NORCO

Great point and click adventure game, leaves behind a lot of the more drawn out abstract puzzel solving in exchange for more character dialog and interactive elements. Impressive pixel art and world design in addition to great lore I assume was based upon actual mythos from Louisiana combined with some unique sci-fi elements. Story had a political edge that was nuanced, didn't feel like it pulled any hard punches on one single group, managed to explore a lot of different ideas. For me the best part was some of the interspersed comedy and great supporting characters, the descriptive writing is great too. Hope the game picks up more traction and the developers make a sequel or another game with the same format.

I just finished the game and the only thing I can say.. OH MY GOD. The ending is something I would describe as completely insane,but in a good way. The atmosphere and music of the game are really really good and if you like atmospheric narrative heavy games,I can highly recommend NORCO.

I really enjoyed this game once I got past the start. The story and atmosphere are very captivating, depicting more realistic near-future than the usual cyberpunk tropes. A fair share of wackiness, humor and various game mechanics keeps it very interesting until the end. Unfortunately, due to a choice I made in the game I could not access the an ending that I wanted to see. In the end I just watched a video of it, so for me I was not so big of a deal.

The game has a lot of potential. As a mixture of classic point-and-click adventures with some Disco Elysium and "Sir Brante" spices on top this game would have everything you need. Sadly it diverges in too many directions. From a personal family-driven story over a political-company crime part up to a religious fanatical cult that chases a "X Files" like aliens plot ... this story offers a lot of material but sadly falls short at solving the plot. The game should have focused on one aspect of the story and that would have been great. But it gives only half what's needed for each sub-plot and misses the overall goal. This together with a switching perspective of the (sadly a bit blunt) protagonist and her mother (bascially told in flashbacks) breaks the narrative since you spoil pretty early what has happened thus focussing more on the outcome of the story. But as I said, it leaves with more questions than answers (deliberately). If you can accept an open ending with some subjective fills to the plot (which stays a mystery even in the end) this game is fun but if you want a deep satisfying story this game is sadly not what you might be looking for (and I suggest both mentioned "Disco Elysium" or "The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante" over this one here). So yea, it is fun, I also like the pixel art, but the game tries to add too many things. Some work out (like some neat mini games) where others are too simple to make fun but somewhat essential (like a fighting mechanic which is just clicking at the right moment). The decisions of my character are not always plausable, too and I wonder what had happened to me that I start destroying company property in an act of terrorism just because they didn't like my dead mother.

It's an interesting adventure game with a (perhaps) somewhat overblown reputation. I liked it and it was interesting while it lasted. It wasn't nearly as mind-blowing or groundbreaking as it was hyped up to be. Still, well worth a play through.