My read on Norco, is that, in some places more than others, we live in such a fallen world that extreme psychosis is the only vector we have to make sense of existence.
v
v
v
v
v
I hope no one takes offense to this, I say this with love and sympathy but: boy is the southeastern corner of the United States a flaming hell climate. People who live there are built different.
- Im gonna lead with my most negative thought: I think pure blood adventure games really really struggle to bring the fun. Norco tends to have good pacing, and my penchant to go off-critical path saved me some grief - but boy is it just sort of not fun to do arbitrary puzzles. Idk, maybe this sounds like bad advice but I would have been fine if Norco was just a VN front to back. I dont think you need to make gameplay if you dont have good gameplay in mind. Idk, idk.
- I think everyone knows this, but Norcos got great writing. I was expecting a more non-fictional romp of some kind and was surprised to find (in the games own words) “some Da Vinci Code” shit. There is a slight “magic realism” thing going on a la Kentucky Route Zero but what this really is, is a mystery thriller in a, ahem, ”swamppunk” alternate near-future setting.
- Whats also unexpected, is that Norcos pretty funny. The game ostensibly takes place in a very dour world in a region thats fairly ready to just give up - but in that blase mindspace there is permission to get silly. The world around them is already absurd, why not start a cult where everyone is called Garrett? Why not do some after hours clowning? An honest world is a rotten long-expired dream, whats left to do but channel some levity?
- I dont want to labor this thought too much, but Norco also depicts some moments of genuine sadness. A melancholy sky hangs over everything that happens in Norco and once and awhile someone says a few words that blow the clouds away to give you a brief glimpse into the void behind it.
v
v
v
v
v
I hope no one takes offense to this, I say this with love and sympathy but: boy is the southeastern corner of the United States a flaming hell climate. People who live there are built different.
- Im gonna lead with my most negative thought: I think pure blood adventure games really really struggle to bring the fun. Norco tends to have good pacing, and my penchant to go off-critical path saved me some grief - but boy is it just sort of not fun to do arbitrary puzzles. Idk, maybe this sounds like bad advice but I would have been fine if Norco was just a VN front to back. I dont think you need to make gameplay if you dont have good gameplay in mind. Idk, idk.
- I think everyone knows this, but Norcos got great writing. I was expecting a more non-fictional romp of some kind and was surprised to find (in the games own words) “some Da Vinci Code” shit. There is a slight “magic realism” thing going on a la Kentucky Route Zero but what this really is, is a mystery thriller in a, ahem, ”swamppunk” alternate near-future setting.
- Whats also unexpected, is that Norcos pretty funny. The game ostensibly takes place in a very dour world in a region thats fairly ready to just give up - but in that blase mindspace there is permission to get silly. The world around them is already absurd, why not start a cult where everyone is called Garrett? Why not do some after hours clowning? An honest world is a rotten long-expired dream, whats left to do but channel some levity?
- I dont want to labor this thought too much, but Norco also depicts some moments of genuine sadness. A melancholy sky hangs over everything that happens in Norco and once and awhile someone says a few words that blow the clouds away to give you a brief glimpse into the void behind it.