NORCO

beautiful art, intriguing story

‘NORCO’ is an engrossing and intriguing point-and-click adventure game set in Norco, Louisiana and surrounding communities. The game starts off with an investigation into the circumstances that preceded the death of the playable character’s estranged mother. What seems to be a straightforward mystery would gradually turn into something more surprising and extraordinary that I wasn’t prepared for. The intimacy in the descriptions of the locations and inhabitants provide a sense of authenticity to the dystopian narrative set in the near-future. Norco is depicted with fondness and despair in equal measure, creating a jarring dichotomy that acts a through line. The raw pixel art of places and people convey the hopelessness of the times, and suggest that things are more than amiss in Norco. Through the text and art, you can feel the connection that the developers have to the region, and that this game feels personal to them. The adventuring from the first-person perspective is pretty standard fare, with puzzles that aren’t difficult to solve in general. Still, there are alternate routes and little surprises waiting to be discovered if you care to venture out of the adventure gaming comfort zone. QTE mini-games, featured heavily in the few turn-based combat scenarios, may feel slightly incongruous, but does provide a change of pace. The two boat navigation sequences, which reminded me of ‘Kentucky Route Zero’, add to the grim depiction of the setting. ‘NORCO’ is memorable dystopian noir. The uneasiness – with something being always off-kilter – that permeates throughout the game is mesmerizing, making exploration in this adventure game truly wondrous. With a story that is captivating and surprising, and art that is equally spellbinding and a bit eerie, it’s without a doubt that I would recommend ‘NORCO’. It’s easily one of the best mature point-and-click adventure games you can play.

I loved playing this game it had a great story and an excellent atmosphere. It captured the strangeness and intrigue that older point an click games have, while having absolutely beautiful environments using my favorite video game medium of pixel graphics. They somehow make the setting of the game modern and nostalgic simultaneously. Give it a try!

I'm still dreaming about this game, or is the game still dreaming about me? I don't know, but I love it

This game is definetly in my top 5. The art direction a mix of gothic noir and cyberpunk all mashed together with a truely ethereal soundtrack to match. It's set in a futuristic Norco louisiana plagued, by big oil refineries. The story might is interesting and may not be for everyone the experience of playing through is. Played it on game pass for the first time and thinking of getting it again for a second playthrough.