Really beautiful game. Well written in a way that games aren't normally well written - normal when people say that a game has good writing it's another way of saying 'the dialogue is snappy' or some such. This feels much bigger than that, and solves many of the issues of "story games" for me. The game itself is sort of a point-and-click adventure game but stripped down largely to character interactions and given direct control of the cast. The 'gaminess' of the game is all in service of the story and, as such, makes it perfectly suited for this format.
I have quite literally just finished this and have so many thoughts about it that I can't really coherently put them together but all I can say is that it's magical, daring storytelling that you're unlikely to see anywhere else.

(Initially reviewed this with 4 1/2 stars but amended to 5 after stewing on it for a bit).

A simple yet really charming point and click adventure about a man trying to deliver a package to an unknown adress. Meet people and talk to them to help you find your way and that's it.
The story features a lot of magic realism touches which fill the game with this eerie yet somehow soothing vibe. The chill tone is perfect for the premise and the story, the only gameplay is picking dialogue options with no right or wrong choices, you build the conversations and even the characters' pasts with the choices. Not that they impact the development of the events (some actually do) but it's cool that the game let's you build the characters and their life choices as you wish. There are few games that actively build the story in a way that's only possible in videogames and this is one of them. No TV show nor movie could possibly convey this tale.
There are some moments and conversations that are so beautifly crafted that, and I can't explain why, feel like the closest thing to poetry in videogame form.
Lastly, the only bad think is that some sections feel poorly paced, the game is on the long side of the spectrum for this narrative-heavy games. It's aboud 8-10 hours long which makes some of the chapters feel kinda stretched out, specifically the last one.

Overall it's still an amazing and unique game, one of the few videogames that thrive more of the experience than the game itself that I genuinely believe are worth having.
The soundtrack is pretty neat too I guess.

This game has a lot of care and love behind it. Sadly, it's a love that is far beyond my reach. The game is abstract and ambiguous. A lot of negative reviews call it pretentious, but seeing how it gets lots of praise and many people consider it to be among their favorite games, I don't think that is the case.

I will blame myself, and assume that I wasn't able to connect with the story and it's characters; to grasp the meaning behind all those lines of dialogue. As invested as the first chapter got me with it's cool visual style and it's intriguing story, I quickly began to lose interest and failed to remain attentive, as I couldn't understand what was going on.

Kentucky Route Zero is a point and click adventure
game about a secret highway running through the
caves beneath Kentucky and the mysterious people
who travel it. The player controls Conway, a delivery
man tasked with making an important delivery for
an antique shop, alongside their dog. The player will
encounter a wide variety of interesting characters
that are unique, quirky and play off Conway and
each other incredibly well. Kentuckv Route Zero is a
game that doesn't stick to the typical tropes of
point and click adventure games. The visual style,
art design and thought provoking nature of the
writing kept me thoroughly engaged. While the story
was weird, and sometimes confusing I was
completely engaged and often times was left
questioning what I was witnessing on my screen. I
thoroughly enjoyed my time playing Kentucky Route
Zero.

Pros:
The atmosphere and art design
The narrative
The characters, dialogue
The soundtrack

Cons:
Pace of the narrative
Open world map and traveling
Played on: Xbox Series X via GamePass

I need to replay this game. My expectations ruined my first playthrough :( It's a game that kind of transcends genre in that it takes storytelling to new heights to build this whole world and establish this rich cast of characters.

However, I came into this blind expecting something linear/easy, casual and straightforward (a la Abzu, Life is Strange, Night in the Woods). I only played late nights before bed and fell asleep playing it during at least three of the five acts. It moves at a very contemplative pace, but it came across as glacial. I expected something grounded so the constant introduction of new surreal sci-fi type aspects took me out every single time. Also, it's not casual in that these storylines are heavy. Technically the plot is simple (at its core it's a road trip), but we've got characters all struggling through different crises and hardships that can be felt even in between their lines of dialogue.

But of course as the game progressed I got more into it and understood its rhythms and by the end of the fifth act I was all in. It's a gorgeous, melancholy game set in what feels like a southern rural gothic atmosphere about anything and everything in life. It's got themes of found family, home, regret – the past as a ghost, friendship, loneliness, healing, technology and labor, the list goes on and on. I will think about this game for a long time. And the soundtrack bangs. I cried to basically all the lyrical songs.