I expected a conventional, by-the-numbers point-and-click game, with a typical, american "small town horror" story, and a visually stunning piece.
Well, it turns out. I wasn't that blown away by its visuals. I liked it most of the time, the pixel art it's pleasant to look at and it conveys all the info you need. The game truly excels at backgrounds though, compared to character design. Still, it's good, that's for sure.
The gameplay is...weird. Mixing typical mechanics of the genre with many other elements, such as turn-based battles with quick time events, and top-down driving? And for me, that's the key to understand for those that seem to be dissapointed with the combat. They want to see it as a combat "system" when the game treats it as nothing more than a minigame.
The puzzles felt very engaging for me, the exploration was intriguing. It was never too much to handle, it was never so loose that I wouldn't care. Except for a single part of a grander puzzle in the final parts of the game, I believe all of it can be beaten without a guide.
The story was something else. You gotta understand, for us worldwiders, in like, anyone from outside America (or USA for many of us), your culture can be strange. Those stories about people in a small town, most of the time in the middle of nowhere, where either a tragedy, a supernatural event or a capitalist takeover happens, seem so cliché. I don't necessarily hate the premise, though, I gave this game a chance after all. I'm so happy I did!
Norco's story may not be perfect, there may be some plot holes and some predictable results, but only some. As this game excels in its writing, balancing a lighter tone with effective drama and tension, with perfectly-defined characters and motivations. The predictability does end, and some curveballs are thrown.
This is an easy recommendation for any fan of the genre. I can't fathom finishing it in 3 or 4 hours like many seem to suggest.
Played for around 12 hours through Xbox Game Pass on Xbox Series S.
Well, it turns out. I wasn't that blown away by its visuals. I liked it most of the time, the pixel art it's pleasant to look at and it conveys all the info you need. The game truly excels at backgrounds though, compared to character design. Still, it's good, that's for sure.
The gameplay is...weird. Mixing typical mechanics of the genre with many other elements, such as turn-based battles with quick time events, and top-down driving? And for me, that's the key to understand for those that seem to be dissapointed with the combat. They want to see it as a combat "system" when the game treats it as nothing more than a minigame.
The puzzles felt very engaging for me, the exploration was intriguing. It was never too much to handle, it was never so loose that I wouldn't care. Except for a single part of a grander puzzle in the final parts of the game, I believe all of it can be beaten without a guide.
The story was something else. You gotta understand, for us worldwiders, in like, anyone from outside America (or USA for many of us), your culture can be strange. Those stories about people in a small town, most of the time in the middle of nowhere, where either a tragedy, a supernatural event or a capitalist takeover happens, seem so cliché. I don't necessarily hate the premise, though, I gave this game a chance after all. I'm so happy I did!
Norco's story may not be perfect, there may be some plot holes and some predictable results, but only some. As this game excels in its writing, balancing a lighter tone with effective drama and tension, with perfectly-defined characters and motivations. The predictability does end, and some curveballs are thrown.
This is an easy recommendation for any fan of the genre. I can't fathom finishing it in 3 or 4 hours like many seem to suggest.
Played for around 12 hours through Xbox Game Pass on Xbox Series S.
I like that I was often surprised and the gothic writing was excellent on occasion. The problem is that the puzzles are such that often you are not even sure what puzzle you are solving as it hasn't been delineated properly so you miss it all together. The fighting was stupid...
Norco is interesting. Great art style, nice atmospheric music. Really interesting, bizarre narrative. A sort of Wes Anderson arthouse style feel of weird characters in an odd situation full of charm despite how offputting things are. It never really ventures into anything scary or even overly suspenseful. It's just kind of off-kilter the entire time.
It's short. Only a couple hours. Three or four. But it keeps your attention. What few puzzles and narrative choices there are, are easy to understand though I disliked how on some screens I had to pixel hunt for selections. I kind of wish there was more lore and exposition to explore but I think the briefness of your time in Norco is probably for the best.
What an oddball of a game. Lotta heart in this one. It's worth checking out.
It's short. Only a couple hours. Three or four. But it keeps your attention. What few puzzles and narrative choices there are, are easy to understand though I disliked how on some screens I had to pixel hunt for selections. I kind of wish there was more lore and exposition to explore but I think the briefness of your time in Norco is probably for the best.
What an oddball of a game. Lotta heart in this one. It's worth checking out.
This was pretty good. A well-written narrative adventure full of weirdness and mystery, gorgeous pixel art, and great music make this game easily recommendable.
En Norco nos encontramos con corporaciones que transforman ciudades hasta el punto de robarles el nombre. Exploramos ecosistemas destruidos por actividades extractivas. Descubrimos sectas que aglutinan a una juventud desorientada que sólo quiere pertenecer a algo. Aplicaciones de microtrabajos que pagan con dinero de mentira. Una población sin esperanza refugiada en el alcohol y las drogas. Directivos de empresas víctimas de sus propios inversores. Enfermedades provocadas por la actividad industrial. Tecnología fuera de control. Espacios liminales. Familias rotas. Norco nos presenta una distopía que es un reflejo no muy diferente a nuestro mundo, al que no se ha llegado tras un gran desastre, sino al que nos hemos ido acostumbrando como la rana hervida a la que le iban subiendo la temperatura del agua poco a poco.
La influencia del gótico sureño pone el tono de Norco, pero la influencia de Philip K. Dick es la que genera sus momentos más sugerentes, cuando los límites de la realidad se deshacen totalmente. Es una pena que el final resulte tan anticlimático y no se atreva a coronar el crescendo lisérgico de su último tramo.
Aún así es una obra arriesgada y muy cruda, que compensa de sobra su limitada jugabilidad con una prosa de una calida dque no solemos acostumbrar en esto de los videojuegos.
La influencia del gótico sureño pone el tono de Norco, pero la influencia de Philip K. Dick es la que genera sus momentos más sugerentes, cuando los límites de la realidad se deshacen totalmente. Es una pena que el final resulte tan anticlimático y no se atreva a coronar el crescendo lisérgico de su último tramo.
Aún así es una obra arriesgada y muy cruda, que compensa de sobra su limitada jugabilidad con una prosa de una calida dque no solemos acostumbrar en esto de los videojuegos.
Wooden Medal (completed %100) - Check profile for medal system.
Interesting story, its just not my kind of a game.
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.
"You got to have a clean ass to fight crime. Everybody knows that."
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.
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.
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.
Nicely weird story, great side characters, but never felt very fulfilling to me.
This just completely took me for two evenings. Not sure if it stuck the landing but i think it's beautiful all the same.
Excellent art/story with less excellent gameplay. Simple puzzles and minigames can be tedious.
underrated in every single sense of the word, a heavenly experience.
I like the art direction and unique setting, but Norco falls short in other key areas. None of the characters felt particularly well-developed and the puzzles were unengaging. It's all over the place tonally. The serious story bits and awkward/unfunny attempts at comedy don't mesh well (e.g., the lol so random cat scene and toilet humor). Combat felt clunky and unnecessary. The story just sort of meanders before ending abruptly.
The autosave feature is useless since it rarely activates (not even for each perspective shift). The lack of Steam Cloud support is annoying, too.
The autosave feature is useless since it rarely activates (not even for each perspective shift). The lack of Steam Cloud support is annoying, too.
Revisiting my thoughts on Norco after the recent announcement and demo release of the developer’s next game.
There’s a lot about Norco I don’t quite like — I think the fighting mechanic is silly and out of place, some of the writing is gorgeous but some is awkward and atonal, I bounce back and forth on whether or not I hate the art (with the exception of the aerial and establishing shots, which are stunning throughout,) but this game has Got It. Probably the only videogame I’d call “Humid.” Slam dunk ending. Ostentatious and cool twists. Stuck with me for a long time. Has the feeling of a lesser work of a truly great author, a vibe that is almost unrecognizable in videogames.
There’s a lot about Norco I don’t quite like — I think the fighting mechanic is silly and out of place, some of the writing is gorgeous but some is awkward and atonal, I bounce back and forth on whether or not I hate the art (with the exception of the aerial and establishing shots, which are stunning throughout,) but this game has Got It. Probably the only videogame I’d call “Humid.” Slam dunk ending. Ostentatious and cool twists. Stuck with me for a long time. Has the feeling of a lesser work of a truly great author, a vibe that is almost unrecognizable in videogames.
É bom, mas tem muitas falhas.
Vamos por parte.
Começando pelas qualidades, a ambientação é legal, bem sólida com muitos designs criativos, e a história tem questões muito interessante, utilizando da religião e ficção cientifica para fazer algo bem transcendental e impactante, viajando enquanto fala sobre língua adâmica e cria uma IA com suas memorias, adoro essas maluquices, fica sendo um ponto fora da curva na maioria das histórias de games.
Agora para os defeitos.
Gameplay: A gameplay de combate é ridícula, irrelevante, sem motivo para existir, é impossível perder no combate, não faz sentido usar a cura no combate já que nunca dá tempo de perder. Sei que o foco é puzzle, mas já que fizeram todo o esquema de combate com barra de vida, cura, turno, poderiam fazer algo mais desafiador que faça sentido explorar essas mecânicas.
Puzzles: Tem alguns legais e que exigem pensar, mas são minoria, fica claro que o foco é mais na história, visual, ambientação e etc do que nas mecânicas de puzzle que na maioria viram tarefas simples.
História: Olha, ficam muitas pontas soltas na história, personagens que pareciam importantes mas tem 2 falas no final ou no caso do irmão da protagonista que buscamos o jogo todo e nem fala nada. Aquele grupo de pesquisadores que aparece investigando o superduck, queria mais interação com eles, poderia ter um ato todo só sobre isso, mostrando a reação dos pesquisadores e etc com os acontecimentos bizarros, o superduck é uma das coisas mais legais do jogo mas não é explorado diretamente de forma completa. O final do John é péssimo, baita personagem com personalidade forte e visual imponente, mas só fica sendo citado, tem seus 2 minutos de tela e boom, aparece com a cabeça cortada, agora o velho manda em todo mundo e vai para o espaço, ridículo esse desperdício!
"Mas como ele tem 89 no metacritic então?"
Acredito que o principal ponto que fez o jogo perder pontos técnicos mas ganhar pontos com os críticos do metacritic é que é um jogo muito carregado de críticas políticas, muitas vezes sem sentido e exageradamente caricata de um jeito ruim, isso com certeza deve ter tomado parte dos recursos de desenvolvimento/tempo que poderiam ter sido utilizados para deixar a história mais consistente e melhorar certas coisas sem sentido da gameplay, e na nota é que a maioria dos redatores de sites de games ocidentais provavelmente gostaram das críticas políticas do jogo, o que pode ter distraído das falhas do jogo e tipo falar "Não é perfeito mas é um jogo necessário, nota 10"
Vamos por parte.
Começando pelas qualidades, a ambientação é legal, bem sólida com muitos designs criativos, e a história tem questões muito interessante, utilizando da religião e ficção cientifica para fazer algo bem transcendental e impactante, viajando enquanto fala sobre língua adâmica e cria uma IA com suas memorias, adoro essas maluquices, fica sendo um ponto fora da curva na maioria das histórias de games.
Agora para os defeitos.
Gameplay: A gameplay de combate é ridícula, irrelevante, sem motivo para existir, é impossível perder no combate, não faz sentido usar a cura no combate já que nunca dá tempo de perder. Sei que o foco é puzzle, mas já que fizeram todo o esquema de combate com barra de vida, cura, turno, poderiam fazer algo mais desafiador que faça sentido explorar essas mecânicas.
Puzzles: Tem alguns legais e que exigem pensar, mas são minoria, fica claro que o foco é mais na história, visual, ambientação e etc do que nas mecânicas de puzzle que na maioria viram tarefas simples.
História: Olha, ficam muitas pontas soltas na história, personagens que pareciam importantes mas tem 2 falas no final ou no caso do irmão da protagonista que buscamos o jogo todo e nem fala nada. Aquele grupo de pesquisadores que aparece investigando o superduck, queria mais interação com eles, poderia ter um ato todo só sobre isso, mostrando a reação dos pesquisadores e etc com os acontecimentos bizarros, o superduck é uma das coisas mais legais do jogo mas não é explorado diretamente de forma completa. O final do John é péssimo, baita personagem com personalidade forte e visual imponente, mas só fica sendo citado, tem seus 2 minutos de tela e boom, aparece com a cabeça cortada, agora o velho manda em todo mundo e vai para o espaço, ridículo esse desperdício!
"Mas como ele tem 89 no metacritic então?"
Acredito que o principal ponto que fez o jogo perder pontos técnicos mas ganhar pontos com os críticos do metacritic é que é um jogo muito carregado de críticas políticas, muitas vezes sem sentido e exageradamente caricata de um jeito ruim, isso com certeza deve ter tomado parte dos recursos de desenvolvimento/tempo que poderiam ter sido utilizados para deixar a história mais consistente e melhorar certas coisas sem sentido da gameplay, e na nota é que a maioria dos redatores de sites de games ocidentais provavelmente gostaram das críticas políticas do jogo, o que pode ter distraído das falhas do jogo e tipo falar "Não é perfeito mas é um jogo necessário, nota 10"
I didnt really liked point and clickers until I gave this game a chance, I LOVED IT
Disaster Tourism pre-gaming both literally and figuratively. Zombie Capital dies and Ghost Capital arises.
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
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.
Very well written, good humour, puzzles and combat lacking
it was a trip, but a fun one
1 mission away from finishing. progress got lost waiting to forget main story to replay again.
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
COMO NINGUÉM JOGOU ISSO AQ, ESSE É UM DOS MELHORES POINT IN CLICK Q JÁ JOGUEI
A supremely weird point and click mystery that really rules. I have so few notes, it feels like a game that is exactly what it wanted to be. It really kept me interested in all the moving parts the whole way through. Absolutely a must-play if you want to work on unique world building. I think the ending I got was a smidge sudden, but overall, what a hell of a ride.