The excellent Kentucky Route Zero is an IGF nominee for a reason. What we've already seen from the first chapter is a blend of design and narrative form that exudes abundant class and style. If you're a regressive hack you might call it a Not-Game, your actions have very little impact on the unfolding story, but what you do control is the minutiae. Your understanding of the world is shaped by your choice of input, but the world itself isn't changed even slightly. It's also notable for being finishable in a few minutes, or longer if you're going to actually attempt to engage with it, either way it gives you the option and both are still relevant gameplay experiences.
Cardboard Computer, the game's developer just released Limits & Demonstrations, a free download that chronicles a visit to an art exhibition. It's in the same design of their ongoing series and serves as a good companion piece thematically, though it's unclear if it'll play into the series at all.
Not intending to spoil too much, there's a moment that essentially becomes a game within a game. It's worth seeing just for that.
It's interesting to extrapolate what this means for the rest of the KRZ episodes. Does this signal a quickly approaching release of the next full chapter? Will we be treated to short stories before each hits or is this a one off? Will they all revolve around the same characters? This short narrative experience is making great strides in the form by staying illusive and not allowing us to have any assured expectations of where it'll go next.
