I don't understand people that are waiting 6+ years to play it all at once, each act feels like a self contained story arc that just shares the same characters. The characters have a very specific goal of getting to one location and that's the only through-line between episodes imo, that and the world building which I think is more effective over long periods. It'd be too overwhelming all at once I think.
Yeah, I agree. KRZ really shines as a piece of long-form, serialized storytelling. The narrative is carried mostly by theme and feeling. Having a little bit of distance between each act lets things settle and get a bit fuzzy in a way that I think adds to the sense of myth. It's an unintentional side effect of their freeform creative process, I'm sure, but it's not entirely unpleasant. And besides, anticipation is a wholly under-appreciated emotion.
I wouldn't even play the whole game from start to finish without also playing the (free, I might add) interludes that were released inbetween. Especially since each one is stranger and more inventive than the last, and impresses itself a little more closely into the real world. There's one really lovely event that happens in Act IV in particular that only makes sense if you've called the Echo River automated telephone guide (270-301-5797).
That said, I'm definitely going to do a second (and third) pass once it's all out, to do a closer read of the text and try to pick up on all of the threads and allusions.
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