Kentucky Route Zero is the kind of game that makes me wish I was smarter. I feel like there’s a lot of clear symbolism and themes that are going way over my head, I wish I was better at literary criticism. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a polar opposite opinion change on a game. I really didn’t like this for my first playthrough - it gave me the worst House of Leaves vibes, all the weird shit with none of the unique and complex concept. I bounced off it hard, until at the very end when the funeral for the Neighbors and Conway being taken away more than anything I think made me want to give it another shot. I think I was expecting more in the way of puzzles and general ‘adventure game’ stuff, it’s really more of an interactive story with very light decisions making differences. I much more enjoyed my second play through where I wasn’t expecting it to be something it simply isn’t. The presentation is impeccable, the art style and music is wonderful. I did more ‘exploring’ during my second playthrough though, finding little vignettes and little moments of storytelling. The tone is so melancholy and has this overwhelming feeling of inevitability, even before Conway makes his bad deal. The sad history of his life and the way it connects with others. I do like how interwoven and related all the characters are - I definitely noticed these little matching moments more on my second playthrough. The funeral for the Neighbors honest go god nearly teared me up this time around. If nothing else, it’s an incredibly unique game. I’m glad I finally played it. For me I think it’s quite a depressing look at inevitability and of endings, how things might limp on but will all eventually finish. Conway’s attempt to finish his delivery, attempt to redeem himself maybe for Charlie’s death? Prove himself as worthy of Lysette’s final job. Shannon’s attempt to help him, Ezra’s attempts to find his family. Lula/Donald/Joseph’s attempts to create something meaningful. The town with no roads inevitably coming to an end. The final act in particular makes me really sad, all these people deciding to leave because the anchor - their community television station - was destroyed and their Neighbors killed. I picked a lot of options which involved characters staying or moving to the town but it didn’t feel genuine.

KRZ is an impressionistic, magical realist game about legacy, traditions - the things that are passed down from one generation to the next both in the sense of regular people and the communities that they populate, and of artists and the history and traditions of their schools of art. The game is very aware of its own influences and the wide variety of artistic mediums and traditions that it draws from, it's extremely dense with references and allusions (I caught just enough of them to know that there were way more that went over my head).
KRZ is more interested in being thought-provoking and evocative than it is trying to make any bold declarative statements about the way in which society is constructed or anything like that. In that way I find it very interesting that this game is compared so often to Disco Elysium, a game which had a direct and very materialist political analysis, whereas KRZ is much more descriptive than prescriptive.
It is extremely effective at evoking feelings of loss, decay, and mourning, while always making sure to remind that there is no decay without regrowth. Death and disposal - of people and communities, of artists and their art, even of office supplies (keep an eye out for those cute lil crabs just making the best of what they've got) - is never the end of anything, just another transformation, part of an ever-ongoing conversation echoing back and forth into itself forever. You take what you need and leave the rest.
The headiness, amount of reading required and lack of an immediately gratifying "fun" gameplay loop will probably make a lot of people bounce off of this game, which is a shame, because it's the rare game that truly rewards deeper examination and carries en emotional heft that will have me thinking back to certain scenes, songs and lines for years to come.
A true classic, one of the best games of its size that I've ever played. Just missed being one of my GOAT's, but wouldn't be surprised if later reexamination bumps this game up there for me.