The Lower Depths is a tavern run and owned by Harry. The bar appears in Act III of the game, where Junebug and Johnny perform for Conway, Shannon, Ezra, and Harry. The bar also makes an appearance as the setting of "The Entertainment", which occurs between Acts II and III.
The Bar[]
The Lower Depths could rightly be described as a dive bar, a bar that exists for a small regular clientele, with less emphasis on partying and more emphasis on drinking. It has little decoration, cheap plastic furniture, poor fluorescent lighting, and an outdated jukebox. It is not well-cleaned or maintained - examining one table reveals a sandwich like "a brick between two slices of bread" - and the surrounding neighborhood seems bare and unwelcoming. Harry, the bartender and owner, only serves Hard Times Whiskey, though this is not by choice.
Too Late To Love You[]
Main article: Too Late to Love You
The Lower Depths becomes something quite different when Junebug and Johnny perform the song Too Late To Love You. The lights go out, and the ceiling floats away, revealing the night sky and the Milky Way Galaxy, while the interior is flooded with a rich teal-colored light to match Junebug's dress. What was a bleak (and frankly depressing) whiskey joint becomes a place of serene, romantic reflection. When the song ends, the bar reverts to its original state, miserable still, but sweeter at heart.
Too Late To Love You is an original song composed for Kentucky Route Zero. The player can choose which lyrics are part of the song, although every combination shares similar patterns: the singer's lover has left them, leaving them in agony, and while times have changed, the old hurt still lingers. The song is a dream-pop ballad performed exclusively with synthesizers, befitting Johnny and Junebug's personalities. Too Late To Love You is written by Jake Elliott, and performed by Ben Babbitt, with heavy voice modulation for the role of Junebug.
Trivia[]
- The name of the establishment is almost certainly a reference to the play of the same name by Maxim Gorky. That play concerns a lodging house, where the dregs of society come for shelter. Kentucky Route Zero parallels this as a deliveryman, a mechanic, an eagle's brother, a dog, and two robots walk into a bar.