real world setting. The game appears to be set in our modern day Kentucky and all the elements within the game are something you’d see in reality. The game itself is not quite normal, however. While the familiar location allows players to relate more to the story, the context of the game most certainly has some supernatural realm within it to give the story more depth and impact to players. Little by little, magical elements start creeping out in Conway’s life as a simple task turns into a fantastical adventure. This element of magic realism in the game allows players to not only feel more connected to the game, but also allows them to become intrigued with the supernatural characteristics all around them.

On the wikipedia page it says Magical Realism refers to “Literature in particular that portrays magic or unreal elements as a natural part in an otherwise realistic or mundane environment.” This perfectly represents Kentucky Route Zero, as the game deals with average places like where Lula works for example. What gives the game its quirkiness is the interactions and slightly off details.

One of the primary elements of magical realism is a real world setting.  What could be more boring and mundane than the Bureau Of Reclaimed Spaces? In the Bureau of Reclaimed Spaces you go from floor to floor, worker to worker, as people keep passing you on to someone else to try to help you get your answers. Eventually, you even go to a record room. The game feels extremely monotonous while you are walking from clerk to clerk, and then to cap it off you end up in a room of stacks of paper. The bureaucracy dictates much of the pain of the game. This average, real world setting very much contributes to the magical realism of the game.

However, its important to note that its not all average and mundane. There are bears on one of the floors of the building. However, you could argue that the bears aren’t apart of the setting, but they simply occupy it.