The comparisons between Kentucky Route 0 and this are inevitable, but I think there's such an interesting, subtle difference that I think is really profound. KR0 often lets you interpret the relationships and histories of characters however you wish. And that's part of how it excels. That sort of ambiguity and tug of how these relationships play out is really something special. Its one of the many things that make KR0 what it is. You can't control everything, but all those small ways you can shape how evens unfolded for all these desperate people is one of its high points.
But there's a specific scene in Norco that instantly made an impression on me as different. The history of your character, Kay, is partly formed by your choices. But she always chose to run away from home, wander the collapsing United States, fight in various wars. When Kay abandons her brother Blake, you have the choice of "I didn't care how he felt" or "He'd get over it."
I chose the latter. The text responded. "He didn't." You don't get to choose how people feel about you.
I'm gonna try and stop comparing Norco to other things now, its really not fair to a truly wonderful game. Norco's adventure has you leap between the undecipherable Kay visiting her mother's grave and the final days of said mother. You encounter shady corporate espionage, malicious gamer cults, a power-crazy AI that's gone off the rails, and other strange entities vying for control. But what the game really excels at communicating is this idea that these seemingly powerful factions really have no power at all. Its all collapsing bit by bit, they're all just in denial of how powerless they really are. The game's more interested in the personal lives of these people and how they handle being caught up in the madness of all these conspiracies. The game encourages you to chase after various optional side content and examine the internal lives of all these strangers. In fact, one of the better endings is entirely missable if you aren't willing to just explore around.
One of the optional scenes you can acquire is a vision of what occurs after the game's end. Assuming your survival, where will the heroes end up? The answer isn't easy. They return to their old ways, fall back into melancholy. The stress of the current predicament is just one moment in time, not a life-changing fiasco. You can't change how people feel about you. You can't change where your path ends up. But you can try and understand people along the way. Make connections, even if they falter. Do good in little pieces
This game is just delightful. If you're a fan of Vibes and point and click, its worth full price.
But there's a specific scene in Norco that instantly made an impression on me as different. The history of your character, Kay, is partly formed by your choices. But she always chose to run away from home, wander the collapsing United States, fight in various wars. When Kay abandons her brother Blake, you have the choice of "I didn't care how he felt" or "He'd get over it."
I chose the latter. The text responded. "He didn't." You don't get to choose how people feel about you.
I'm gonna try and stop comparing Norco to other things now, its really not fair to a truly wonderful game. Norco's adventure has you leap between the undecipherable Kay visiting her mother's grave and the final days of said mother. You encounter shady corporate espionage, malicious gamer cults, a power-crazy AI that's gone off the rails, and other strange entities vying for control. But what the game really excels at communicating is this idea that these seemingly powerful factions really have no power at all. Its all collapsing bit by bit, they're all just in denial of how powerless they really are. The game's more interested in the personal lives of these people and how they handle being caught up in the madness of all these conspiracies. The game encourages you to chase after various optional side content and examine the internal lives of all these strangers. In fact, one of the better endings is entirely missable if you aren't willing to just explore around.
One of the optional scenes you can acquire is a vision of what occurs after the game's end. Assuming your survival, where will the heroes end up? The answer isn't easy. They return to their old ways, fall back into melancholy. The stress of the current predicament is just one moment in time, not a life-changing fiasco. You can't change how people feel about you. You can't change where your path ends up. But you can try and understand people along the way. Make connections, even if they falter. Do good in little pieces
This game is just delightful. If you're a fan of Vibes and point and click, its worth full price.