Kentucky Route Zero is maybe another contender for one of my favorite games of all time.

Combining the aesthetics of semi-dystopias and hazy late night drives and modern art, with the storytelling methods of both American folk tales and theatre (which as a theatre major I just loved) and adding the rare use of the removal of player influence to sell the story's impactful moments just blew me away.

It uses all of this to tell a beautiful story of the effects of Capitalism on both individual through the accrual of debt, and the way it effects larger communities through improper care in search of greater profit. It does all this while not feeling super trite and having compelling and interesting characters.

It's mind blowing that I left it this long for me to play it, and that it isn't constantly being brought up as a reference point for other game devs. Maybe because it's so singular in it's vision that it just can't be replicated, who knows.

There will probably be nothing quite like KRO ever again, and that's okay with me.