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.