An interesting experience, but not one that I thoroughly enjoyed or was fully engrossed in all the way through. There are moments of almost Disco Elysium levels of brilliance in the story-telling and writing here, but as it stands, it cannot touch those hallowed peaks quite yet. The minigames are a fun distraction, but the ending was very lacklustre and abrupt, and I felt there were definitely aspects of the world and the characters you meet that could have been more thoroughly explored.
it was a trip, but a fun one
Pretty engaging story that didn't quite stick the landing in my opinion. The world and characters are interesting, the music is very good, the writing is funny but it knows when to take itself seriously. Unfortunately the gameplay is quite weak, even for a point and click. I would've liked to see more in depth combat (or no combat at all), and the puzzles could've done with some finetuning.
Overall it's still absolutely worth a shot if you can get behind point and click adventure games.
78
Overall it's still absolutely worth a shot if you can get behind point and click adventure games.
78
Fantastische Geschichte, cooler Artstyle, wichtiges und bedrückendes Thema. Teilweise verwirrend und einige absurde Momente. Größte Schwächen sind die Puzzles und die Kämpfe. Besonders auf die Kämpfe hätte ich verzichten können. Die Steuerung war an vereinzelten Stellen nicht optimal. Gerade das Reisen von Abschnitt zu Abschnitt wurde erschwert. Ein gutes fesselndes Sci Fi Abenteuer für Zwischendurch.
"You got to have a clean ass to fight crime. Everybody knows that."
Very well written, good humour, puzzles and combat lacking
1 mission away from finishing. progress got lost waiting to forget main story to replay again.
This review contains spoilers
I've read plenty of reviews for games where people complain about a story going off the rails. I like to think that I can appreciate a proper rollercoaster of a game, even if it's unexpected.... and I did really enjoy Norco- but ok fine I understand where these types of people are coming from now.
There's so much that I find compelling in Norco... they just spent too much attention on the Gaerett Cult; pawpaw and his jesus bloodline stuff should be violently escorted out by a bouncer; and the moment i read dialog in the shield masquerade ball I knew this game would lose me by the end.
If the game choose what it focused on differently, i would have really loved it, instead i'll just have to settle for saying it was pretty cool.
Anyway, they really nailed the tone, writing and setting here, wow it is all so evocative. Norco is blunt and murky ,heartfelt and amusing, grounded and absurd, strange and mundane, morose and striking - all of those words that come to mind are contradicting, that's how you know they did a good job of capturing life. I'm very impressed that I was able to vibe with it so much, since the game is operating in a genre that I would normally consider not my style. Maybe i'm just an easy fish to bait by putting in cool sci-fi elements
Shoutout to superduck! That sure is a concept! The phrase "internet of flesh" still lives in my mind. This unique fusion of AI and organic life is quite interesting, especially with the nuance of being a virus that mutated from a sketchy memory backup. The Quack jobs app is a neat idea on top of that.
The setting of Norco doesn't take that many steps away from the present- which is weird to say given the inclusion of Robots and AI. The writers obviously wanted to write about reality, and just take a few sci-fi concepts along for the ride. To be clear, that's not a complaint- they pulled it off great. It's super cool how they mixed diet cyberpunk elements into a place that's both burdened by its past and cynical on its future.
I was on board for the game's storytelling starting from the very beginning. I adore the intro to this game. The first imagery defining the setting is incredible and the way they catch you up on Kay's life story are incredible. They use the classic game thing of occasionally giving you text choices between the walls of text, but the ones here game really come out swinging in a way that strongly contributes to the setup of tone and characterization. (A great example is the description of kay deciding to leave despite bleak's pleading and being able to choose "I didn't care" or "I knew he'd get over it"). I've been playing a lot of narrative games that open with an interactive fiction inspired sequence like this lately- that's a trend i will continue to enjoy with great enthusiasm. Always a pleasure to see such a strong use of 2nd person.
As soon as I woke up in the bedroom i began reading the mindmap- and found it quite cool. I'm a bit disappointed that past that point it became a glorified "information learned so far" tracker. It had a lot of potential as a source for cool writing, but generally didn't live up to that beyond the family entries that you see initially. I was excited to check it every time the new notification appeared, and that was rarely worthwhile.
My favorite scene in the game is the retelling of the 3 floods the house has been through, with the addition of the 4th flood that will occur. Shoutout to all the bits in this game that remind me of the shivers writing in Disco Elysium, i adore them.
My 2nd favorite scene is the spaceship-dream-trek through the rooms of the house (with each one dedicated to a specific family member). Even amid an ending sequence filled with narrative elements I cared little for, this stood out as a very satisfying component of the finale. The game really succeeds with its storytelling centered around the family.
I love the structural gimmick of alternating between Kay and Catherine's adventure. I don't think the switching to optimize cliffhangers was really necessary though. I can respect cliffhangers in media that actually has a reason for the audience to wait, but here it feels like cowardly backing away from the current scene. Aside from that timing complaint, I like what these switches do for the pacing. I can't decide whose segments I prefer.
The memory clinic scene that Catherine starts with is fantastic. I also love all the mileage they get out of Catherine's phone. The apps are a neat idea and they are surprisingly effective given their simplicity. Having to pay to travel to locations is a cool touch, even if it's never an actual stressor. The voice memos is a cool idea for a mechanic- both for puzzles and for player note-taking.[In practice the voice memo puzzles aren't that interesting, but i still stand by it being a solid mechanic] I like the added friction of having limited memory. That seems like something that would be a quality of life hit, and it is slightly, but the way it forces you to remove irrelevant memos actually makes it a net positive in QoL. [and removing them automatically would hurt the diagetic nature of the voice memo app. The Aprocypha AR app sets up a really funny jumpscare with ditch man. Giving the phone to Kay in the present after Catherine's story concludes is cool.
Overall the Point & Click Adventure gameplay neither appeals to me nor annoys me. It's not really that involved and never had me questioning what to do next. The combat feels quite pointless. The boating in the lake section is rad, both from the writing of the dive scenes and the actual gameplay of navigating around the map. The drone puzzle has potential in its ruleset, but the actual setup is too simple.
The pixel art in this game is really pretty. The looming background Industry and Infrastructure looks especially cool. These artists have a way with lights (both natural and artificial) that just packs the game with awesome screens.
The music has some nice tracks and fits well, but otherwise didn't feel like a memorable component
There's more to be said about the writing in Norco, but it's ~7am so I'm just going to stop writing my thoughts here. There's some solid humour, characters, and descriptions spread throughout this game.
There's so much that I find compelling in Norco... they just spent too much attention on the Gaerett Cult; pawpaw and his jesus bloodline stuff should be violently escorted out by a bouncer; and the moment i read dialog in the shield masquerade ball I knew this game would lose me by the end.
If the game choose what it focused on differently, i would have really loved it, instead i'll just have to settle for saying it was pretty cool.
Anyway, they really nailed the tone, writing and setting here, wow it is all so evocative. Norco is blunt and murky ,heartfelt and amusing, grounded and absurd, strange and mundane, morose and striking - all of those words that come to mind are contradicting, that's how you know they did a good job of capturing life. I'm very impressed that I was able to vibe with it so much, since the game is operating in a genre that I would normally consider not my style. Maybe i'm just an easy fish to bait by putting in cool sci-fi elements
Shoutout to superduck! That sure is a concept! The phrase "internet of flesh" still lives in my mind. This unique fusion of AI and organic life is quite interesting, especially with the nuance of being a virus that mutated from a sketchy memory backup. The Quack jobs app is a neat idea on top of that.
The setting of Norco doesn't take that many steps away from the present- which is weird to say given the inclusion of Robots and AI. The writers obviously wanted to write about reality, and just take a few sci-fi concepts along for the ride. To be clear, that's not a complaint- they pulled it off great. It's super cool how they mixed diet cyberpunk elements into a place that's both burdened by its past and cynical on its future.
I was on board for the game's storytelling starting from the very beginning. I adore the intro to this game. The first imagery defining the setting is incredible and the way they catch you up on Kay's life story are incredible. They use the classic game thing of occasionally giving you text choices between the walls of text, but the ones here game really come out swinging in a way that strongly contributes to the setup of tone and characterization. (A great example is the description of kay deciding to leave despite bleak's pleading and being able to choose "I didn't care" or "I knew he'd get over it"). I've been playing a lot of narrative games that open with an interactive fiction inspired sequence like this lately- that's a trend i will continue to enjoy with great enthusiasm. Always a pleasure to see such a strong use of 2nd person.
As soon as I woke up in the bedroom i began reading the mindmap- and found it quite cool. I'm a bit disappointed that past that point it became a glorified "information learned so far" tracker. It had a lot of potential as a source for cool writing, but generally didn't live up to that beyond the family entries that you see initially. I was excited to check it every time the new notification appeared, and that was rarely worthwhile.
My favorite scene in the game is the retelling of the 3 floods the house has been through, with the addition of the 4th flood that will occur. Shoutout to all the bits in this game that remind me of the shivers writing in Disco Elysium, i adore them.
My 2nd favorite scene is the spaceship-dream-trek through the rooms of the house (with each one dedicated to a specific family member). Even amid an ending sequence filled with narrative elements I cared little for, this stood out as a very satisfying component of the finale. The game really succeeds with its storytelling centered around the family.
I love the structural gimmick of alternating between Kay and Catherine's adventure. I don't think the switching to optimize cliffhangers was really necessary though. I can respect cliffhangers in media that actually has a reason for the audience to wait, but here it feels like cowardly backing away from the current scene. Aside from that timing complaint, I like what these switches do for the pacing. I can't decide whose segments I prefer.
The memory clinic scene that Catherine starts with is fantastic. I also love all the mileage they get out of Catherine's phone. The apps are a neat idea and they are surprisingly effective given their simplicity. Having to pay to travel to locations is a cool touch, even if it's never an actual stressor. The voice memos is a cool idea for a mechanic- both for puzzles and for player note-taking.[In practice the voice memo puzzles aren't that interesting, but i still stand by it being a solid mechanic] I like the added friction of having limited memory. That seems like something that would be a quality of life hit, and it is slightly, but the way it forces you to remove irrelevant memos actually makes it a net positive in QoL. [and removing them automatically would hurt the diagetic nature of the voice memo app. The Aprocypha AR app sets up a really funny jumpscare with ditch man. Giving the phone to Kay in the present after Catherine's story concludes is cool.
Overall the Point & Click Adventure gameplay neither appeals to me nor annoys me. It's not really that involved and never had me questioning what to do next. The combat feels quite pointless. The boating in the lake section is rad, both from the writing of the dive scenes and the actual gameplay of navigating around the map. The drone puzzle has potential in its ruleset, but the actual setup is too simple.
The pixel art in this game is really pretty. The looming background Industry and Infrastructure looks especially cool. These artists have a way with lights (both natural and artificial) that just packs the game with awesome screens.
The music has some nice tracks and fits well, but otherwise didn't feel like a memorable component
There's more to be said about the writing in Norco, but it's ~7am so I'm just going to stop writing my thoughts here. There's some solid humour, characters, and descriptions spread throughout this game.
The thing about magical realism is how it constantly alternates between the surreal and the mundane, how those two are mixed together so as to form a new, cohesive whole.
Now, calling Norco a straight-up magical realist piece of media doesn't feel that coherent, even if there are some heavy inspirations and aspects from the genre as a whole. It dabbles in Noir, too. Also, it's surely sci-fi, as wide-ranging as that genre is, and most certainly cyberpunk, even though calling it just that does close to nothing towards describing what Norco actually is. But then, like, what even is it?
It's pretty much its own thing. Sure, it draws from multiple sources, as stated above, but enhances them all with a very tangible, physical even, setting. Norco is a real city in real life, and it's clear just how much effort and research went into crafting the places you go to when faring through this digital reflection of the city. As such, more than cyberpunk, more than sci-fi even, this game is a bleeding into and from real life, an exchange with it, leaving behind a surreal trail of oil, injected into the mundane.
I said before that I don't really see Norco as an actual magical realism game, and that is probably because of that shock. It doesn't mix in-game mundane with in-game surreal. Instead, it feels almost like a mixture of the mundane, overlooked aspects of life itself, with the surreal. That connection is further explored through the characters. They are great, with smart writing and down to earth motivations. However, with each passing moment, more and more crazy sci-fi things happen to them, so that at some times it's possible to feel a disconnection between the story and the real world. Increasingly, the lives of these people, so outshone by the incessant flames of factories and industry, can’t help but feel surreal. And yet they aren’t. At the peak of its weirdness, Norco throws its physicalness at your face, reminding you how tangible these people, their problems, and their lives are. The weirdness keeps on growing, but the alternation it does so well never leaves you.
In the end, it's pretty much insane just how well put-together Norco is, especially considering how much it was going for. The presentation plays a big part in keeping the themes and setting consistent at most times. I mean, have you seen just how insane the pixel art in this thing is? It somehow made me thoroughly enjoy looking at its various sunset skies for hours on end, appreciating them progressively more as it became clear how the art direction influenced that "realness" of it all.
My main issue with this game is that I feel like there wasn't enough time for stretching out most of the characters. The writing and set up for them, as on point as they are, deserved some more space and time for shining to their full potential.
Upon finishing the game, I was amazed by how many things were bursting in and out of my brain. Again, this game is many things, and trying to wrap my head around it ha s been no easy feat. Maybe that is because some things are just not supposed to be "wrapped at", constantly changing and ever expanding. I at first thought that upon laying down some of my ideas in the form of this review, maybe I would be less dazed then than I was at that initial moment, but I feel just as stunned now, if not even more, by Norco's various aspects. That, of course, just goes to show how lingering the experience of playing it is.
This is game is different, and is boldly so. Albeit for sure not without its flaws, there's no way for me not to consider this a worthwhile experience for everyone with a minimum interest in sci-fi, noir, cyberpunk, text-heavy games, crying, quirkiness, weirdness, and/or talking birds. And everything in between.
Now, calling Norco a straight-up magical realist piece of media doesn't feel that coherent, even if there are some heavy inspirations and aspects from the genre as a whole. It dabbles in Noir, too. Also, it's surely sci-fi, as wide-ranging as that genre is, and most certainly cyberpunk, even though calling it just that does close to nothing towards describing what Norco actually is. But then, like, what even is it?
It's pretty much its own thing. Sure, it draws from multiple sources, as stated above, but enhances them all with a very tangible, physical even, setting. Norco is a real city in real life, and it's clear just how much effort and research went into crafting the places you go to when faring through this digital reflection of the city. As such, more than cyberpunk, more than sci-fi even, this game is a bleeding into and from real life, an exchange with it, leaving behind a surreal trail of oil, injected into the mundane.
I said before that I don't really see Norco as an actual magical realism game, and that is probably because of that shock. It doesn't mix in-game mundane with in-game surreal. Instead, it feels almost like a mixture of the mundane, overlooked aspects of life itself, with the surreal. That connection is further explored through the characters. They are great, with smart writing and down to earth motivations. However, with each passing moment, more and more crazy sci-fi things happen to them, so that at some times it's possible to feel a disconnection between the story and the real world. Increasingly, the lives of these people, so outshone by the incessant flames of factories and industry, can’t help but feel surreal. And yet they aren’t. At the peak of its weirdness, Norco throws its physicalness at your face, reminding you how tangible these people, their problems, and their lives are. The weirdness keeps on growing, but the alternation it does so well never leaves you.
In the end, it's pretty much insane just how well put-together Norco is, especially considering how much it was going for. The presentation plays a big part in keeping the themes and setting consistent at most times. I mean, have you seen just how insane the pixel art in this thing is? It somehow made me thoroughly enjoy looking at its various sunset skies for hours on end, appreciating them progressively more as it became clear how the art direction influenced that "realness" of it all.
My main issue with this game is that I feel like there wasn't enough time for stretching out most of the characters. The writing and set up for them, as on point as they are, deserved some more space and time for shining to their full potential.
Upon finishing the game, I was amazed by how many things were bursting in and out of my brain. Again, this game is many things, and trying to wrap my head around it ha s been no easy feat. Maybe that is because some things are just not supposed to be "wrapped at", constantly changing and ever expanding. I at first thought that upon laying down some of my ideas in the form of this review, maybe I would be less dazed then than I was at that initial moment, but I feel just as stunned now, if not even more, by Norco's various aspects. That, of course, just goes to show how lingering the experience of playing it is.
This is game is different, and is boldly so. Albeit for sure not without its flaws, there's no way for me not to consider this a worthwhile experience for everyone with a minimum interest in sci-fi, noir, cyberpunk, text-heavy games, crying, quirkiness, weirdness, and/or talking birds. And everything in between.
Nicely weird story, great side characters, but never felt very fulfilling to me.
I was pleasantly surprised with NORCO, as I’m not really a fan of Point-and-Click adventure games and really only wanted to try it because it's leaving Game Pass this month. Lo and behold, NORCO is one of my favorite experiences I’ve had in gaming this year. As soon as I started the game, I was hooked due to the immediately compelling narrative, gorgeous pixel art and a creepy futuristic southern gothic aesthetic that I absolutely fell in love with. This game goes places that you would never expect, and is beautifully harrowing, macabre, and sometimes downright fucked up in its subject matter. Your journey starts off small in scale but by the end of the game, you’ve realized you’re in way over your head and that you could have never imagined how deep the rabbit hole really goes. I love how overtly NORCO ties religion to social media, as well as the tactful ways this game parodies internet culture and shows the dangers of the mob-mentality that is so abundant in our world today. Occasionally you’re met with some hysterical moments as well, which really do help to break up an otherwise deeply disturbing adventure. Only negatives are the “combat” in this game, if you can really call it that, and the fact that some characters lacked development and could have easily benefited from being explored more thoroughly.
Type of experience that I appreciated more than I actually enjoyed. “Norco” is a visual novel with walls of text to get through and very little interactability, most instances of which are pretty underwhelming anyway, with the most irritating example being the combat which the game could’ve very well done without.
The environments and the writing do an excellent job of bringing to life this God-forgotten (?) town in Louisiana, with its unique sci-fi flavor and really dark humor. But as the story goes along, the game shifts its focus to plotlines/themes that I found to be some of the least interesting ones presented in the game and with each passing hour (out of roughly 7 it took me to finish the game) I kept losing interest and watching, sometimes in disbelief, the direction the writers decided to take. I can totally imagine an alternate “Norco” set in the same universe, utilizing many of the same levels, including many of the same plot points and NPCs (many of them are really fun to talk to) and overall themes (finding faith, impact of automatization on job opportunities, environmental externalities, the growing chasm between the haves and the have nots) but utilized in a more efficient way that doesn’t lose its focus in a major way.
The environments and the writing do an excellent job of bringing to life this God-forgotten (?) town in Louisiana, with its unique sci-fi flavor and really dark humor. But as the story goes along, the game shifts its focus to plotlines/themes that I found to be some of the least interesting ones presented in the game and with each passing hour (out of roughly 7 it took me to finish the game) I kept losing interest and watching, sometimes in disbelief, the direction the writers decided to take. I can totally imagine an alternate “Norco” set in the same universe, utilizing many of the same levels, including many of the same plot points and NPCs (many of them are really fun to talk to) and overall themes (finding faith, impact of automatization on job opportunities, environmental externalities, the growing chasm between the haves and the have nots) but utilized in a more efficient way that doesn’t lose its focus in a major way.
Quasi novela visual con estilo visual pixelado interesante pero que es blando sin más
Interesting story, its just not my kind of a game.